Editor’s note: PAW invited readers to share their thoughts on the national college-admissions scandal.
Princeton should not be breathing a sigh relief in the admissions scam. Prosecutors are still investigating a long list of suspects. Further miscreants and colleges in this criminal behavior may surface. This is a tip of the iceberg.
No revisions by parents or consultants must be tolerated. The application should ask if paid consultants were retained. A too-perfect essay raises red flags. Overseas summer trips funded by the well-off to burnish the applicant should be disregarded. The application should eliminate the names of Princeton alumni relatives. As an ASC interviewer for five decades, I saw several applicants admitted who were borderline academically and elsewhere. I believed the influence of donations, buildings, et al., by Princeton alumni parents/relatives was the deciding factor.
The practice of allowing coaches to submit names of sought-for athletes must be given a wary eye, or eliminated. This is an amateur sports college, not for the future pro ranks. Does Princeton really know if any coaches or alumni have accepted disguised perks, not money, that may be bribes for athlete applicants? Yes, the University looks at arts performance, but do the Triangle Club, the choir, The Daily Princetonian, or academic professors submit names for consideration?
Ethnic diversity notwithstanding, admissions is unbalanced and unfair and giving untoward advantage to a favored few. I am waiting for the other shoe to drop at Princeton. Until then, I am holding Annual Giving in abeyance.