Dive Brief:
- Harvard Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid William R. Fitzsimmons is skeptical that the Coalition for Access, Affordability, and Success’ new college application will actually provide more access to the low-income students it hopes to help.
- The Harvard Crimson reports Fitzsimmons has repeatedly opposed the requirement that Coalition members have a 70% six-year graduation rate or higher, saying it excludes too many schools serving that student population.
- Fitzsimmons also expects the virtual locker could lead to a “locker arms race,” creating more stress and anxiety for students who start to prepare for their college applications as early as ninth grade — or even before.
Dive Insight:
The Coalition for Access, Affordability, and Success hopes the virtual locker helps low-income and first-generation students start thinking about college sooner. It gives them a place to store class projects that demonstrate their abilities and a reason to engage with mentors about their work and their future. A major criticism, however, is that the same students who have more resources to get ahead on traditional applications will use them to get ahead with the portfolio element, using the virtual locker. High school guidance counselors in high-performing districts are already bracing for that storm.
The Coalition has been responding to criticism about its new application for months.