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Rick Weissbourd and Lloyd Thacker are new partners trying to solve an entrenched problem: How can college admissions change to better encourage healthier student outcomes and to promote ethical engagement in their communities? Their “Turning the Tide” report is their best and latest stab at it.

Lots of people refer to the college admissions system as “broken.” Admissions offices at selective schools have turned more into “denial” offices with historic rates of selectivity…kids are applying to a million colleges and packing their high school schedules with a million AP courses…the extracurricular activities list is a reflection of things kids did to get into college more than it is a reflection of the lives they’re naturally inclined to live in spite of the process…the essays are boring or narcissistic…SAT scores create too much stress and don’t actually tell us anything meaningful about the student.

But what’s to be done?

Over a hundred colleges have signed on to endorse the recommendations laid out in the report titled, in full, “Turning the Tide: Inspiring Concern for Others and and the Common Good Through College Admissions.” Lloyd and Rick talk to me about the climate that gave rise to this report, why these recommendations are the right ones to create change, and the challenges inherent in these recommendations actually generating the social change they’re seeking.

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