3 ms·

Why would digitization reduce the number of university admins? I'm sure there were some clerks and secretaries whose jobs were automated, but the universities a

Why would digitization reduce the number of university admins? I'm sure there were some clerks and secretaries whose jobs were automated, but the universities also had to add huge IT departments. Plus, everything about a university is more complicated now then in was 50 years ago. In 1970, Harvard had 6000 applicants for 1200 freshman spots. Today it has 54,000 for 1900 spots. I'm sure the percentage that are international is vastly higher now. Probably a higher percentage want to visit campus. Financial aid is a lot more complicated. So just the admissions office is doing much more work.

AlexandrB 2y ago
> In 1970, Harvard had 6000 applicants for 1200 freshman spots. Today it has 54,000 for 1900 spots. Why not sort descending by SAT score and call it a day? Evaluating things like extracurriculars continues to be classist bullshit and is probably responsible for making acceptance criteria "complicated".
- fraggleysun 2y ago
  Because SAT scores, alone, tell you nothing about a candidate outside of their ability to completely that test.
- aoanevdus 2y ago
  By this metric I would have got into any school I wanted, but that’s just because I put an exceptional amount of effort into preparing for the test. My grades and extracurriculars weren’t top-notch. I did go to an elite-ish school and it was clear that many other students deserved to be there more than me (ie. were able to contribute to society more in various ways), and in my view that difference was legible in the admissions process.
- ungreased0675 2y ago
  Alternatively, why have they not expanded the number of available seats with the more than adequate resources available?
- ModernMech 2y ago
  Because when it comes to Harvard, out of 54,000 applications you'll have at least 1900 perfect SAT scores. Then how do you decide who to admit? You still need some process.

AlexandrB 2y ago

> In 1970, Harvard had 6000 applicants for 1200 freshman spots. Today it has 54,000 for 1900 spots. Why not sort descending by SAT score and call it a day? Evaluating things like extracurriculars continues to be classist bullshit and is probably responsible for making acceptance criteria "complicated".

fraggleysun 2y ago
Because SAT scores, alone, tell you nothing about a candidate outside of their ability to completely that test.
aoanevdus 2y ago
By this metric I would have got into any school I wanted, but that’s just because I put an exceptional amount of effort into preparing for the test. My grades and extracurriculars weren’t top-notch. I did go to an elite-ish school and it was clear that many other students deserved to be there more than me (ie. were able to contribute to society more in various ways), and in my view that difference was legible in the admissions process.
ungreased0675 2y ago
Alternatively, why have they not expanded the number of available seats with the more than adequate resources available?
ModernMech 2y ago
Because when it comes to Harvard, out of 54,000 applications you'll have at least 1900 perfect SAT scores. Then how do you decide who to admit? You still need some process.