YCBK 179: Social class and college admissions

In this episode you will hear:   (20:10) In this week’s “In the news segment”, an article from Arvind Ashok of the New York Times. The article is entitled, “The Persistent Grip of Social Class on College Admissions” ” The article looks at the research that was based on studying 60,000 essays from authors affiliated with the Student Narrative Lab at Stanford shows that essay content. The research shows essays are more highly correlated with household income than SAT scores are. We talk about the other ways social class impacts admissions. We discuss whether the SAT/ACT is unfairly taking criticism when it comes to the frequent criticisms these tests receive about social class.   https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/26/upshot/college-admissions-essay-sat.html   (45:10) This week’s question is from Rob in Texas. Rob has a daughter who is very talented at drawing but she doesn’t particularly enjoy drawing. He wants to know whether her talent should outweigh her interests; should she participate in drawing to showcase her talents and will that help her in the college admissions process.   (01:02:24) This week’s interview is the VP of Enrollment at Babson college, Courtney Minden. We do a 40-minute-deep dive on Babson College. The interview will also serve as our College Spotlight for Babson College. Courtney addresses the following topics: Courtney gives her 3-5-minute elevator speech of who Babson College is? Courtney tells us what a deliberate dreamer is? Courtney talks about the BOW consortium, what is this? Courtney tells us what the Weissman Foundry is Courtney talks about how Babson utilizes Boston in their education Courtney explains What a MCFE is? Courtney talks about why their entrepreneurship is consistently seen as the top program for entrepreneurship program in the country Courtney talks about how every student starts a business at Babson but she really stresses entrepreneurial leadership Courtney shares why students pick Babson over other business schools and why Babson loses out on great kids Courtney shares what Babson needs to do improve Courtney shares who some of Babson’s famous alumni are Courtney tells us what she looks for in the admissions process to identify a good potential Babson student Of course, we close with me putting Courtney on the hotseat   College Spotlight: Babson College   (01:25:05) Recommended resource: The Facebook private group Grown and Flown. The group has almost 200,000 members. It is private but most people who apply for membership will be approved.   Don't forget to send your questions related to any and every facet of the college process to: . Music is by SENA HERO/Victor-Alan Weeks. If you enjoy our podcast, would you please do us a favor and share our podcast both verbally and on social media? We would be most grateful! EXCITING OPPORTUNITY We are excited to announce that Your College-Bound Kid and School Match 4U are putting together panels of current undergraduates, so parents, students and college counselors can ask the students about their college experiences. This is an excellent way to get beyond the marketing from the colleges and to learn what the student experience is really like. This survey will help us to know which colleges you are interested in meeting students from; it will also let us know what are the best days for us to host these panels.  https://tinyurl.com/preferences4studentpanels