By: Stewart Hall
College admissions are severely flawed. It is known that students filling out college applications often word their applications in ways to make them sound like better candidates. What is not discussed to the same extent is how colleges misrepresent their admissions process. The system allows for misrepresentation on both sides which completely defeats the purpose of an admissions process.
The purpose of an admissions process is to make sure that a student is a good match for a particular school. The school is supposed to accurately describe what type of environment it offers and the student is supposed to accurately describe what they are like. In theory, this allows admissions officers to find the students that will fit best at their school. The problem is that there is a conflict of interests on both sides. On the school's side, admissions officers would like to increase the school's prestige. So they may find themselves in conflict between accepting a student who will fit the best versus a student who will make the school look better in the long run. Additionally, some school's have to deal with demographics quotas which can result in conflicts of interest. Finally, the student also misrepresents to the school what they are like in an attempt to fit the "mold" that they think the school is looking for. In the end, this can lead to groups of students who do not fit correctly at the schools they are accepted to. This system does not function the way it should and it should be changed so that the needs of students and the needs of the school can be met.
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