Jessica Wynn

Which raises the question, if GPA does a better job predicting success and the test reflects unequal resources more than raw ability, what exactly are we measuring?

You can buy preparation for a better score, but yeah, the effect is the same.

Kids born into the top 1% of income have a 1 in 4 chance of getting into elite schools.

Kids born in the bottom 20%, it goes to a 1 in 300 chance.

That's not a gap.

That is a chasm.

Wow.

Yeah, and test prep is just one piece of it.

Rich parents also have legacy admissions, fancy extracurriculars, and expensive sports.

My kid plays lacrosse at a private club with professional coaches.

Your kid plays pickup basketball at the park.

Guess whose extracurriculars look better on paper?

Yeah.

That's the argument some people make, though.

And it's why a growing number of schools are going test optional.

So they're recognizing that the entire system is skewed.

Do you think the universities there made any changes knowing all this?

I doubt it.

Yeah, I don't think they did.

They weigh it differently when they're looking at applications.