Memo to College Applicants: You’re Just a Number
The admissions and financial aid offices of Ursinus College in Collegeville, PA gave access for a Washington Post reporter to write a revealing look at the college admissions process nowadays. Using a process called “enrollment management,” Ursinus, and similar colleges and universities across the country, are raising their published prices in order to “manage” who they let in and how much they should pay. Ursinus breaks down each applicant using standardized formulas based on high school grades, SAT or ACT scores, the family’s income, and a few soft variables like whether the student has visited the college or met with a recruiter. Then, after labeling a student a one (for students with a high test score and high school rank), two, or three, Ursinus chooses whether to offer the student admission and, if so, how much they should get in financial aid. The article makes it clear that Ursinus is trending away from a need-based financial aid process in favor of “merit.” In getting to watch the proces
