Some Links: New Prompts, College Rankings, and a Test-Optional Resource

You may find me repeating a mantra as of late:

***There's no such thing as a Top-10 (or 20 or 30 ...) college.***

I'll go into my own reasoning for that more later. For now, let's start with this article.

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Affirmative action as law may be dead, but as practice, might have gained more life than it's had in some time.

"The University of Massachusetts at Amherst introduced a new supplemental essay that begins, “At UMass Amherst, no two students are alike.”

The prompt goes on to discuss the ways “our communities and groups often define us and shape our individual worlds,” noting that “community” covers a wide range of characteristics—including “race/ethnicity.” Then it asks students to “Please choose one of your communities or groups and describe its significance. Explain how, as a product of this community or group, you would enrich our campus.”"

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Resource: Try Fairtest to find Test-optional Colleges.

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Visiting Alma Mater last spring. Not sure why I’m looking so serious, nor why I was wearing that old, corded headset, but it was a lovely evening, brimming with nostalgia for days sitting on those steps a million years ago.