The College Admissions Episode

The pandemic has thrown everything off course, creating these "natural experiments" that have shifted every part of our lives and made us rethink the validity of certain procedures we have taken for granted for years. The college admissions process is no exception. Parents and their children are now questioning the importance of getting into a "highly rejective school", a term coined by our guest featured in this episode. As more schools have made the decision to become test-optional, it has reinvigorated the debate about the relevance of exams such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and the one offered by American College Testing (ACT). We also discuss issues of equity and how we can make the process fairer for teens with the potential to do well and thrive in these academic environments but may not be born with the same advantages and privileges that many of their peers have to allow them to compete in a level playing field. 

We sat down with test prep expert and college consultant, Akil Bello - Senior Director of Advocacy and Advancement of Fair Test, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping institutions of higher learning and the public understand the implications of standardized exams and their influence on our society. He is sought after by many media outlets such as Forbes magazine and was featured in the Netflix documentary, Operation Varsity Blues. There are no easy answers, but Akill helps us put everything in perspective. 

To find out more about Akil and his work, follow him on Twitter: @akilbello. To support the work at Fair Test, visit their Website: 

www.fairtest.org 

They also provide a list of test-optional schools: 

www.fairtest.org/university/optional

As always, please share this episode with others if you found it informative and helpful.