Pragmatism and Liberal Arts

I have been volunteering for Bowdoin’s Alumni Interview Network. The idea is that Bowdoin alumni, as volunteers, interview prospective students in their respective geographical regions to help the admissions office decide whether the interviewees are good fit for the College. In the Midwest, where Bowdoin is not as well known as in the east coast, the network is more a marketing than an interviewing effort.

I am amazed how put-together college applications are these days. College applications have become so professional that they start to resemble those to business or law schools. Many students know what to say, what classes to take, and how to demonstrate the qualities the Colleges are looking for. This rise in application quality has become especially sharp in recent years.

It would be naive to conclude that the application pool has drastically improved, that students these days are much better than our time. Rather, it is imperative for the admissions to figure out new good ways to see through the carefully packaged applications and find real diamonds in the sand.

I asked Bowdoin admissions office what I should say if a student asked for my opinions on how to maximize her chance of admissions. I got a long, vague liberal arts laundry list – inquisitive attitude towards learning, capabilities of leadership, to name a few. To me, this list really does not say much. What do all of these things mean?

Vague laundry list is fine as long as everyone is in the dark. Unfortunately, this is not true -- asymmetric information flow has interpreted the list for some but not for others. Some high schools’ counselors know exactly what the list translates to. They know and prepare their students who want to have a shot at elite colleges to take harder classes, pass more AP’s, involve in sports, study away overseas… On the other hand, some other schools, students and counselors alike, have no clue what this vague list means. Unfortunately, this division of knowledge is usually socioeconomic. As a result, we see more differences in application “quality” across applicants’ demographic characteristics, and the debate of affirmative action and diversity versus student quality unfortunately comes up again.

My idea is that liberal arts do not preclude pragmatism. Recognizing that college application has already become a marketing exercise, why don’t we just be more open and set up counseling services for interested prospective students? If a student comes forward to ask what he could do to get himself in, we should be able to take a look at his material and point out things he can improve. Every student, who is motivated enough to come to us, should have an equal chance at this game. We will also have an easier time spotting stars among the less privileged. If Bowdoin wants long-term sustainable prestige, I believe this pragmatic measure is one way of getting our name out there. This may also be one way of resolving the affirmative action versus quality debate – maybe such trade-off is actually smaller than it seems.

Another aspect of Bowdoin admissions that I am not so fond of is the binding early decisions. By binding, it means that if a student is accepted by early decisions, she must withdraw all of her other college applications. This is a difficult step for students who need financial aid -- she would have to be at Bowdoin’s mercy when it comes to money and has no other university offers to compare with, or bargain with, for that matter. On the upside, students who submitted their applications by Early Decisions deadline have a higher rate of acceptance. To me, this essentially says students who are financially constrained have a lower chance of getting into the College. Again, if the College is really keen on diversity and pushing our name out there, the binding part has to go. Early decisions should at best be a signal from students to show their interests. It should not be a New England elitism fence.