The Reality of Balancing College Admissions

Universities have long-struggled to close the achievement gap between high and low-income applicants, a movement that gained considerable momentum this summer with the announcement of the UChicago Empower Initiative. Highlighted in the initiative are radical changes to the University of Chicago’s undergraduate application, including a test-optional policy.

With expensive test-prep out of reach for many applicants and an afterschool jobs to perform alongside schoolwork, the College Board’s “College-Bound Seniors, Total Group Profile Report” is an annual reminder of the disadvantages faced by low-income students. The University of Chicago’s efforts to open its doors to this group represents the largest such undertaking by an elite university.

“The UChicago Empower Initiative will increase access to UChicago by expanding access for first-generation and rural students,” the university said in a recent statement. “The application does not define you––you define the application.”

This expanded access includes the elimination of alumni interviews that were often unavailable to students in rural areas, as well as guaranteed free tuition for students whose families earn under $125,000 per year.

Despite efforts to combat these disadvantages, many students and admissions experts said they believe the UChicago Empower Initiative has strings attached. Beth Levine, co-founder of Launch College Counseling in Evanston, Illinois, is particularly skeptical of UChicago’s shift to test-optional.

“At first, when the whole University of Chicago thing came out, a whole lot of college counselors were really excited,” Levine said. “They thought, ‘Oh that’s great, you’re gonna get a lot of applicants who might not otherwise apply,’ but that doesn't end up being true.”

Beth Arey, Local College and Career Coordinator at Evanston Township High School, shared that sentiment. After examining student profiles at ETHS, she reported no significant growth in the number of applicants to the University of Chicago when compared to prior senior classes. Even further, within this class’ applicants, students with low test-scores were almost nonexistent.

“I tried to surmise whether or not they would have applied test-optional by looking at their potentially high-GPA-low-test-score to see if they weren't consistent,” Arey said of current ETHS seniors. “We only really had one student that I feel fell into that category.”

The numbers seem to agree with her findings. In a recent study co-authored by William C. Hiss, former dean of admissions and financial aid at Bates College, “just over half of the [test-optional] colleges...saw application growth surpassing that of the rival.” With such slim improvement, it is difficult to draw conclusions.

According to college students, one reason for the middling results is a lingering notion that high test-scores are necessary for college acceptance. Many claimed skepticism that University of Chicago admissions officers would read test-absent applications fairly.

Rafi Freund, an 18 year old senior at La Jolla High School in La Jolla, California and a UChicago applicant, said this issue is only compounded at an institution as rigorous as the University of Chicago.

“I don’t know anyone that didn’t send their scores,” said Freund, who himself included SAT scores in his application. “A lot of schools when you’re applying say a bunch of different things are technically optional, but aren’t really optional if you want to get in.”

In Hiss’ study of nearly one million student records, non-submitters were admitted at lower rates than those who elected to include their test-scores. Though these numbers are skewed due to high test-scorers submitting their results, it seems to have placed a stigma on non-submitters.

Grace Park, an 18 year old QuestBridge scholar and senior at O’Fallon Township High School in O’Fallon, Illinois, was also skeptical. Similar to Freund, Park, who “didn’t get the best test scores,” submitted her results to the University of Chicago out of fear of immediate rejection.

“I just thought if you didn't send them in, then you would have to make up for it somewhere else in your application,” Park said. “I wasn't one of those people that was so spectacular, even if I didn't send in my scores they’d be like, ‘Oh yeah, she’s someone we should look at.’”

For students whose financial limitations are a barrier to high test-scores, opportunities for extravagant extracurriculars are limited. For this reason, test-optional policies can seem less helpful for disadvantaged students who struggle to shine on paper, whether it be test-scores or other measures of excellence.

Beth Levine, college counselor, sees the move to test-optional as shifting the issues of standardized testing from one medium to another.

“Some schools that go test-optional actually put a greater burden on the applicant,” Levine said. “The applicant has to send them a whole bunch of other stuff instead, so they’re really not making it easier for the them.”

According to the University of Chicago’s admissions website, these optional supplemental materials include additional essays, published research papers, art portfolios, business plans and any other materials “that [the students] feel best highlight their skills, talents, and potential contributions.”

Among these is an optional two-minute video pitch, which was implemented in lieu of alumni interviews. This change seems to have been met with particular backlash.

“I definitely would have preferred the interview,” said Briana Gutierrez, a 17 year old senior at Miami High School in Miami, Nebraska. “I was seeing a bunch of people post their videos that they were submitting, and I was kind of just like, ‘Oh my gosh I can’t do that.’”

Among reasons listed for a preference toward alumni interviews, most cited the dialogue between interviewer and interviewee. A student’s ability to gauge the interviewer, ask questions of the school and convey authenticity were all aspects reportedly lost in the two-minute video pitches.

Skepticism aside, few seem to regard the UChicago Empower Initiative as a misstep. Rather, they remain skeptical of its promise while being optimistic of its intent.

The crux of the issue seems to boil down to the limited opportunities available to students in low-income areas. Without high test-scores, the burden of achievement falls to other areas of the application that advantage wealthy students. With money comes the possibility of tutoring, mentorship and ample time to pursue an impressive array of extracurriculars.

“I like to look at the application process as a scale.” said Arey, College Counselor at ETHS. “So if we were to put a low-score, or no score, then there’s other positive things that have to come out about that student, and GPA isn't enough because every school teaches differently.”

The solution, according to Arey, lies in transparency.

“As we know, all students don’t have the same opportunities at schools either, but that’s the kind of stuff that needs to get explained out in their application,” Arey said. “Students have to feel comfortable disclosing that. Or have the guidance know that they can disclose that.”