Opinion | Illumination
What distinguishes selective universities?
Life lessons from college admissions
Introduction
With the recent news of the supreme court slashing affirmative action in higher education, I felt compelled for personal and more obvious reasons to think with you about what constitutes quality higher education. In addition, I wanted to explore how lessons from college admissions can lead to a fulfilling life. Also, I will avoid the cynical and elitist discourse around selective colleges and universities and offer a different view of different categories of higher educational institutions. And by cynical, I mean American society has viewed higher educational institutions as teams playing in a league. That view has naturally created strata of universities competing in a hierarchy. And that hierarchy correlates with academic quality. Here I don’t consider the issue that way.
Different categories of higher educational institutions play different roles in society.
For example, community colleges are more than minor, underfunded colleges that only accept students who couldn’t be accepted at state universities or technical colleges. I see community colleges as institutions that community members consciously choose to go to to get vocational training in a particular skill. That specific skill usually aligns with their interests, natural talents, and a general need in the community that they are living in.
In addition, I view liberal arts colleges not as some secondary options for high school students who couldn’t make it to Ivy Leagues. But as a necessary category of institutions that offer a different type of education focusing on arts and the humanities. At the same time, providing job and market needs for careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
Moreover, I don’t view state universities as lesser than Ivy Leagues. No, these are institutions where students learn STEM research and scholarship. State universities focus on educating people who have been interested in sciences and the humanities since high school. Hence state universities focus more on grades in admissions and factors that the state’s politics might influence. For example, if you are a high school graduate with grades in the top 6% of high schools in Texas, you are automatically admitted to the University of Texas at Austin. Other types of institutions, like technical four-year colleges, are heavily sponsored by the state. Attending technical four-year colleges aims to target a specific job role or description that requires more extended training than two years.
And finally, I don’t view Ivy Leagues as elite prestige-seeking, highly selective judgmental monsters. Ivy Leagues and any selective private college serve the need to select candidates that would one day lead, be influential, or affect policy. That does not imply in any way that any of the categories of universities mentioned before cannot produce influential people. Of course, they do. Also, those categories can be considered spectrums of values and different ethics institutions adopt to various degrees. I meant that any society would need a place specialized to educate future leaders. And the use of the word leaders here does not imply in any way that leading is better than following. It’s just that someone will have to lead, influence, and serve the people. Hence the profile of someone who might be a thought leader one day and influence the direction of the country and the world might look a bit different from someone who might have chosen to master the skill of welding or plumbing, for example. Both types of citizens are highly critical to the nation. In that sense, an Ivy League university equals a community college or a state school. Ivy League universities usually do not base their criteria for admission heavily on grades but instead on what they call a holistic view.
So what is this holistic view in college admissions? And what does it mean to students when choosing their future institutions?
Admissions in Ivy Leagues seek evidence that you came from a home that knew how to nurture you to be a leader who thinks in an integrated way. A nurturing home thinks about life as an integration of different aspects. Those various aspects are more than your mere grades at school. Various aspects include extracurricular activities, hobbies, community engagement, and creative outlets. A nurturing home will teach you how to deal with, for example, stress, anxiety, and bad days at a younger age starting from before adolescence. That type of home will also teach you how to think outside of yourself. In that type of home, you are encouraged to explore your interests freely. You are encouraged to take a cause that means something to you. You are taught how to choose friends and partners wisely. And you are taught how to convince people of your ideas using effective communication. The nurturing home knows that an integrated way of living is the only way to happiness and fulfillment. In that sense, a fully integrated and holistic application means that you are more than a student who gets ‘A’s and scores high on ‘SATs. Your application must show that you have a whole life and can think outside yourself from a younger age.
So what does thinking outside of yourself mean?
It means that you can and have the humility to serve others. It means that college is not a way for you to gain social status and pursue prestige and other different selfish and self-enhancing ideals. It means that even though you are young, you can conceptualize yourself as part of a community. And that you recognize that this world is highly interdependent. And that you are seeking a college education to make the world a better place. That is what it means to have an application that stands out in Ivy League admissions. You understand that grades and standardized tests are just numbers representing a key to a door. Yet there is much more behind the door.
So why is it important to understand how selection happens in Ivy Leagues?
It’s essential to learn the positive lessons from these highly selective universities and apply them wherever possible. Even if you are a high school student targeting state schools or liberal arts colleges, or community colleges, that might care less about assessing you as an integrated individual. The admissions goal of these highly selective colleges is a lesson that everyone needs to pursue an integrated life and be a leader in their community even if they are not a graduate of one of the selective institutions.
So how do you do that as a high school student if you still need to learn that?
Find out what moves you. Make your intention to go to university or college to fix a problem, to understand the world and make it a better place, and to do something you genuinely enjoy. Make your goal to know that the purpose of any education is to move you towards a more integrated and fulfilling life. And that starts by cultivating a sense of purpose by serving your community and thinking outside yourself.
