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The drive-up-window admissions culture just took the next step. I read an AP wire story in my local paper this morning that tells about Johnson & Wales University's new approach to dealing with its "applicants."

In this new scheme, a regional J&W recruiter shows up at a private school, for example, and meets with seniors who want to be Walers. Following a brief greeting, the first applicant hands the recruiter his transcript and test score report. After a contemplative pause, the recruiter turns to the applicant and says, "Congratulations, you're accepted." That simple. No messy recs, essays, interviews, waiting, or what have you.

Now, I see this gambit, which will no doubt catch on quickly in lower-tier colleges, eventually evolving to its logical extreme. I predict that one day, in the spirit of scholarly spam, high schools will have all their students' transcripts and test scores on a password-protected database. Colleges interested in recruiting from these high schools will then pay a password-access fee and then run a simple search program against the database. The program will pull forth the names of all students whom the inquiring college would like to have as incoming frosh. Then the college's admissions office will send out the appropriate fat envelopes or e-mails, if student electronic addresses are listed.

Thus, most students won't even have to bother filling out those nasty applications via keyboard or paper or, heaven forbid, paying those expensive application fees. Academia will come a callin' on its own, resulting in seniors across the nation gathering at the malt shop over December's holiday break, debating the relative merits of each one's several dozen acceptances. What could be simpler?

Hats off to Johnson & Wales, everyone. The future of college admissions is here.

By Dadster on Friday, February 01, 2002 - 08:08 am: Edit

This could create real chaos, George. One of the thing that lends a small element of sanity to the admissions process is that most kids only apply to a modest number of schools due to the application fee and the time needed to fill out the application. Imagine a kid being bombarded with a hundred acceptance letters, many from schools he never heard of!

Actually, I think there are some colleges that send out unsolicited acceptances now, based on info from College Board or other data sources. What you describe would add a whole new dimension, though.

By Dave Berry on Friday, February 01, 2002 - 10:49 am: Edit

>>Actually, I think there are some colleges that send out unsolicited acceptances now, based on info from College Board or other data sources.<<

Indeed, Dadster. When my son became a NM Semi-finalist, he got a group of full-ride acceptances from lower-tier schools, each asking only that he declare them his first choice on the NM form.

As a parent, I viewed this as egregiously shameless clamoring for high-quality enrollments. What else is new, huh?

By Dadster on Saturday, February 16, 2002 - 08:02 am: Edit

I guess we'll only see this approach from schools not too concerned about their acceptance and yield rate. Of course, they could probably do something tricky like offering "guaranteed admission if you click the 'apply and enroll' button below." 100% yield on these applicants...

By amd on Saturday, February 16, 2002 - 11:13 am: Edit

Dave Berry,

You still have to apply, send in a teacher rec etc. to those places that offer a full ride.

amd

By Dadster on Sunday, February 17, 2002 - 10:45 pm: Edit

That must be how they get around demolishing their admission percentages, amd, not that most of these schools are posting big selectivity numbers.

By Dave Berry on Monday, April 08, 2002 - 04:48 pm: Edit

Here's your chance to read about or comment on what others are thinking about instant college admissions. This was in today's Chronicle of Higher Education:

A NEW QUESTION IN COLLOQUY: Should colleges offer "instant" admissions programs that tell applicants immediately whether they have been accepted or is this another recruiting gimmick
that puts unnecessary pressure on high-school students to speed up an important decision?