Our Voice Matters: A Response to the Recent College Admissions Scandal, From Low-income Students and Alumni of Elite and Selective Universities
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This letter represents not just one voice — it comes from a collection of voices. Last week, after revelations of bribery to buy spots at various elite institutions caught national attention[1], those voices groaned with disgust, sighed in resignation, screamed in anger, cried in frustration, and shouted in vindication. We are those voices — those low-income, first generation, immigrant, and/or diversity-box-checking students who have attended those same universities, or other elite schools like them. We are the ones that thought and, in some instances, were told, “there is no way we could have gotten in.” We are the ones who worked hard every single day to prove our worth, to show that we belonged on our campuses. Even as we succeeded, becoming campus leaders and winning fellowships, we still wondered if the few seats given to us low-income, first generation, and/or minority students were concessions; recent revelations lit those simmering suspicions ablaze.
We have long been the scapegoats, the excuses for why those from the upper middle class — those from the privileged class — did not make it into these “elite” and “selective” universities, when in reality, people from backgrounds just like them were taking those opportunities from all of us. They bought their ways into schools, instead of trusting the “fair” admissions system to sort out who “deserved” to be there.
But that’s the thing — we’ve known for decades that the system is broken, and this scandal gives explicit examples of how and why. Even without huge bribes involved, we are well aware of how the system favors those with the means to get ahead. Through tutors, specialized courses, support for extracurriculars, skewed district funding, and institutional oppression, we have seen time and again that the system — one we all want to believe is objective — inherently bends to the influence of money.
In some cases, we don’t even plan to apply to these elite and selective universities. The sticker shock of tuition and application fees are enough to deter us, let alone a national scandal that shows we had no chance to begin with. In some cases, we discount ourselves from being the “type of student” those universities want because even when we visit them, we feel out of place.
With the efforts of great organizations like QuestBridge, the Posse Foundation, the Bonner Foundation, and FLIP National, many allies and alumni from similar backgrounds are helping us create inclusive communities for ourselves on campuses around the country. Finally, some of our colleges are feeling the pressure and recognizing the need to support students like us, establishing first generation and low-income student centers. But still, we couldn’t shake those feelings of being imposters who didn’t deserve what we were handed — until now.
In an era where educational materials are available online and often for free, younger first generation and/or low-income students will ask if they really need to pass through the vaunted halls of elite universities or just get an online micro degree. But if colleges are serious about having us attend, they need to make a genuine effort to create environments where we believe we belong. We don’t need our hands held; we need the opportunity to be phenomenal. Our experiences shouldn’t be valuable in retrospect, we should love our experiences just as much as any other students.
Even after beating socio-normative narratives that statistically show we don’t belong on elite college campuses, we have been considered second-class to to the children of big donors, the well-connected princelings, and the heirs to American Dynasties. Recent revelations only highlighted the subjectivity of the admission process. Although the malleable nature of admissions allows universities to consider more holistic attributes of an applicant, this national bribery scheme shows that money is sometimes enough qualification itself.
Each admission determines the success of an institution in its present and its future. But if college administrators are baffled at the extremes that parents and students go through to produce perfect applications, they need only look at themselves and the systems they have created and supported: the cut-throat culture is top-down. Parents and students ruthlessly optimize their application materials because they intuitively understand what administrators are doing. They feel themselves being scrutinized and compared, and do what they can to compensate for perceived shortcomings by tipping the scales with their pocketbooks.
Listen to us clearly now — we are the first generation, low-income, and otherwise diversity-box-checking students. We beat the statistics, and we know that we are the future. Now is the time for administrators to take a step back and ask what they want higher education to stand for: the power of money, or the power of fairness and opportunity.
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Citations
Sign our letter!
If you resonate with this open letter, please sign your name on our form! We have over 50 signatures already! You can view our signatures here.
About the Authors
Daniel Nissani is a graduate student at Cornell Tech, a board of trustees member of the Brooklyn Free School, and the QuestBridge Regional Alumni Club of New York City. He was a Math for America Early Career Fellow, a co-founder of the Northwestern Quest Scholars Network, and a Ryan Scholar at Northwestern University. Daniel is planning to enter the Data for Good movement when he graduates.
Kevin Ko is a Data Scientist who is passionate about using data to make informed, objective decisions. He sits on the board of StartCamp, an organization that teaches teenaged inmates how to code and was formerly the Treasurer of the QuestBridge Regional Alumni Board of New York City. He has degrees from The University of Chicago and Cornell University and was a National Merit Scholar.
Katrina “Kiki” Spiezio is a non-profit professional working at Dog Tag Bakery, Inc. to empower post-9/11 veterans with service-connected disabilities, military spouses, and caregivers through business and entrepreneurship. She co-founded Washington and Lee University FLIP (First generation Low-Income Partnership) and was a Bonner Scholar. Kiki also serves as the Director of Communications for FLIP National and as a volunteer organizer for QuestBridge Alumni in Washington, DC.
