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This one is really a request to selective colleges and universities, from the father of a teenager in the midst of the search process.
Please retire the word “holistic” when describing your selection process.
I understand what you’re trying to say in using the word. The selection process isn’t about any one criterion, and it isn’t reducible to an algorithm. Whether that’s true or not, I don’t know, but I understand the argument. If a given class has too many musicians and not enough people from Montana, then the next class will (ideally) rebalance; from the perspective of any given applicant, that’s random, but from an institutional perspective, it makes sense.
But in that instance, “holistic” isn’t really the right word. “Holistic” implies that it’s about judging the whole person of each applicant. Selecting a class is more like casting a play—there are various roles, and you need the right mix of people to fill those roles. Someone perfect to play the leading man might not be well suited to play the wacky neighbor, and vice versa. That’s not about “merit” in any sense that people usually use the term.
The Girl put it to me quite clearly: “If they’re judging the whole person, and then they reject you, what does that mean?” Exactly. It’s a needlessly destructive message, especially aimed at students who are mostly in the very self-conscious years.
Honestly, I’d rather you refer to it as “casting.” You’re putting together a class and looking for a desired mix of backgrounds, talents and majors. That’s fine. Saying so, rather than using the language of sitting in judgment of the whole person, is both more accurate—are you really judging the “whole person” of 30,000 applicants each year? If so, that’s remarkable—and more respectful of the ones you don’t accept.
On behalf of an anxious teenager, thank you.
Matt
