Rutgers is part of a coalition of elite universities....

[Scarlet Jerry]

...trying to redefine college admissions. I'm not sure it's a good idea to begin gathering admissions materials in 9th grade, but we clearly have to be part of this group, so I understand why Rutgers is a member. The company is impressive:

New York Times article

-Scarlet Jerry

 

[BigRnj]

Elite... UConn?

 

[BigBlockR]

So now the job interview begins in 9th
grade?

Combine this with the "need" to major in something "marketable" from a "top" school... Let's just punt and realize it's no longer about educating young minds.

Will the coalition cover a free smith & wesson for a kid who blows their trig final junior year?

 

[saran]

Colleges are being run by weird people with weird ideas. This is just another one. Very few US colleges are really "elite" anymore. The dumbest people today have degrees

 

[mal359]

At this point? Drop the pretenses and shut down everything that isn't an athletics department or an employment office.

 

[Upstream]

I can't comment on the specifics of the process this group will implement, since they are still developing the process.

But the goal seems reasonable, to provide tools for students to think about college earlier and to provide tools for colleges to look at students holistically. Especially with the common application eliminating nuanced questions, colleges don't have much to go on in admission decisions beyond grades and test scores.

I don't see a problem with creating a platform for kids to look at colleges as early as 9th grade. When I was in 8th grade, 40 years ago, kids had to start thinking about career (and Vo-Tech options) or their college prep path. When I got to Hopkins, surrounded by elite kids, all of them had been planning for college throughout high school.

But if talented kids, because of their school or environment, don't have the encouragement or tools to think about college as early as we did, waiting until their junior year is too late for them to compete against those that have a 2 or 3 year planning head start on them. It gives these other kids a way to compete, and help colleges attract elite kids who don't have hyperdemanding moms.

 

[GoodOl'Rutgers]

Socialism? Communism? How do we know it is talent-based when they want to eliminate testing on every level?

 

[ru8081]

It is all money. Universities don't want to pay people to read and analyze essays. They don't want to pay people to sit with H.S. students on an interview. It is a business.

 

[MidwestKnights]

Elite... UConn?

Yes UCONN. In case you haven't noticed New Jersey has been standing still for the last 25 years while other northeastern states are aggressively building up their public universities.

25 years ago Maryland was a party school. Now it's on par with, and arguably a better school than Rutgers.

In CT the state has made a major investment in hiring faculty at UCONN. One of the few states to make an aggressive commitment to hiring full-time faculty.

 

[mdk01]

1. 140 eligible colleges and universities means good but not elite.

2. I'm all for counselling 9th graders to raise awareness and put college in their minds, but starting a "portfolio" is way too early.

3. One risk I see is that this will be skewed in favor of the high income/great HS applicants and a select group of low income kids in those schools that get a lot of aid and coaching. I think this will put kids in the middle at a disadvantage.

4. The other risk is that the sociology department will effectively run admissions.

5. One note. Someone above made a comment about UConn. The article also cites Miami of Ohio. For those who are unaware, Miami has better undergrad academics than Ohio State. It's really a top notch school. What it doesn't have is prestigious graduate programs a school like Rutgers has.