via Flickr
College Board, the organization responsible for administering the SAT, has it made.
Their tests are internationally recognized as the primary proving ground for young students eager to earn a spot in a top school’s freshman class. The problem is, those schools don’t actually want them…
Rather than help students connect with colleges that they would be most LIKELY to get into and afford, College Board encourages universities to buy customized lists with thousands of scorers’ contact information.
What do they do with what should be private data?
The schools claim the lists help diversify their recruitment efforts, but their intentions are far more nefarious.
They SPECIFICALLY target students to apply who have NO competitive shot at getting in, getting the hopes high of students who the schools have EVERY intention of rejecting.
The result?
Money is wasted on fees, a child’s spirit is crushed, and the schools are THRILLED as their rejection rates triple and their reputations grow as exclusive, hard-to-get-in institutions!
Guess who’s especially vulnerable to this cold treatment?
Black students are statistically at a disadvantage, lacking the money and resources that help more affluent students score higher, despite being no smarter.
This is why measures like affirmative action exist and remain necessary: to give Black students a chance to succeed in a rigged system that reinforces a pay-to-play model in higher education.