The New York Times recently published a piece that noted that the college admissions process is hardly equitable and that there are a number of things that can be done in order to help students from disadvantaged backgrounds better succeed at getting into and completing college. The problem is real and significant and should trouble all of us who believe in the fundamental American dream and social contract that gives equal opportunity to all. The Times just published my letter (at least in their digital edition) in which I make a small suggestion that primarily impacts selective colleges. It is printed below.
To the Editor:
I have another suggestion that is relatively easy to put in place and that could quickly produce dramatic results in leveling the college playing field: Colleges, particularly selective ones, should aim to have their student populations mirror the relative percentages of private and public high school students.
In the Yale class of 2021, for example, among those who attended high school in the United States, 36.5 percent came from private schools; only 10 percent of all American high school students go to such schools. If one distinguishes between parochial and nonparochial schools, the numbers are even starker: Only 19 percent of the private school students admitted came from private religious schools, while such schools account for about 87 percent of all American private school students.
Private high schools, often with low financial aid and diversity, already begin to weed for economic, social and racial characteristics. That’s a potent pre-step in the elitist college pipeline.
MICHAEL SATLOW, PROVIDENCE, R.I.
The writer is a professor of religious studies at Brown University.