The signalling is in you being accepted to Harvard. Recall the Ivy Leagues have in place a system that emphasises “holistic admission” instead of the de facto more meritocratic competence indication system of say Caltech. An important part of getting in is having the right extracurricular activities on your resume and often the right activities are the activities that people doing the judging engaged in when young.
Especially avoid anything indicating you might be the wrong kind of white person, when it comes to admission they are discriminated against even more than Asians:
[W]hile most extracurricular activities increase your odds of admission to an elite school, holding a leadership role or winning awards in organizations like high school R.O.T.C., 4-H clubs and Future Farmers of America actually works against your chances.
Right. A good book on this is Daniel Golden’s The Price of Admission. Children of alumni, donors, celebrities, and rich people in general, are favored, as are sports stars. These policies are mostly official but the degree to which they will affect one’s chances is not publicly declared.
On the other hand, Asians and the wrong kind of white person are disfavored.
So, the admissions process has some heavy-duty signaling behind it, in contrast to the declared goals. Presumably the admissions policies are intended to let the future alumni signal that they are not just smart but also famous, athletic, open-minded, generous, and rich.
Also on the topic of signaling and top schools: Harvard students are fond of bragging about how little they study, signaling that they are so smart they don’t need to.
The signalling is in you being accepted to Harvard. Recall the Ivy Leagues have in place a system that emphasises “holistic admission” instead of the de facto more meritocratic competence indication system of say Caltech. An important part of getting in is having the right extracurricular activities on your resume and often the right activities are the activities that people doing the judging engaged in when young.
Especially avoid anything indicating you might be the wrong kind of white person, when it comes to admission they are discriminated against even more than Asians:
Right. A good book on this is Daniel Golden’s The Price of Admission. Children of alumni, donors, celebrities, and rich people in general, are favored, as are sports stars. These policies are mostly official but the degree to which they will affect one’s chances is not publicly declared.
On the other hand, Asians and the wrong kind of white person are disfavored.
So, the admissions process has some heavy-duty signaling behind it, in contrast to the declared goals. Presumably the admissions policies are intended to let the future alumni signal that they are not just smart but also famous, athletic, open-minded, generous, and rich.
Also on the topic of signaling and top schools: Harvard students are fond of bragging about how little they study, signaling that they are so smart they don’t need to.