As the school year is coming to a close, many are ecstatic about the summer plans with friends and vacations to the beach. Although, for juniors, it’s the time most start thinking about what colleges to apply to. And to no surprise, what comes along with college applications and decisions? Ah yes, of course, stress.
With that being said, college applications may seem black and white but, they are definitely far from that. College admission offices have an array of different strategies when reviewing applications, and it is not always fair.
It may be hard to comprehend at first but, the majority, if not all, colleges are very selfish. If there is one thing colleges want the most, it is money. Money is the backbone of a number of prestigiously ranked universities around the nation and it is essentially what drives the institution. As a result of large amounts of money, these universities are able to hire better professors, coaches, build more exquisite research buildings and more.
There are three major ways that colleges acquire money. The first being tuition, second being donations (from rich alumni families), and the third being peripheral rights which include copyright and research grants. Although tuition is equally paid from students, rich legacy students have the upper hand. If having your last name match a research building without it being a coincidence, you would most likely have an advantage in the selection process.
And although most colleges are parched for more and more money, another priority is the reputation of the school.
When colleges obtain loads of money, they are able to build more buildings, hire more professors, build more dorms, and provide a laundry list of extra resources that make the college “better”. And as these colleges become ranked higher and higher, their reputations become hard to touch.
Here are a few ways that many colleges can improve their reputation.
- A higher average GPA of incoming freshmen
- High average SAT and ACT scores
- Small class sizes
- Quality of teachers, faculty, and resources
Although having a higher GPA and test scores may not be directly connected to money, one can make the argument that a student could have paid big bucks for test tutoring. As for class sizes and quality of institution, money is very much directly related.
More money equals more buildings, which means more than enough space for students, resulting in smaller class sizes.
More money equals better pay for staff, faculty, and resources, resulting in a much more motivated team of professors whose incentive is, of course, their annual salary.
Colleges want the best of the best, no doubt about it. But because of their business-like approach during the selection process, admission offices are beginning to treat college as a money maker as opposed to an educational institute in which they drive young adults to achieve anything they want.
So, after breaking it down, it is not hard to see that colleges want profits and possess business-like traits surrounding money.
For more information on the college selection process, check out this video on 5 Secrets Colleges DON’T Want You To Know About.
