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A better future for the global workforce Watch our short animation explaining how an international network has come together to protect workers from unacceptable forms of work. Connect with us on social media. Comment and opinion Fixing gender gaps isn't just about women. This is a rare, unexpected event. So, how do universities make admissions decisions? Evaluating applications is a long process. At Harvard, it involves at least two readers of each file. It also involves discussions among a subcommittee of at least four individuals that last up to an hour.

The process is similar for other selective colleges. Admissions officers at the same university often differ about which students to admit.

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The process is more art than science. They may also consider how those things affected their participation in activities outside of school. Nevertheless, the outcomes of admission to the most elite colleges are unequal. In fact, while 37 percent of young adults in the United States are black or Latino, just 19 percent of students at the top colleges in the country are. So, even if holistic evaluation does a better job than looking at test scores and grades alone, the process still concludes by systematically undervaluing working class, poor, black and Latino young men and women.

In addition to the holistic evaluation process, admissions teams need to consider the needs of specific groups on campus. These needs vary from campus to campus and from year to year. Coaches can recruit top athletes for positions on their teams played by graduating seniors, and those recruits enter the fast lane to admission.

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And, just as the baseball coach can recruit a shortstop, the orchestra director may request a top bassoon player to fill a missing part in the orchestra. Are there any discernible patterns between who gets in and students who were seriously considered but rejected? Harvard President Drew Faust has said that Harvard could fill its incoming class twice with high school valedictorians. When we let go of our meritocracy ideals, we see more clearly that so many talented, accomplished young people who will be outstanding leaders in the future will not make it to the likes of Harvard, Stanford and Yale.

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There simply are not enough places for all of them at those universities. Further, many more disadvantaged young people have never had the opportunity to cultivate talents because their parents did not have the resources to pay for private music lessons or a pitching coach.

In fact, the gap between what wealthy and poor parents spend on extracurricular activities has dramatically increased in recent years. So looking for explanations for why you did get in, or whether some groups are favored over others, misses the broader picture of the lack of clarity on what gets anyone into elite colleges.

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Book an Open Day · Why You Should Go · Plan Your Visit · Questions to Ask · Student Open Discover which UK universities rank best nationally and in 70 different subject areas. Take a look at how to support your child as they prepare to go to university, how to Here comes summer – make the most of the long break. Rose McGreggor, 24, went to the University of Oxford, while her boyfriend was at Durham. She says: “When I went to Oxford I was so in love.

It also ignores the unequal opportunities young Americans have in the process. The lottery could have weights for desired characteristics the college deems important, such as social class, geographic diversity, race and intended major.

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This method would make clear the arbitrariness in the admissions process. It would also help students admitted — and those not admitted - understand that admission — and rejection — should not hold the strong social meaning in American society that it does today. Most students expressed strong faith in a process that ultimately underselects black, Latino and working class applicants, among others.

They will take these understandings with them as they ascend to positions of power and make hiring decisions, design tax policies and shape media discourses.