Admissions & Algorithms: navigating a new terrain 

The college admissions landscape has eroded into one that is hyper-competitive, prestige-focused, and lacking intent and authenticity. We need more humanity in this process, as well as to hold young people accountable for their actions instead of coddle or infantilize them. Those ideas may seem contradictory, but that is how the original erosion began: with the absence of critical thought and the pure indulgence of a dynamically transforming teenage psyche. Now, more than ever, we need to empower young minds through the therapeutic benefits of intellectual curiosity, teamwork, leadership, reading, and other non-digital activities or reliances. We need to help heal young brains, now.