Conference Session (day 1) Archive

Dan Golden, author of “The Price of Admission,” gave a stinging indictment of the admissions practices of colleges and universities for favoring students from wealthy families, children of alumni and athletes. He estimated those students make up a third to 40 percent of the student […]

Wake Forest President Nathan Hatch questioned Golden’s contention that universities offer preference to children of alumni only for monetary reasons. What about loyalty that transcends how much people give, he asked. Golden answered that if the system were changed, if schools made it clear that […]

Golden said he had ambivalent positions on the SAT, and noted that he had not taken a position on it in his book. Anything would be better than basing decisions on wealth, though, he said. “Opponents of the SAT often talk as if it’s the […]

Golden noted that a movement is underway to stop the preferences of privilege, with several lawsuits working their way through the courts. What would an end to preferences mean? “It would open more slots for students of demonstrated intellectual brilliance or creative talent, and more […]

Joseph Soares, associate professor of sociology at Wake Forest, says he was very impressed and pleased by the research reported by Prof. Tom Espenshade, Princeton University. “By using Mellon Foundation data and running simulations of different admissions policies, he showed that our policy of using […]

The best question of the day came from an AP reporter who asked Donahue, Guttentag and Cash if their schools were going to stop requiring the SAT for admission, as Wake Forest has done. Donahue said that for right now Harvard considers the SAT as […]

Christoph Guttentag, dean of admissions at Duke University, led off the session on “Crafting a Freshman Class.” His specific topic was on athletics and admissions, but he had a larger meaning beyond athletics. Every school, every team, defines “success” in its own way, and its […]

Sally Donahue, director of financial aid and senior admissions officer at Harvard, talked about efforts Harvard has undertaken to enroll a more diverse student-body. “Nationally there is a growing divide between those who come from families with resources and those who don’t.” She noted the […]

Arlene Cash, the vice president for enrollment management at Spelman College shared the importance of discovering the hidden treasure in an applicant. At Spelman, 25% of applicants are considered under a special admission program. Using a variety of methods, admissions counselors spend time getting to […]

One panelist provided well-known statistics that college applicants with parents who spend their children’s formative years talking with and encouraging their sons and daughters–will do well academically and score well on the SAT. The panelist suggested that intervention for lower income applicants needs to begin […]