On College: Admission decisions aren't all based on meritocracy

By Purvi Mody. The last few weeks have been really difficult for many students. Every year we brace ourselves for a more competitive admissions landscape and the notion that the bar is being raised to incomprehensible levels. Coupled with these changes is the fact that students and parents alike are misinformed about the process. A student recently asked me, "Did the Ivies get a lot harder to get into this year?" Another family tried to create algorithms about where their son would have been admitted and was surprised when the actual results varied from the expected results. Others questioned every piece of their application and wondered which one element kept them out. The truth is that college admissions is more of an art than a science, and the real dirty little secret is that it is not as much of a meritocracy as we would like to believe it to be. That is also real life. More...