Ben Rous,
Assistant Head of School
Director of Upper School
(Former Director of College Counseling)
HRA: In literature, madness often comes with freedom. It’s a freedom from societal expectation that leads to a gaining of clarity. Just ask King Lear. Or his Fool. Or their friend Edgar. All three use madness as a kind of cocoon that allows them the space to speak or find truth.
In his book, The Hypochondriacs: Nine Tormented Lives, author Brian Dillon makes the case that Charlotte Bronte and Florence Nightingale similarly use hypochondria to give themselves space to create—Bronte in her literary works and Nightingale in her desire to reform the health care of British servicemen.
Harvard Business School professor David Moss riffs on this same theme in his book, Democracy: A Case Study. Moss says that it’s good to be a hypochondriac in the sense that it impels a person to address and seek a cure to a problem— in this case, the health of our democracy. It is beyond the scope of this column to comment on whether or not our democracy is currently weakened or robust, but Moss’ (and Dillon’s) claims about the benefits of hypochondria—that it offers a space from which to ponder and address an ill— are applicable to college.
In a previous post, I explored the perils of “box checking” in high school and advocated for a more thoughtful student engagement of high school and life. Jeffrey Selingo’s There is Life After College does as well. In it, he argues that the conventional wisdom is that going to the right college is the ticket for career success. And that this conventional wisdom is a fiction.
Instead, he claims that colleges are currently failing in their mission (or the least, their mission as it’s perceived by the paying customers) to prepare students for career success by remaining stuck in a model that is not sensitive to the dynamic nature of the 21st century job market, a job market that wants its prospective employees to be well-versed in the kind of failure, ambiguity, and real-world critical thinking that a successful workplace demands and fosters.
Selingo argues that there is no opportunity for this kind of learning in college as it’s currently configured. Rather, professors teach their subjects in a rigidly prescribed fashion that offers little chance to experience failure (because today’s well-loved and lauded students—and their paying parents—are risk-averse), ambiguity (because the assignments have very specific parameters), or critical thinking (research tends to be a reiterative exercise in the choreographing of existing ideas rather than generating original ones). According to him, excelling at any job in the working world is about “doing things you weren’t asked to do.” This is, of course, the antithesis of the current college model.
So Selingo advocates college-age students getting these experiences and developing these skills outside the traditional university classroom channels—in trade schools, community colleges, gap years, apprenticeship program, research opportunities, and internships. These are the best ways for young people to learn and develop the attributes that will make them competitive job applicants in the emerging economy: maturity, independence, polish, confidence, curiosity, grit, teamwork, and ownership. Moreover, they will need to be able to connect the dots on their resumes, to be able to articulate how the experiences they’ve had are applicable to the jobs they seek—jobs that may not even exist yet.
Selingo’s “hypochondria”, his focus on the ills of college, offers students and parents an opportunity to address these ills by re-imagining the path immediately after high school.
I would add that it also offers a way to re-imagine the path in high school.
I’d love to hear your thoughts!
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Ben Rous,
Assistant Head of School
Director of Upper School
(Former Director of College Counseling)
HRA: The COVID 19 pandemic has, among many other things, disrupted our ability to choose the activities we do. This narrowing of choice had led many of us to invest more emotion in mundane tasks. Moreover, this investment frees us to enjoy these tasks on a deeper level—a trip to the grocery store becomes an outing; folding laundry gives us time to blissfully zone out or reflect; mowing the lawn is similarly inspirational. The point is, a narrowing of options offers the opportunity to appreciate and reap the rewards of meaningful choice-making.
Such are the claims of Sheena Iyengar, a professor at the Columbia University Business School and author of the book The Art of Choosing. Her thesis in the book is that having more options doesn’t always lead to better or happier decisions. To grasp her point, think of all those channels you have available to you in your cable package—does it make you happy to have such a range or is it frustrating? Or think of Pelican’s SnoBalls; have you ever found yourself paralyzed by the myriad flavors available?
Professor Iyengar’s research indicates that attitudes to choice vary by culture, but a recurring theme in her experiments is that satisfaction with one’s choice is diminished when that choice was made among many options, rather than a thoughtfully vetted few. As Professor Iyengar notes, “The power of choice lies not in being reactive to what’s in front of us, it’s being able to be proactive in creating those choices that enable you to go from who you are today to whom you want to be tomorrow.”
And that sentiment perfectly encapsulates what the college search and application process can—and should—be.
There are over 2000 four-year college options in the United States. It’s absurd to ask a seventeen-year-old to “pick one”. What criteria would she use? The football team is great! My mom went there! My friends love it!
Seems like a thin basis to make a decision, but it happens all the time. It’s a basic human tendency when faced with overwhelming choices to gravitate to the known or familiar.
But what is more familiar to us than ourselves? I would suggest that this familiarity makes the best launch pad for a college search. A seventeen-year-old (or sixteen, or eighteen) likely knows what she likes (Teacher lectures or class discussion? Living in a city or the country? Being in a warm climate or a cold one?), and the answers to these questions can dramatically narrow the focus of a search.
Once these foundational elements are established, then our seventeen-year-old (or sixteen, or eighteen) can start applying other metrics to the search (cost, relative strength of a particular academic program, a robust Greek system). The resulting realization might be thus: I want a mid-to-larger sized college, in or near a city in the Midwest, and with a string computer science program and the list of colleges might include Case Western University, the University of Chicago, DePaul, Miami University in Ohio, and the University of Tulsa.
It makes the choice much more manageable, right?
And thoughtful!
I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Empowers team and does not micromanage
Creates an inclusive team environment, showing concern for success and well-being
Is productive and results-oriented
Is a good communicator — listens and shares information
Supports career development and discusses performance
Has a clear vision/strategy for the team
Has key technical skills to help advise the team
Collaborates across Google
Is a strong decision makerIn a 2017 Washington Post article, author and English Professor Cathy Davidson uses these Project Oxygen data as a point of departure in her argument for an appreciation of the humanities, as they train students in many of these skills; and that got me thinking about oxygen, and the air that we breathe.Specifically, do we live—as Davidson suggests we do— in an atmosphere that prioritizes the STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) over the humanities? It would seem that we do. Nationally, studies tell us that the humanities in universities are suffering a sharp decline in popularity among students and that the most popular majors are more and more to be found among the STEM fields. This is unsurprising, given the widespread belief that it is only through majoring and working in the STEM fields that people will realize a positive “Return on Investment” (ROI) from their college years; in other words, there is in the national ether an implied (indeed, often stated!) belief that the only way to make money (and thus get your money’s worth from college) is by majoring and working in the STEM fields. The corollary is equally powerful: that if a student majors in the humanities; he is destined to be a barista at the local Starbuck’s.Davidson’s thesis is that Google itself—arguably the quintessential example of our culture’s infatuation with STEM—finds value in the “soft skills” of communication, empathy, and expression, and that these skills are at the core of a humanities-based education; therefore, our culture would do well not to leave behind our appreciation of the humanities in our rush to define and embrace “21st century learning”.Never mind that Ms. Davidson is a humanities professor and, (of course!) would advance this sort of position; let’s instead ask: Is she correct? Do the humanities take a cultural backseat to the STEM fields?? How would we know? How could we even measure such a claim?
The answers can perhaps be found on the ground, or in the trenches (pick your own favorite, battlefield metaphor—more on this in a couple of paragraphs). Do students choose to do their physics homework over their English homework? Do parents give the impression—even unwittingly— that calculus is more important than history? Are students discontinuing their foreign language study in favor of “doubling up” in math or science? If the answers to any of these questions is “yes, this seems to be happening more and more” (and, incidentally, it is happening more and more—both nationally at high schools and universities—and at Hampton Roads Academy), then we should ask ourselves at what cost?
What are the stakes? Are we, to paraphrase Enjolras from Les Miserables, simply fighting for the right to a night at the opera? Or is there something more to be had from a reinvigorated cultural appreciation of, and engagement with, the humanities?
In fact, why does the STEM/Humanities struggle claimed by Davidson and so many others have to be cast as a battle, an “either/or” issue at all? Why are we so attracted to binary oppositions? Isn’t there room for a cultural/educational appreciation for all the subject areas? If there were, what would our high schools look like? Our colleges? Our lives?
I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Supporting Every Student
At Hampton Roads Academy in Newport News, VA, the school embraces the uniqueness of every student and is dedicated to fostering a nurturing environment that caters to individual needs. With a focus on personalized attention, HRA ensures students receive the academic guidance, emotional support, and extracurricular opportunities needed to thrive. This approach is rooted in a culture of respect and care, which shapes every interaction and initiative.
HRA is also committed to making its high-quality education accessible to all families. Through tailored tuition assistance programs, the school strives to remove financial barriers, ensuring students can access the education they deserve. HRA takes pride in offering a wide range of resources and support to meet the needs of its diverse community with compassion and dedication.
A Commitment to Excellence
At HRA, education goes beyond the classroom. We are committed to nurturing the whole student through a rigorous and comprehensive academic program. Our curriculum emphasizes honor, integrity, and personal growth, ensuring that each student’s unique strengths are recognized within a supportive community.
With small class sizes and personalized attention, our dedicated faculty provides tailored support to help every student succeed. HRA fosters a healthy, encouraging environment where students thrive physically, emotionally, and academically. This holistic approach empowers students to explore a range of academic and extracurricular activities—from the playing fields to the stage.
Why Choose HRA?
As the Peninsula’s only independent school serving Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12, Hampton Roads Academy offers a distinctive educational experience. Accredited by the Virginia Association of Independent Schools and a member of the National Association of Independent Schools, HRA upholds the highest standards of academic excellence.
Beyond the classroom, HRA provides a wide range of opportunities to enrich students’ development. Our athletic programs promote teamwork, physical fitness, and sportsmanship, while the robust Arts program allows students to explore their creativity in both visual and performing arts. Additionally, the REACH (Real-world Experience and Academic Choices) Initiative connects academic learning to real-world applications, fostering personal growth, community service, and a commitment to values that unite us all.
Schedule Your Tour of HRA in Newport News, VA, Today!
At Hampton Roads Academy, students receive an exceptional education focused on character development and future success. HRA cultivates critical thinking, effective communication, teamwork, and a spirit of discovery, shaping innovative and empathetic leaders for an evolving world. Serving families in Newport News, Poquoson, Hampton, and Williamsburg, VA, we invite you to schedule a campus tour to discover how our nurturing environment can help your child grow and reach their full potential.
Ben Rous,
Assistant Head of School
Director of Upper School
(Former Director of College Counseling)
HRA: It was already a tough year to be a Dean of Admission.
Demographic inevitability finally arrived, and last year was the first year that colleges found themselves competing for a diminished pool of qualified, full-paying applicants. As a result, a number of small, regional colleges (particularly in the Midwest and Northeast) closed their doors or merged with other, healthier institutions. More than half of the four-year colleges and universities failed to make their freshman enrollment targets.Against this backdrop, the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a suit against the National Association of College Admission Counselors (NACAC) in September for, essentially, repressing free and fair trade; specifically, the DOJ took exception with the practice of colleges requiring applicants to make an enrollment deposit at only one college by May 1st each spring.
Before the DOJ lawsuit, colleges recognized the sanctity of the May 1st deposit day, and they refrained from trying to lure elsewhere-deposited students to attend. When the deep pockets of the DOJ made any resistance to the suit by NACAC futile, NACAC re-wrote its Best Practices to suggest, rather than mandate, that colleges still respect the May 1st deadline.
The issue consumed the college admissions world last fall, with many colleges fearing that a “Wild West” landscape of poaching and incentivizing would emerge to wreak havoc on the stability of the already- fragile enrollment management situation at colleges and universities across the country.
There was a third factor that had been keeping college enrollment managers up at night—the shrinking of the international student applicant pool. For years, international students were a treasured demographic for college admissions deans; they are generally full-pay students and bring a much-desired geographic and cultural diversity.
China, in particular, exported tens of thousands of students to American institutions of higher learning. Over the last few years, these institutions started to notice a decline in international applicants, particularly from China, causing a robust revenue stream to dry up.
And then came COVID 19.
Colleges sent their students home. They cancelled admissions events and in-person applicant visits. Standardized testing dates were cancelled. The AP exam format and administration was altered. All of a sudden, colleges are faced with the lost revenue of housing and board refunds. All of a sudden, many colleges’ enrollment targets are once again in jeopardy.
The last month has seen a dizzying pace of admission and financial aid policy changes as colleges seek to reassure high school seniors and juniors. I have been moved by their genuine desire to serve their current and future students. I have been impressed by the creative ways they have sought to do this. Necessity is indeed the mother of invention!
So what does all this upheaval mean for high school students? What about the senior who thought she was going to her dream school and is now being told by her parents that she needs to go to the less expensive option, or the closer option? What about the junior who planned to take the SAT and ACT? Or who was going to be the captain of the lacrosse team? Or who had secured a killer internship for the summer? Are they now to be less-compelling college applicants next year because of these lost opportunities?
To the juniors, college reps will tell you that your application to college isn’t going to be diminished and that you will not be held responsible for things you cannot control. There are no high school students playing sports this season. No high school kids doing internships. No one taking the SAT or ACT. You are not falling behind relative to anyone else. Everybody is on “pause.”
High school seniors have a different set of concerns: How can I make a final college decision if I can’t visit? Now I can’t afford the college I thought I was attending! This whole pandemic thing has made me realize that I don’t want to go far away from home…or attend college in a city…To these seniors, college reps will say reach out to us! We aren’t travelling now and would welcome your calls. Tell us how your financial circumstances have changed and we’ll try and help!
If seniors engaged the college application process authentically and with an open mind, then they will have excellent, affordable choices among the acceptances they received. Or they can explore taking a year off before going to college.
This turmoil is a real opportunity for all constituents in the college application process—students, parents, and colleges—to step back and re-evaluate what’s important. Students and parents can ask themselves what has this whole episode shown me about myself? What do I value? What’s important to me in a college? And they can let the answers to these questions guide the search. Colleges can debate the usefulness of standardized tests in their application process (already the number of colleges deciding to become test-optional grows with each passing day). They will be challenged to deliver an exceptional experience to their students at an accessible price. They will have to be more nimble in their recruitment practices.
HRA Supports Every Student
At Hampton Roads Academy (HRA) in Newport News, VA, we celebrate the individuality of each student and are committed to creating a nurturing environment tailored to their unique needs. HRA’s focus on personalized attention ensures that students receive the academic guidance, emotional support, and extracurricular opportunities necessary for success. This dedication is rooted in a culture of respect and care that influences all interactions and initiatives.
HRA is also dedicated to making high-quality education accessible for all families. Through customized tuition assistance programs, we work to eliminate financial barriers, ensuring that every student can access the education they deserve. HRA takes pride in providing a wide range of resources and support to meet the needs of our diverse community with compassion and commitment.
HRA’s Commitment to Excellence
At HRA, education extends beyond the classroom. We strive to nurture the whole student through a comprehensive academic program that emphasizes honor, integrity, and personal growth. Our curriculum is designed to recognize and celebrate each student’s unique strengths within a supportive community.
With small class sizes and personalized attention, our dedicated faculty offers tailored support to help every student succeed. HRA creates a healthy, encouraging environment where students thrive academically, physically, and emotionally. This holistic approach empowers students to explore various academic and extracurricular activities, from sports to the arts.
Why Choose HRA?
As the Peninsula’s only independent school serving Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12, HRA offers a unique educational experience. We are accredited by the Virginia Association of Independent Schools and are a member of the National Association of Independent Schools, maintaining the highest standards of academic excellence.
Beyond academics, HRA provides numerous opportunities for student development. Our athletic programs foster teamwork, physical fitness, and sportsmanship, while our robust arts program encourages creativity in visual and performing arts. Additionally, our REACH (Real-world Experience and Academic Choices) Initiative connects academic learning with real-world applications, promoting personal growth, community service, and a commitment to shared values.
Schedule Your Tour of HRA Today!
At HRA, we deliver an exceptional education focused on character development and future success. Our curriculum cultivates critical thinking, effective communication, teamwork, and a spirit of discovery, shaping innovative and empathetic leaders for an evolving world. Serving families in Newport News, Poquoson, Hampton, and Williamsburg, VA, we invite you to schedule a campus tour of HRA and discover how our nurturing environment can help your child reach their full potential.
Ben Rous,
Assistant Head of School
Director of Upper School
(Former Director of College Counseling)
HRA: The previous post dealt with the inherent fallacy of valuing what is easily assessed instead of learning to assess what’s truly valuable. There is clearly too much of an emphasis put on the comfort and familiarity with objective data in the admissions process. This is especially true at the colleges of the highest selectivity. It is perhaps ironic that the same misguided reliance on valuing what is easily assessed rather than what is truly important is in fact what made that ultra selective college so ultra selective in the first place!U. S. News and World Report’s annual college rankings issue is the tail that wags the dog in admissions world. Parents and students look to the list for guidance and validation; for better or worse, when people speak of college rankings, they are referring to those of U.S. News and World Report. But should the list be so heeded? Let’s take a look at the methodology for the rankings:
According to U.S. News and World Report’s Robert Morse:
The rankings evaluate colleges and universities on 16 measures of academic quality. They allow you to compare at a glance the relative quality of U.S. institutions based on such widely accepted indicators of excellence as first-year student retention, graduation rates and the strength of the faculty…to make valid comparisons, schools are grouped by academic mission into 10 categories for 10 distinct rankings…To calculate the overall rank for each school within each category, up to 16 metrics of academic excellence are assigned weights that reflect U.S. News’ researched judgment about how much they matter. For display purposes, we group these measures into the following indicators: outcomes, social mobility, graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, financial resources, alumni giving, student excellence, and expert opinion.
Allow me to define these measures: outcomes (the average length of time it takes students at the university to graduate), social mobility (how many Pell grant-eligible students the university graduates in a given year), graduation and retention rates (the percentage of students who return for their sophomore years and eventually graduate), faculty resources (salary, teaching load, average class size, etc.), financial resources (the amount of money a university spends per student), alumni giving (how much money the university gets from alumni donations in a given year), student excellence (measured by the average high school grade point average and standardized test score of admitted students), and expert opinion(derived from surveys of college counselors and university presidents). For the full article, please click here.
The point is, these rankings are largely derived from measurable, quantifiable (yes, objective) data. An analysis of this methodology begs the question: Do any of these measures really tell prospective applicants and their families what it’s like to be a student at the university? Do they accurately indicate how transformative the experience of being a student there is? Of course not!
These musings prompt a second point: the objective data points that comprise the methodology for college rankings aren’t necessarily valuable. Recall what Professor Resnick observed in the previous post about the relationship between assessments and value; he notes that we—to the detriment of our educational system— tend to value what is easily assessable rather than learning to assess what we value. In that post, I tried to make the case that the same tendency infects the college admission process.
Moreover, this pernicious practice is clearly at play in the multi-million dollar effort to quantify the relative strengths and weakness of colleges and universities by ranking them. In the case of the U.S. News and World Report rankings, the most sacred of rankings, there is clearly a leap to be made from evaluating the objective data of a given university and arriving at the conclusion that it will be a place of significance and transformation for a particular applicant. They might be a useful tool but should never be the final arbiter!
But it’s so easy to give these rankings so much power! They are so accessible! Everybody knows about them! But just because it’s easy doesn’t make it right.
Even as I understand the simple math of trying to give a thorough read to every application, I find it frustratingly incomplete when college admission committees seek a shortcut in their evaluation of an applicant by relying too heavily on the objective data of the application. But it is no less frustrating to me—for an entirely different reason—when I see students and families take similar, objective data-driven shortcuts in what should be a thoughtful decision by relying too heavily on college rankings!
Supporting Every Student
At Hampton Roads Academy (HRA) in Newport News, VA, we celebrate each student’s uniqueness and are dedicated to creating a nurturing environment that meets individual needs. With a focus on personalized attention, HRA ensures students receive the academic guidance, emotional support, and extracurricular opportunities necessary for success. This commitment is grounded in a culture of respect and care that influences every interaction.
HRA also strives to make high-quality education accessible to all families. Through tailored tuition assistance programs, we work to eliminate financial barriers, ensuring every student can access the education they deserve. HRA takes pride in offering various resources and support to meet the diverse needs of our community with compassion.
HRA’s Commitment to Excellence
At HRA, education extends beyond the classroom. We are committed to nurturing the whole student through a rigorous academic program that emphasizes honor, integrity, and personal growth, ensuring each student’s unique strengths are recognized within a supportive community.
With small class sizes and personalized attention, our dedicated faculty provides tailored support to help every student succeed. HRA fosters a healthy, encouraging environment where students thrive physically, emotionally, and academically, empowering them to explore a wide range of activities—from athletics to the arts.
Why Choose HRA?
As the Peninsula’s only independent school serving Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12, HRA offers a distinctive educational experience. Accredited by the Virginia Association of Independent Schools and a member of the National Association of Independent Schools, HRA upholds the highest academic standards.
Beyond the classroom, HRA provides various opportunities to enrich student development. Our athletic programs promote teamwork and sportsmanship, while our robust Arts program allows students to explore their creativity in visual and performing arts. The REACH (Real-world Experience and Academic Choices) Initiative connects academic learning to real-world applications, fostering personal growth, community service, and a commitment to shared values.
Schedule Your Tour of HRA in Newport News, VA, Today!
At HRA, students receive an exceptional education focused on character development and future success. HRA cultivates critical thinking, effective communication, teamwork, and a spirit of discovery, shaping innovative and empathetic leaders for an evolving world. Serving families in Newport News, Poquoson, Hampton, and Williamsburg, VA, we invite you to schedule a campus tour of HRA to discover how our nurturing environment can help your child grow and reach their full potential.
Ben Rous,
Assistant Head of School
Director of Upper School
(Former Director of College Counseling)
HRA: We’re all familiar with the philosophical riddle, if a tree falls in the forest, and there is no one around to hear it, does it make a sound? Essentially, this question is exploring the role and relative dominance of objectivity versus subjectivity. Those who answer “yes” to the question are subscribing to an objective orientation, those who say “no” to a subjective one. In other words, saying “yes” means that you believe that sound exists objectively, independent of whether someone hears it or not; an answer of “no” means you think sounds only exist if they are subjectively heard.A student’s application to college is comprised of “objective” data in the form of standardized test scores, grades in high school, the number of AP or honors courses taken, extracurricular involvement, etc. There are also “subjective” data on display as well, often manifest through essays and letters of recommendation, that includes things like character, integrity, grit, resilience, dedication. Which is more dominant—which carries more weight— in the admissions process: the objective or the subjective?
Before I answer that, let’s ask another, related, question: which one should carry more weight? What should we as a society value more in a young person—their personal qualities, or their academic achievements? If it’s safe to assume that we value personal qualities in a person more than their achievements, then we should learn how to assess personal qualities better.
Certainly that’s the contention of Professor Mitchel Resnick of the Lifelong Kindergarten Project at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). A professor of Learning Research, Dr. Resnick makes the case that K-12 schools too-often squelch a child’s innate creativity because of an objective orientation instead of a subjective one; in other words, Resnick says that, when it comes to schools, “we only value that which is easy to assess” as opposed to “assessing what we value. “It’s a weighty claim, and one worth unpacking.
K-12 schools, Resnick claims, value what is easily assessed: standardized testing and grades rather than learning how to more accurately assess what we profess to value as a culture (in this case, creativity, but also character, empathy, and resilience, for example). To recall my earlier question: Is this preference for the objective over the subjective that he claims is present in K-12 schools also present in the college admissions process? Of course it is! The real question should be: is the superiority of the objective in college admissions desirable? And if not, how might it be addressed and remedied?
One has only to notice the exponentially increasing instances of mental health issues among adolescents in America to understand that these mental health issues are directly related to the stress teenagers experience as they try to meet the ever-increasing expectations that selective colleges have for applicants. And the meeting of these onerous expectations is almost universally assessed via the objective data.
Of course, this practice hasn’t occurred in a vacuum, and there have been many attempts to reform the college admissions process (the “test optional” movement, books such as Colleges that Change Lives, and Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be, the mastery transcript movement, and the like). There is one in particular that I’d like to discuss.
It’s called “Turning the Tide”, part of the larger “Making Caring Common Project” housed in the Harvard Graduate School of Education (To learn more, please click here). Among its many suggestions, the Turning the Tide movement advocates for more of a subjectively-oriented career for high school students:
- Students should be encouraged to engage in meaningful, sustained community service that is authentically chosen, consistent, and well-structured, and that provides opportunity for reflection both individually and with peers and adults. The college admissions process should value this kind of service.
- Students should be encouraged to take collective action that tackles community challenges. The college admissions process should value this kind of action.
- Students should be encouraged to have authentic, meaningful experiences with diversity that focus on “doing with” not “doing for.” The college admissions process should value these kinds of experiences.
- Students should be encouraged to engage in service that develops gratitude and a sense of responsibility for the future. The college admissions process should value this kind of service.
That sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? Who wouldn’t want that to be the criteria for admission to ultra-selective colleges? It’s wonderful that Harvard and Stanford are no longer looking at the number of AP courses an applicant has taken as they review applications! It’s such a relief to know that they won’t care what kind of test scores an applicant has!
But, alas, they still do. Unfortunately, all that the Turning the Tide movement has seemed to do is to add to the requirements of a successful applicant at ultra-selective colleges—not replace any of them. Now successful applicants to highly selective colleges have to not only earn straight-A grades in the “toughest” classes and possess the requisite lofty standardized test score, but now they also have to demonstrate a meaningful and authentic commitment to community; all of which brings me back to Dr. Resnick’s observation about the existing relationship between value and assessments in K-12 education.
College admissions readers are still a long way from preferencing the subjective over the objective; worse still, an applicant needs to now be outstanding at both to be competitive at the most selective institutions in the world. But if you’ve been a faithful reader of this blog (and I’ll assume that you have been!), you know that there are alternatives to ceding your power to the often arbitrary and unimaginative process of admissions too-often practiced at the most selective colleges and universities.
Simply put, assess what you value when you consider your application to college; if you know that your involvement with forensics nourished you and challenged you to be a better, more complete human, then feel good about it and don’t apologize for the fact that the time commitment it required made you not take the murderous slate of AP courses that the most selective colleges admissions officers are also counting on.
Resist the trap of evaluating yourself primarily through the lens of objective data! Assess yourself on your own terms, based on what you hold dear!
I’d love to hear your thoughts!
HRA: Supporting Every Student
Hampton Roads Academy HRA) in Newport News, VA, celebrates the individuality of each student and is committed to creating a nurturing environment tailored to their needs. By focusing on personalized attention, HRA provides essential academic guidance, emotional support, and extracurricular activities that enable students to flourish. This commitment is grounded in a culture of respect and care that influences every interaction and initiative.
HRA is dedicated to ensuring its high-quality education is accessible to all families. Through customized tuition assistance programs, the school aims to eliminate financial barriers, allowing students to receive the education they deserve. HRA proudly offers a variety of resources and support to meet the diverse needs of its community with compassion and dedication.
HRA’s Commitment to Excellence
At HRA, education transcends the classroom. We focus on the holistic development of each student through a comprehensive academic program. Our curriculum promotes honor, integrity, and personal growth, recognizing each student’s unique strengths within a supportive community.
With small class sizes and personalized attention, HRA’s dedicated faculty offers tailored support to ensure student success. HRA cultivates a healthy and encouraging environment where students thrive physically, emotionally, and academically, empowering them to engage in a variety of academic and extracurricular activities, from athletics to the arts.
Why Choose HRA?
As the only independent school on the Peninsula serving Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12, HRA provides a unique educational experience. Accredited by the Virginia Association of Independent Schools and a member of the National Association of Independent Schools, HRA maintains the highest standards of academic excellence.
Beyond academics, HRA offers numerous opportunities to enrich students’ development. HRA’s athletic programs foster teamwork, fitness, and sportsmanship, while our vibrant arts program allows students to explore their creativity in both visual and performing arts. Additionally, the REACH (Real-world Experience and Academic Choices) Initiative links academic learning to real-world applications, promoting personal growth, community service, and shared values.
Schedule Your Tour of HRA in Newport News, VA, Today!
At HRA, students receive an exceptional education that emphasizes character development and future success. HRA nurtures critical thinking, effective communication, teamwork, and a spirit of discovery, preparing innovative and empathetic leaders for a changing world. We invite families from Newport News, Poquoson, Hampton, and Williamsburg, VA, to schedule a campus tour and discover how our supportive environment can help their child reach their full potential.
Ben Rous,
Assistant Head of School
Director of Upper School
(Former Director of College Counseling)
HRA: Have you ever experienced unrequited love? You know, when you are crazy about someone and he or she just doesn’t feel the same way? Sure you have; everybody has. And you had lots of guidance in how to deal with it.There are 2000 years of literature and film that depict suffering from this affliction. You dealt with your beloved’s indifference by eating ice cream and watching romantic comedies. Or you went out with your friends and drowned your sorrows. The point is, you had a script; you followed it, and then you moved on.
But how do you deal with it if you are the object of affection and you’re not interested? It’s a bit more disquieting because you have no cultural guidance. No one has written a story about the plight of the worshipped or the loved. And so you feel a vague unease, a guilt, a desire to tell someone about your predicament.
But you don’t know how to express any of these sentiments, so you just pack it away and move on. Except you don’t. Not really. Not completely. In fact, studies suggest that the object of affection in an unrequited love relationship still harbors negative feelings years after the fact. Because they never knew how to act, how to properly process the experience.
In his book, Bull**** Jobs: A Theory, London School of Economics Professor David Graeber makes the case that this same sort of unease plagues the characters in the hilarious and trenchant series, The Office. While the antics of Michael, Dwight, Jim, et al. are entertaining, Graeber argues that the characters are acting out because they don’t know what else to do.
The characters of the show are ostensibly working, but they never actually are working; they are instead pranking each other or having misadventures off site. They have no cultural touchstones for how to behave as they find themselves mired in a meaningless job, and so the characters in the show exist in a kind of existential limbo, making a living but in a job they find irrelevant at best—and soul-sucking at worst.
Should real people in such jobs feel guilty because they are making (often quite good) money for a job that they find meaningless? Should they complain that the work isn’t inspiring them? Of course not. Graeber explains that to do so would invite scrutiny from the boss and result in either being thought of as an ungrateful worker or saddled with more work. Graeber cites a startling study which concludes that the majority of workers in the United States feel that their jobs are bereft of significance; that, if their jobs were to be eliminated, the world would suffer not a bit.
How did we come to such a place? Why are so many people dissatisfied with their jobs? Graeber posits that humans have a need to contribute significantly to their communities. It’s been codified in the book of Genesis, wherein Adam and Eve are consigned to a life of toil because of their sin. It’s been reinvigorated in the “American Work Ethic’, by which a person’s value is judged according to his (and it’s historically been a “his”) actions. Graeber suggests that the bloated bureaucracy of the 21st century economy thwarts this human need to contribute meaningfully.
What, if anything, does any of this have to do with the college application process? Quite a lot, as it turns out, especially if you see the process of applying to college as a still frame in a longer film, a film that tracks the trajectory of a person from elementary school to ultimate career choice.
For how can we enter a profession that nourishes us if we haven’t taken the time to vet all the choices? How can we fully vet the choices if we don’t sample them first? How can we sample them? Where do we even start?
I would argue that’s what high school is for; ideally, students graduate from high school with an ability to manage their time, work with people, and locate and utilize available resources. This is called learning how to learn; which isn’t the same as merely checking a box on the way to achieving an ultimate goal. Box checking invariably leads to unreflective achievement, which might look good on a transcript but does precious little to help to instill in a student self-awareness (SO different from self-esteem). And self-awareness is critical if one is to know what one loves (or, sometimes more useful, what one hates), a necessary precursor to finding authentic meaning.
College admission officers can smell inauthenticity a mile away in the scripted activities of an applicant; in the flat essays of a student who sees the writing as a chore to cross off a list rather than as a chance to share a glimpse of who he essentially is.
But you can’t write that if you haven’t tried to find out essentially who you are.
Don’t be Michael. Don’t be Dwight. Entertaining though they may be.
Instead, fall in love recklessly. Risk being scorned for your pains.
You’ll know what to do. All you have to do is follow the signs.
HRA: Supporting Every Student
At Hampton Roads Academy in Newport News, VA, we celebrate the individuality of each student and are committed to creating a nurturing environment that meets diverse needs. HRA emphasizes personalized attention, providing students with the academic guidance, emotional support, and extracurricular opportunities essential for their growth. This dedication is rooted in a culture of respect and care that informs every interaction.
HRA also strives to make its high-quality education accessible to all families. Through customized tuition assistance programs, HRA works to eliminate financial barriers, ensuring every student has access to the education they deserve. HRA takes pride in offering a wide array of resources and support to meet the needs of our diverse community with compassion.
HRA’s Commitment to Excellence
At HRA, education extends beyond the classroom. We are dedicated to nurturing the whole student through a rigorous and comprehensive academic program. Our curriculum promotes honor, integrity, and personal growth, ensuring each student’s unique strengths are recognized within a supportive community.
With small class sizes and individualized attention, our committed faculty provides tailored support to help every student thrive. HRA fosters a positive environment where students excel physically, emotionally, and academically. This holistic approach empowers them to explore various academic and extracurricular activities, from athletics to the arts.
Why Choose HRA?
As the only independent school on the Peninsula serving Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12, Hampton Roads Academy offers a unique educational experience. Accredited by the Virginia Association of Independent Schools and a member of the National Association of Independent Schools, HRA maintains the highest academic standards.
Beyond academics, HRA offers numerous opportunities to enrich student development. Our athletic programs emphasize teamwork and physical fitness, while our robust Arts program encourages creativity in visual and performing arts. Additionally, the REACH (Real-world Experience and Academic Choices) Initiative links academic learning to real-world applications, promoting personal growth, community service, and shared values.
Schedule Your Tour of HRA in Newport News, VA, Today!
At HRA, students receive an outstanding education focused on character development and future success. HRA nurtures critical thinking, effective communication, teamwork, and a spirit of discovery, shaping innovative and empathetic leaders for a changing world. Serving families in Newport News, Poquoson, Hampton, and Williamsburg, VA, we invite you to schedule a campus tour and discover how our supportive environment can help your child flourish.
Ben Rous,
Assistant Head of School
Director of Upper School
(Former Director of College Counseling)
HRA: A few years ago, as the latest strain of mutated flu virus was making its rounds in emergency rooms across the country, the media paraded out various talking heads to opine on the emerging pandemic. One of my favorites was offered as a voice of reason: Let’s give it (the virus) the respect it deserves, but let’s not freak out about it was the spirit of the message (if not its exact letter). Maybe I remember that now-obscure commentator’s message because I thought it a great way to consider standardized testing in the college admission process.Standardized testing (The SAT and ACT) is not even the most important factor in a college’s evaluation of an application; the applicant’s grades and course selection throughout high school are more important factors. So why is the SAT or ACT such an obsession in this process, spawning countless media articles and generating its own attendant, vibrant industry of test prep?
Maybe it’s because a test is a one-off, something that can be addressed and improved in a short period of time, and people find it easier to deliver short bursts of effort rather than sustained determination (as is necessary to excel over the course of a high school career). Or maybe it’s something more profound: the resistance to the notion that an applicant can be summed up in a 3-1/2 hour exercise in bubbling an answer sheet.
With the American ethos of hard work lifting a person’s prospects or station, it’s almost un-American to think that one morning’s test can negate a lifetime of effort; paradoxically, though, there are many students and parents who hope the opposite is true—that a great test score can negate a lifetime of listless academic effort! Certainly it’s complicated, and people want standardized test scores to count for everything in the evaluation process, or nothing, depending on the score. In any event, what, exactly, do these tests even measure? And, do they do it accurately? Are these tests reliable or valid?
Such questions have given rise to a robust anti-testing movement (See fairtest.org for more on this movement). Critics of the tests claim, among other things, that they measure little more than the wealth of the test-taker’s family. Proponents of them say that the tests provide a universalizing mechanism to help college admissions offices fairly evaluate applicants from a wide variety of high school experiences.
While I have elsewhere in these posts written about the murky future of standardized testing in the college application process, they are currently very much a feature of the process. And so we want to treat it with the respect it deserves while not freaking out about it.
That means practicing for these tests in ways that make sense, and not to the exclusion of all else; after all, if you practice for your SAT instead of doing your homework, your SAT score might go up but your class grade will go down. And as I’ve already pointed out, grades in high school are a larger factor in the process that standardized tests are.
So study a little bit at a time, over time. That’s how the brain likes to eat. Use your results from the PSAT to help you study your areas of vulnerability. Take practice tests to learn how to pace yourself and answer bubble-sheet tests. Understand that the best way to prepare for these tests is to be a reader and pay attention in your math classes. If you don’t like reading, I would suggest you’re just not reading the right things. If you are having a hard time paying attention in math class, then I would suggest sitting in the front row of the room.
Test prep courses can have their place in this process, but not in the same way for every student.
HRA: Supporting Every Student
Hampton Roads Academy (HRA) in Newport News, VA, celebrates the individuality of every student, fostering a nurturing environment that meets unique needs. With personalized attention, HRA ensures students receive the academic guidance, emotional support, and extracurricular opportunities they need to thrive. Rooted in respect and care, this approach shapes all interactions and initiatives.
HRA is also committed to making its high-quality education accessible. Through customized tuition assistance, the school helps remove financial barriers, allowing students from diverse backgrounds to benefit from the education they deserve. HRA proudly provides resources and support with compassion and dedication.
HRA’s Commitment to Excellence
At HRA, education goes far beyond the classroom. The school is dedicated to nurturing the whole student through a challenging and comprehensive academic program that emphasizes honor, integrity, and personal growth. Every student’s strengths are recognized and supported within a caring community.
With small class sizes and personalized attention, HRA’s faculty tailors support to each student’s success. The school fosters an environment where students thrive physically, emotionally, and academically, empowering them to explore a variety of academic and extracurricular activities, from sports to the arts.
Why Choose HRA?
As the Peninsula’s only independent school serving Pre-K through Grade 12, HRA offers a unique educational experience. Accredited by the Virginia Association of Independent Schools and a member of the National Association of Independent Schools, HRA upholds top-tier academic standards.
Beyond academics, HRA offers rich opportunities for personal development. Students engage in athletic programs that promote teamwork and fitness, and a robust arts program that encourages creativity in visual and performing arts. The REACH Initiative further connects academic learning with real-world experiences, fostering personal growth, community service, and shared values.
Schedule Your Tour of HRA in Newport News, VA, Today!
At HRA, students gain an education focused on character and future success. The school cultivates critical thinking, teamwork, communication skills, and a spirit of discovery, preparing students to become innovative, empathetic leaders. Serving families in Newport News, Poquoson, Hampton, and Williamsburg, VA, HRA invites you to schedule a campus tour of HRA and see how their nurturing environment helps students reach their full potential.
Ben Rous,
Assistant Head of School
Director of Upper School
(Former Director of College Counseling)
HRA: Do you remember the last time you gave a child a new or unfamiliar toy? Did you just hand it to her and walk away? Or did you take the time to show her how it works?
Does it matter?
A number of years ago, a group of psychologists conducted an experiment that involved these two, differing approaches. The experimenters showed children a very complicated gadget that could make different noises, had various lights and mirrors, and had a complicated array of switches to activate all of these. The question they sought to answer was: would the child discover all the things the toy could do? That answer depended a lot on how the toy was presented to the child.
When the child was simply handed the toy, she discovered all of the things it could do. When, however, the child was shown by the adult how a couple of the features worked, she was less likely to explore beyond what she was shown.
The experiment’s results, replicated again over time, offer a fairly robust conclusion: too much direction can inhibit learning and exploration. What are the implications of these experiments for parents? For teachers? For the college search and application process?
Aren’t we, as parents, doing our children a service when we show them how to do something? When we keep them from hurting themselves? When we arrange playdates for them with other children? As they get older, isn’t part of our job to help them? Shouldn’t we help them study the “right” way? Practice their musical instrument the “right” way?
Shouldn’t teachers teach their students how to most efficiently get the right answer on an assessment?
Shouldn’t college counselors show students the most direct path forward in the application process?
Maybe the answers to these questions depend on what the goals are. If we want the student to get the right answer, then perhaps direction is good. If, however, we want the student to learn how to ask the right questions then maybe freedom, not direction, is the goal. If we want them to achieve, then perhaps direction is better; if we want them to learn how to learn, then perhaps freedom is the tool to employ.
We like to throw out witty aphorisms like “it’s the journey not the destination” and “the work is its own reward” but are we willing to walk that talk?
Freedom is risky! What if the child fails the test because her mother let her study inefficiently and on her own? What if students don’t do as well on their standardized tests as they could because the teacher let them be in charge of their own learning experience? What if the student doesn’t get in to the college he most wanted because he wasn’t told what classes to take?
Are we encouraging achievement, or growth? Are they mutually exclusive?
I’d love to hear your thoughts!
HRA: Supporting Every Student
At Hampton Roads Academy (HRA) in Newport News, VA, the school embraces the uniqueness of every student and is dedicated to fostering a nurturing environment that caters to individual needs. With a focus on personalized attention, HRA ensures students receive the academic guidance, emotional support, and extracurricular opportunities needed to thrive. This approach is rooted in a culture of respect and care, which shapes every interaction and initiative.
HRA is also committed to making its high-quality education accessible to all families. Through tailored tuition assistance programs, the school strives to remove financial barriers, ensuring students can access the education they deserve. HRA takes pride in offering a wide range of resources and support to meet the needs of its diverse community with compassion and dedication.
HRA’s Commitment to Excellence
At HRA, education goes beyond the classroom. We are committed to nurturing the whole student through a rigorous and comprehensive academic program. HRA’s curriculum emphasizes honor, integrity, and personal growth, ensuring that each student’s unique strengths are recognized within a supportive community.
With small class sizes and personalized attention, our dedicated faculty provides tailored support to help every student succeed. HRA fosters a healthy, encouraging environment where students thrive physically, emotionally, and academically. This holistic approach empowers students to explore a range of academic and extracurricular activities—from the playing fields to the stage.
Why Choose Hampton Roads Academy?
As the Peninsula’s only independent school serving Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12, Hampton Roads Academy offers a distinctive educational experience. Accredited by the Virginia Association of Independent Schools and a member of the National Association of Independent Schools, HRA upholds the highest standards of academic excellence.
Beyond the classroom, HRA provides a wide range of opportunities to enrich students’ development. Our athletic programs promote teamwork, physical fitness, and sportsmanship, while the robust Arts program allows students to explore their creativity in both visual and performing arts. Additionally, the REACH (Real-world Experience and Academic Choices) Initiative connects academic learning to real-world applications, fostering personal growth, community service, and a commitment to values that unite us all.
Schedule Your Tour in Newport News, VA, Today!
At Hampton Roads Academy, students receive an exceptional education focused on character development and future success. HRA cultivates critical thinking, effective communication, teamwork, and a spirit of discovery, shaping innovative and empathetic leaders for an evolving world. Serving families in Newport News, Poquoson, Hampton, and Williamsburg, VA, we invite you to schedule a campus tour to discover how our nurturing environment can help your child grow and reach their full potential.
Ben Rous,
Assistant Head of School
Director of Upper School
(Former Director of College Counseling)
HRA: Carpentry is about control: the carpenter uses a blueprint, faithfully follows it using the prescribed tools, and produces exactly what she intended. Gardening is about reaction and resilience: a gardener controls precious little during the time it takes for a seedlings to grow into a finished product. Based on temperature fluctuations, moisture levels, hungry animals, and other factors, the gardener must embrace flexibility.This dichotomy serves as a jumping-off point for Alison Gopnik, a psychology and philosophy professor at the University of California, Berkeley. In her book The Gardener and the Carpenter: What the New Science of Child Development Tells Us About the Relationship Between Parents and Children, she advances many provocative concepts.
Applying Gopnik’s premise to the college search and application process, then “parenting” according to the carpenter’s blueprint can shape the child into a particular kind of college applicant (that is to say, a more—or less—competitive one).
And this is all-too-often the current state of affairs in the increasingly competitive landscape of college admissions. Parents follow a blueprint: they encourage their children to take the most demanding curriculum a high school offers; they encourage music lessons and tutoring and elite-level sports and club involvement and high-priced test-prep and higher-priced independent college counselors—and they do all this in the hope that their children will gain admission into the “right” colleges, a college that will ensure future “success.”
Professor Gopnik suggests that this type of “carpenter” parenting invites a burden of stress on both parent and child and is perhaps fundamentally missing the evolutionary point of childhood. She points out that human childhood and adolescence is much more protracted than any other organism’s, and that this protraction is by design, as it is intended as a prolonged opportunity for a child to master new and different environments.
Gopnik argues that such an environment naturally resists scripting, and that a “gardener” approach to parenting is healthier in that it promotes in children a spirit of autonomous exploration without fear of failing because there are no “stakes” in play. In a gardening model, Gopnik suggests, children embrace failure and intellectual risk-taking because a “C” on a report card isn’t the end of the world. The gardner knows that you can’t promote risk-taking in a child if there aren’t really any risks being taken.
Weighing Gopnik’s arguments, I find myself of two minds; I want to be a gardener type of parent because I believe it’s the model that is built to last; I’ve seen so many “carpentered” children flame out in college because they were never given the autonomy as children that they needed to take risks, fail, and explore the world. If a child who is “gardenered” is the one well-adjusted, better equipped to deal with the vagaries of life, then surely this is the best gift a parent can give a child?
But we live in a society that rewards the carpenter model. True masters of a thing—the cello, figure skating, particle physics—didn’t start on these paths late in life; rather, their mastery is the result of many, many years of dedicated work and practice, a journey initiated by a carpenter parent. All of our culture’s markers for success—money, power, influence, etc.—are more commonly the result of focused hard work and determination than they are the product of thoughtful, meandering reflection and an embracing of failure.
The very structure of the binary argument appears to invite a dispiriting question: do you want a well-adjusted child, or a successful one? To again apply Gopnik’s thesis to the college admission model, the students who are the most successful in the application process at ultra-selective institutions are indeed the ones who have checked all the boxes, taken all the AP and IB courses, played the cello at an elite level, gotten very high test scores, etc. etc. The student who was given the independence to fail (and did so) repeatedly in high school won’t be getting in to Stanford.
Do these respective fates in the admission process prefigure success or failure in life? Maybe, maybe not. And maybe not in the way we’d think. What if the Ivy League graduate burns out and suffers in the realms of her life outside of her high-powered job? What if the woman who graduates from a less selective university because she was gardened as a child emerges as the CEO of a Fortune 500 company precisely because she was gardened as a child?
I’d love to hear your thoughts!
HRA: Supporting Every Student
At Hampton Roads Academy (HRA) in Newport News, VA, we celebrate the individuality of each student and strive to create a nurturing environment that addresses their unique needs. By focusing on personalized attention, HRA ensures that students receive the academic guidance, emotional support, and extracurricular opportunities essential for their success. This approach is founded on a culture of respect and care that informs every interaction and initiative.
HRA is dedicated to making high-quality education accessible to all families. With tailored tuition assistance programs, HRA works to eliminate financial barriers, ensuring that every student can receive the education they deserve. HRA proudly offers a variety of resources and support to meet the needs of our diverse community with compassion and commitment.
HRA’s Commitment to Excellence
At HRA, education extends beyond the classroom. HRA is devoted to nurturing the whole student through a rigorous and comprehensive academic program. Our curriculum emphasizes honor, integrity, and personal growth, ensuring that each student’s unique strengths are acknowledged within a supportive community.
With small class sizes and individualized attention, HRA’s dedicated faculty provides customized support to help every student thrive. HRA promotes a healthy, encouraging environment where students can excel physically, emotionally, and academically. This holistic approach empowers students to engage in a variety of academic and extracurricular activities—from sports to the performing arts.
Why Choose HRA?
As the Peninsula’s only independent school serving Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 12, HRA offers a unique educational experience. Accredited by the Virginia Association of Independent Schools and a member of the National Association of Independent Schools, HRA adheres to the highest standards of academic excellence.
Beyond academics, HRA provides numerous opportunities to enrich student development. Our athletic programs foster teamwork, physical fitness, and sportsmanship, while our robust Arts program encourages creativity in both visual and performing arts. Additionally, the REACH (Real-world Experience and Academic Choices) Initiative connects academic learning to real-world applications, promoting personal growth, community service, and a shared commitment to core values.
Schedule Your Tour in Newport News, VA, Today!
At HRA, students receive an outstanding education centered on character development and future success. HRA nurtures critical thinking, effective communication, teamwork, and a spirit of discovery, shaping innovative and empathetic leaders for an evolving world. Serving families in Newport News, Poquoson, Hampton, and Williamsburg, VA, we invite you to schedule a campus tour to see how our nurturing environment can help your child thrive and reach their full potential.