Henry Broaddus' Blog

A great essay by itself does not get anyone into college any more than a sharp sword by itself flashes across the movie screen to do all the vengeful smiting.

Last fall I had the honor of being the guest speaker at the academic recognition ceremony for a public high school in northern Virginia. The guidance counselor who extended the invitation was gracious enough (or foolish enough) to give me free reign in terms of topic and message, and this is what I said.

Is dessert a fitting symbol for a committee that tries to dole out just deserts? Not exactly.

Let us put aside for a moment the intriguing question of whether the information about the favorability of these 95 words is priced correctly at $150 if in fact it is "invaluable." Of greater interest to me is whether anyone working in college admission actually has interest in how a group of prospective students, who may or may not reflect the demographic to which an institution aspires to appeal, rated a set of terms devoid of any institutional context whatsoever.

Does what's done at the high school level differ so dramatically from what's done at the collegiate level—and later, at the rest-of-your-life level when everything alumni do affects William & Mary's reputation—that it's not worth using to screen for entrance?

Despite having a few years of age on it, this piece still reflects my basic philosophy of how our selection process works. Despite having a few more years of age on me, I'm still honored and excited to be part of that process.