The college admissions process is biased and rigged. It favors wealthier students and leaves everyone else on the outside wondering how to get in. The lack of clarity on the admissions process, along with the conflicting advice about what colleges are looking for, leaves students lost and struggling to figure out the already overwhelming process. 

Some people have an advantage in this process, with access to resources that others can not afford. As the process gets more and more competitive, the costs of standing out get higher. Wealthy students can pay for an SAT tutor, a college counselor, someone to help with their essays, go to a fancy private school, and apply to as many schools as they want. 

However, some people can’t afford to pay their way through the process and are left behind and put at a disadvantage. Similar to many other situations, students at private schools have an unfair advantage over students at public schools in college admissions. Private schools have more funding and resources, there are more counselors to help guide students, more alumni connections, and some colleges see their classes as more rigorous. 

The emphasis that colleges place on extracurriculars and being a “well-rounded student” deepens the divide. For wealthy students with supportive families, they can fill their free time to the brim with impressive extracurriculars, and use family connections to get access to incredible opportunities. For other students with family obligations, longer commutes, and no family connections, building these impressive resumes filled with activities is much harder. 

The inequities don’t end when students submit their applications. Certain students are given a legacy advantage, others are less likely to get in now after the fall of Affirmative Action. College admissions have become 50% about the student and 50% luck. Things like the person who reads your application, the other applicants, if you applied Early Decision, and more have become more significant than the actual content of your application. By applying Early Decision, wealthy students get another benefit that others don’t get, the ability to commit to attending a school no matter how much financial aid they are offered.

While we shouldn’t discount the hard work of those who do get in where they want to go, it is important to remember that college admissions don’t define a student’s worth. Despite the randomness of college applications, getting into top schools is incredibly impressive, and the unfairness of college admissions only makes it more so. At the same time, getting rejected from your dream school doesn’t discount all your hard work or mean that you weren’t smart enough, sometimes it just comes down to the luck of the draw and the resources you had available.