October 07, 2005
First Reaction To The UW's "Holistic" Admissions

John Rosenberg has it here.  Tim Eyman isn't the only one who suspects this change in policy may be motivated by a desire to get around I-200.   And I must confess that experience has led me to suspect anything dubbed "holistic".

Posted by Jim Miller at October 07, 2005 01:13 PM | Email This
Comments
1. "UW officials promise they will not consider race as part of the 'holistic' matrix".

Ri-i-i-i-i-ight......and they conduct clean and accurate elections in King County, too.

Posted by: Realist on October 7, 2005 01:22 PM
2. Really, citizens should be up in arms about this one.

It takes power away from high school students - who could before gain entry through academic acheivement they had control over - and gives it to a small number of admissions ideologs. Their principle objective will be to create their image of a campus utopia.

That's the sort of thing that socialist societies do.

Posted by: BananaLand (aka Iguana) on October 7, 2005 02:00 PM
3. Sad and sick. Entirely removes any reason for high school students to achieve. Instead of filling college openings with students who are academically ready, and financially able (or assisted), UW students will now be chosen on the basis of..?..if admissions clerks "feel good" about a student, who you know, applicants skirt length, who you can bribe...what will the criteria be?? Purposely vague to circumvent the will of taxpayers, who want their children to have a fair chance to attend college. Wish there was some way for citizens to rebel against this type of social engineering, but their funding is secure so what can we do?

Posted by: dl on October 7, 2005 02:59 PM
4. Actually, I think this is a good thing. I was initially DENIED entry into the UW based solely off the combo of my GPA and SAT scores, and while they were good, they weren't what I could have got had I not decided to take Chemistry, Physics, Trig, Calculus and AP English and History classes. If I just stuck to the absolute minimums in H.S., you know, regular business math (which is basic addition and multiplication), regular english, and taken the easy route that a lot of the kids took, I could have walked out with a 4.0, but instead I hovered around a 3.2.

I had to ask for an advanced review of my transcripts and present other criteria in order to try and convince the admissions directors otherwise. I was still denied, because their standards did not allow them to look at this additional information. Allowing a Holistic view would be a benefit to a number of students, including me, so they could review the entire scope of the candidate, not just numbers on a transcript and school sports.

Posted by: DustinJames on October 7, 2005 04:13 PM
5. Plastic futures anyone?
When will they start the "Holistic"
certifications of surgeons, airline pilots, and nuclear sub commanders?
If I tell them I'm an Algonquin or a Chippewah,
can I be a professor of American history?

Gofigure

Posted by: Amused by liberals on October 7, 2005 04:25 PM
6. Dustin, I know UW didn't adjust grade based on the relative difficulty of the courses taken (such as AP), but I doubt that you will benefit from this "holistic" crap unless (with race now removed) you are from a single family with low income or some other sad circumstances. At least what I read in the article sounds more like kids with social hardship can be used as tiebreaker.

Posted by: C. Oh on October 7, 2005 04:30 PM
7. "but I doubt that you will benefit from this "holistic" crap unless (with race now removed) you are from a single family with low income or some other sad circumstances."

Well, I'd disagree with that. My relative worth to the UW as 3.2 student with stellar classes would be HIGHER than the kid with the 4.0 who took Pottery for his elective instead of Advanced Physics.

I understand that they would looking at other items, such as income level, etc, but I'd still have a lot better chance than just looking at numbers to numbers.

Posted by: DustinJames on October 7, 2005 05:08 PM
8. Oh, and for anyone that wants to know, I'm a single white male who was denied college after I-200 passed. So it didn't help me regardless. This can only be a better thing for people in my position.

Posted by: DustinJames on October 7, 2005 05:09 PM
9. This sounds like the system President Bush used in choosing his nominee for Supreme Court.

Posted by: Republcan In Exile on October 7, 2005 05:28 PM
10. So Dustin, where did you end up matriculating?

Posted by: Realist on October 7, 2005 05:29 PM
11. So let's look at some democrat demagoguery denotations. Holistic admissions really means we will continue to get more Ron Sims clone untermenschen UW alumni. Gay really means sodomite, AIDS-ravaged, borderline personality disorder. Pro-choice really means pro-genocide of 45 million missing US citizens. Undocumented worker really means Mexican invader. Feminist really means one who is unfit for cohabitation. Mainstream media really means yellow stream media. Politically correct really means coprophagously correct. Those who control the denotations control the arguments, and your fate. Speak plainly and truthfully, and be free.

Posted by: The Pirate on October 7, 2005 06:26 PM
12. Oh great!

With only 30% of High school students expected to pass the WASL test (which is required for graduation...)...I suspect the UofW won't have many applicants to apply this *holistic* admissions to.

The students who can apply - will spend their senior year in high school trying to create some pitiful *hardship* on themselves and their families so they can *overcome* it and look worthy for admission!......sigh....

This is a sick and pathetic attempt at Socialism in America.

Posted by: Deborah on October 7, 2005 07:53 PM
13. Dustin,

Sorry - I took the same classes in high school that you did and graduated with a 3.94. There are way more students out there trying to get into the UW with a 3.5 GPA or higher with real class loads then you want to believe. Plus, with a 3.2 you probably wouldn't get into Western either - looks like you're Coug material.

Posted by: Bubbasaurus on October 7, 2005 09:14 PM
14. Western is THAT picky???? I can hardly believe it! Where can you get in with a 3.4 and having taken several honors classes along the way with a rigorous HS academic experience? I hear grade inflation is a problem, in the minds of college admissions folk...?

Posted by: Realist on October 8, 2005 02:16 AM
15. I think that compared to the kids that got in with 3.5's that were taking classes one leve above special education level, I would have had a decent shot.

I eventually got accepted at OSU, UO, WWU, WSU, and CWU, but didn't want to attend so far from home, so I skipped it all.

Posted by: DustinJames on October 8, 2005 11:41 AM
16. This is very near and dear to my heart having just put two kids through college and one more coming up.

It's a crapshoot anymore where your kid will be accepted. My niece had a 3.8 GPA coming out of a huge Spokane school. Her friends all had the same GPA or above. She was the only one of her group to be accepted to the UW. Her dad is alum of the UW law school. Go figure.

My youngest is a junior. She passed the WASL (all four parts) with flying colors. She will do well on her SAT and ACT. She is involved in leadership and community service. She has a 3.98 GPA and is taking AP courses. She wants to attend a Community College her first two years and transfer. I say fine with me. As long as she transfers and gets a four-year degree, I really don't care where she goes.

This WASL is a huge story now. We are working on a countywide article right now. It turns out the junior class at Colfax High School had a 48 percent pass rate. Meaning, if these kids were required to pass the WASL to graduate, 52 percent of my daughter's class would not graduate. Statewide it was 42 percent pass rate of this junior class. That came directly from the report we received with my daughter's results.
The letter to the parents, from the school district, accompanying her results was very touchy feely. An excerpt: "Meeting each of these rigorous standards is an accomplishment worthy of special recognition, as only 42 percent of all 10th grade students in the entire State of Washington met all three of the standards on the WASL."

Posted by: cc on October 8, 2005 01:16 PM
17. "Holisitc." Great. Just when America needs good engineers and scientists. No wonder most are foreign.

Foreign countries are teaching the basics and beating us at our own game. THEIR universities are not P.C.--they are most likely sweatshops of work and disclipline with little room for complacency. America would rather be the "feel good technical center" of the world.

Yea--some guy who "had a hard life" and stole hubcaps is infinitely more qualified to enter college and design a bridge than some quiet geek who missed the college homecoming to get that last cite for his kick-butt technical paper. "Holistic" is a self-revealing term. "Hole"--empty--squat--i.e.--devoid of rational thinking and facing uncomfortable truths in academia.

Posted by: Jimmie-howya-doin on October 8, 2005 10:34 PM
18. since WA permits illegal aliens to pay in-state college rates, the 'holistic' criteria make sense; the one-world dumb-down U.N. melting of nations; heck—anyone can now ace the entrance exam hurdles; just produce a non-US postal code;

Univ of W’s next year’s medical board exam will be “trust me”—that silly corporate diversity game wherein you fall backwards into your teammate’s arms;

Meanwhile, colleges in India, China and Korea are busily cranking out serious engineers that are studying American authors’ books (that we abandonded) and kicking our feel-good butts in every manufacturing field;

Posted by: Jimmie-howya-doin on October 10, 2005 09:53 PM
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