The (In) Significance of Facetime

With decisions coming back this week from the Ivies, tensions are running high, but not among whom we’d expect. Alums are feeling the stresses too. Turns out those interviews we worried over for days beforehand-- painstakingly picking out “appropriate” outfits, wondering, “How will I know it’s them?” at the crowded Starbucks-- meant as much to us as it did the kindly latte-laden alumni. Why?

Surprisingly, they're not too pleased with our shiny new admissions rate. Although they're not the ones applying, the dedicated men and women who donate loads of time and money aren’t seeing the students they vouch for get in. As Penn grad Andrew Ross said in this Bloomberg piece, "Is it worth it to interview if I’m not going to have any influence on the students getting in?  If it doesn’t mean much, then they should find a better way to use our time." Several alums are saying that they have stopped interviewing for their alma maters and even stopped donating.

Do you think more kids should be let in to please their alumni interviewers?