To the Editor:
Re “The Early Decision Option Is a Racket. Shut It Down,” by Daniel Currell (Opinion guest essay, Dec. 12):
As a college counselor of 13 years and a formerly impoverished, first-generation college graduate who applied early decision to a selective college, I agree with Mr. Currell.
For many teenagers, choosing which college to attend is their first major life choice. Having worked with students from every racial and economic background, I learned that it is too much to ask a teenager who has just begun the journey of self-discovery to “fall in love” with a single college. With the high-stakes nature of selective college admissions, early decision is the illusion of choice.
The college admissions process isn’t personal. It’s a business. Selective colleges should compete for full-pay students on an equal playing field.
Low-income students shouldn’t feel forced to focus on a single college or special program to have a better chance of graduating with little to no debt and starting a well-paying career. Middle-class students should have the opportunity to compare and contrast financial aid offers.
But until the day that early decision no longer exists, I will continue to advise my students to consider applying early decision and assist them with their application to have a “fair” shot at selective admissions.
Danny Tejada Brooklyn
To the Editor:
Daniel Currell argues that early decision is a racket that must be shut down, but for the students from low-income families I serve, it’s been the great equalizer.
Since 2010, 946 of our students have enrolled at colleges to which they applied early decision and have earned over $200 million in grants and scholarships, many without taking out loans. Many institutions that offer early decision also meet full need, making this path an effective strategy for students from low-income households.
Early decision does not rob students of getting into their perfect-fit college. A good college counselor should assist students in building a well-balanced list of colleges where they can thrive. Our students — most of whom are first-generation — understand that colleges have limited seats and financial aid dollars, and the early bird gets the worm.
Is it a “complex strategy matrix,” as Mr. Currell puts it? Yes, but it’s one we need and are willing to navigate so our students can afford to go to college and succeed.
Patrick Rametti Cherry Hill, N.J. The writer is the senior director of college access and success at Uncommon Schools, a network of public charter schools.
An Attack on Climate Research and Safety
To the Editor:
Re “U.S. to Disband Premier Weather Research Hub” (front page, Dec. 18):
As Russell Vought, the White House budget director, says, the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado is indeed a source of “climate alarmism.” Scientists doing painstaking weather studies and climate modeling over decades of groundbreaking nonpoliticized work have become alarmed, and so should we.
In this time of climate consequences we need NCAR data to inform our understanding of present and future risks. The administration’s threat to cancel one of our finest scientific institutions is not only an obvious political attack on a blue state but is another authoritarian attempt to control information. It’s also a blow to the economy, as every public dollar invested in scientific research reaps up to three dollars in return.
Congress and the public should vigorously defend NCAR and its National Science Foundation funding source.
Joanne Leovy Las Vegas
Invaluable Immigrants and Their Children
To the Editor:
Re “Miller Cites Children of Immigrants as a Problem” (news analysis, Dec. 24):
Elon Musk is an immigrant. Steve Jobs was a first-generation child of an immigrant from Syria. Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s chief executive, is from Taiwan and immigrated to the U.S. as a child. Forty-six percent of Fortune 500 companies were created by immigrants or first-generation citizens.
Does Stephen Miller believe that these immigrants and their children are taking more than they are giving? If so, I would like him to present concrete evidence of this rather than resorting to ad hominem attacks.
Aaron Kirkemo Gladstone, N.J.
The post Should Colleges End Early Decision? appeared first on New York Times.
