re: You be the admissions director

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Hey Zach,

I work in higher ed. Actually finishing my doctorate in higher ed admin. And while I have no desire to work in the circles that are the Ivy League institutions, I am very familiar with this need-based aid formula.

I am advising a friend of a friend. The mother barely made it through high school. The daughter is a high school senior with a 175 PSAT (no where close to National Merit honors), but she has a 4.0, will be valedictorian of her class, and made a 32 on the ACT.

The single mom works a couple of low-end jobs just to keep food on the table. She is the perfect candidate for this. She's been denied admission at two Ivies, and I personally paid for her application to Brown, hoping that the lower of the eight would give her a look.

She's a "rural val," which usually the Ivies east up, but she is white. Rhodes looks like a good option, but I'm afraid they aren't going to give her the full ride she needs. If she doesn't get a full ride, she's going to probably be at a junior college. Her mother can't afford a third $75 application fee, so any expense at a state school or otherwise is going to be tough.

But I'm beginning to think the poverty thing is just code word for "We need more Hispanics and African Americans." After the Supreme Court ruling at Michigan - I think folks are gun shy about coming out and saying it.

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