College Admission Counseling and the Level Playing Field-Check the podcast!

Originally submitted by: jadelay

Our a2ethics.org series on working ethics, where we are talking to young people in their 20s and 30s about the ethics of their professions, vocations and their jobs, now includes a very intense discussion with Caroline Kerr, Assistant Director of College Counseling at Greenhills School. Greenhills is a private, nondenominational middle and high school in Ann Arbor. Almost all graduates go on to college. Kerr shared her thoughts on the college admissions counseling process and the ethical dilemmas she faces with Bart Bund, a2ethics.org Web Director. To hear all of Kerr's interview, please listen to our podcast. I want to comment on one of the issues Kerr ably discussed. From where I sit (at my desk), there is a broad equity and access problem the current college admissions system has created and fails to fully address, even as discussion about it has brought calls for extensive reform from many committed professionals inside and out of the field. The system is like competitive sport: it allows for several performance enhancers to remain off the banned list, even though they lead to unfairness and cynicism toward the process. So,for example, one performance enhancer in the sport of college admissions is the private counselor (or coach to follow through on the sport analogy). These counselors are hired as early as middle school to direct the admissions process for some kids. They "work" with the kids, their clients, to determine what activities they should go into, what academic interests they should have and what summer jobs they should apply for, all with the end of maximizing chances for getting into the right school. Clearly, there are many ethical private counselors out there who are legitimate and who listen to their clients in order to actually help them identify their talents and interests. The ethical problem to me, however, is that not all kids have the opportunity to use these professional services. Those who can't afford these services lose out, just as athletes in certain sports can't afford to avail themselves of expensive private coaching. Such tolerance of performance enhancers, such as the private counselor also creates a culture of strategic cheating and of gaming the college admissions system. If the system itself is regarded as corrupt and unfair, then those who have to deal with it will use whatever is within their own power and resources to even the playing field. So, for example, colleges and universities have to do checks on a whole range of application "strategies": from exaggerating accomplishments and misleading colleges about an intended major (if it is easier to get into the school in this major),to having others write essays and omitting legal tussles and infractions on the application. So, how can a college admissions counselor try to eliminate strategic cheating and application abuses? More importantly, how can college admissions counselors help to create a more level playing field that includes the best advice and best practices for matching kids to schools that will help them learn the best?