The failings of college admissions
Re “Best, brightest -- not admitted,” Opinion, April 9
Meghan Daum is spot on with her piece about the absurd credence we give to college rankings.The wizardry of Oz that goes on at the admissions offices of these anointed schools is clearly meant to be beyond the comprehension of the folks in front of the curtain.
College admission is not a precise science but really an art, we’re told, and who can explain art? So does the spurned one now make fun of the club to which he or she was denied entry, as Daum finally suggests? I don’t think so. Better to shrug it off and move on. And perhaps move on with a bit of a smile. After all, didn’t these temples of higher learning also once admit with no doubt equally scrupulous care and artistry such best and brightest as George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and former Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld?
JOHN M. DE JONG
Long Beach
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