University Task Force Issues Admissions Recommendations

The University’s Presidential Task Force on Undergraduate Admissions released a set of recommendations to improve Cornell’s admissions process, including increased efforts to identify prospective students from underserved communities and to utilize machine learning algorithms in a limited capacity.

PINERO | The Real College Admissions Scandal

We call education an “investment,” which typically refers to money spent with the eventual expectation of a return. My rough calculation of the number of students and the average cost of tuition indicates that over $400 billion is “invested” in college every year. For scale, with that money you could own JPMorgan Chase, Facebook or Johnson & Johnson and still have the equivalent of Alaska’s GDP to spare. This week, dozens of parents and administrators were arrested on fraud charges in relation to a sprawling scheme for admission to some of the nation’s top colleges. These parents “invested” six- and seven-figures to cheat on standardized tests and manipulate the athletic admissions process to ensure their children’s acceptance.