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Colleges, chaos and cash: No wonder confidence in higher education today is so low
By William Bennett
Published March 29, 2024
Colleges today aren't sure what they're doing.
An application process that for decades focused on SAT and ACT scores is gone for the most part. Yet there are now signs of a comeback, as some Ivy League institutions are reinstating a mandatory submission of scores after changes were put in place during the COVID pandemic.
Millions of parents enrolled their kids in SAT and ACT prep programs or tutoring arrangements — then the scores disappeared. Now they’re reappearing for some schools.
Getting rid of the SAT and ACT by colleges was not smart; the test has been shown to be the best predictor of student achievement in college and more.
Even so, tracking by FairTest — The National Center for Fair & Open Testing based in New York City — found that for fall 2024 college admissions, roughly 77% of current U.S. four-year colleges and universities are not requiring applicants to submit ACT/SAT scores.
For fall 2025 college admissions, some 69% (so far) of U.S. four-year colleges and universities will not require applicants to submit ACT/SAT scores.
Students walking on a college campus. "An application process that for decades focused on SAT and ACT scores is gone for the most part. Yet there are now signs of a comeback" among some schools. (Joy Addison/Fox News)
That's a total of at least 1,825 of the nation’s bachelor-degree granting institutions.
Harry Feder, FairTest's executive director, said in a February statement related to one school's change, "Despite a media frenzy around a single Ivy League school reinstating testing requirements, ACT/SAT-optional and test-blind/score-free policies remain the ‘new normal’ in undergraduate admissions."
Parents of prospective college students cannot follow what the colleges are doing these days — even as they're asked to shell out big bucks for their kids' education.
But the changing parameters of the college application process are just one piece of the pie here.
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Many colleges are still dealing with the impact of the June 2023 Supreme Court ruling that rejected the use of race as a factor in college admissions.
Schools are also ending legacy preferences while at the same time inserting new essay prompts on adversity topics and identity issues.
William Bennett, former education secretary and the author of more than 25 books, is also the co-author of the recently published 30th anniversary edition of "The Book of Virtues." Parents of prospective college students, he says, cannot follow what the colleges are doing these days. (Fox News)
Then there’s the problematic rollout of the new federal financial aid form — the FAFSA, for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The aim was to simplify the aid request process, but many students, parents and schools have been left confused.
Mix in the blight of rampant antisemitism found on many college campuses today — and you have big problems.
It's no wonder that parents of prospective college students cannot follow what the colleges are doing these days, even as they're asked to shell out big bucks for their kids' education.
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The situation cannot hold.
Making different decisions now
The lack of confidence among Americans today in our institutions of higher learning is something to note.
Confidence levels in colleges and universities recently dropped to just 36% — from 48% in 2018 — and before that, from 57% in 2015, a Gallup Poll done in 2023 found.
We went from a majority of Americans believing in the value of higher education to now just a distinct minority who feel that way.
That is a huge drop. We went from a majority of Americans believing in the value of higher education to now just a distinct minority who feel that way. This happened in a relatively short period of time.
The overriding fact is the lack of confidence will lead to reduced involvement by Americans in a college education and the path needed to get there.
People are making different decisions now.
"It costs a small fortune to attend college today, yet the return on investment is not the typical outcome. It’s not usual that it’s a good financial deal." (iStock)
On college campuses over the past few years, students and parents have had to deal with a lot of nonsense.
There was the woke behavior, which many people felt was misguided and just plain stupid.
Then people had to endure COVID rules, which were unclear. Remind yourself that during the pandemic, graduating college seniors could not have family and friends with them during a major life accomplishment. That's just one instance.
Attending a four-year liberal arts college is no longer an automatic decision for many students.
But to me, the most important issue today is return on investment. It costs a small fortune to attend college today, yet the return on investment is not the typical outcome.
It’s not usual that it’s a good financial deal.
Attending a four-year liberal arts college is no longer an automatic decision for many students.
And it is no longer an automatic assumption on parents’ part that this is the best way for their kids to go. That's a big mind shift.
Today we’re hearing a lot more about alternative education paths, including trade schools, which make a lot of sense.
"Young people can become welders and earn more than $100,000 a year. They can become plumbers, carpenters, electricians, mechanics. They can provide important and regularly needed services." (John Paraskevas/Newsday RM vis Getty Images)
Young people instead can become welders and earn more than $100,000 a year.
They can become plumbers, carpenters, electricians, mechanics, police officers and military personnel.
It's the values and virtues our country was founded on — self-discipline, compassion, responsibility, courage, perseverance — that provide the ultimate guardrail.
They can provide important services for the country. These needed activities can't be outsourced.
All of the above feeds into the loss of confidence in many of our institutions today, including government and business.
People are looking for things they can hold onto — for a set of guardrails.
The true strength of the American people is rooted not in big institutions with confusing policies, shifting priorities, the social and political agendas of a small minority (think DEI), or unclear paths going forward.
"Values and virtues matter. They inform smart decision-making and positive, productive experiences across a lifetime — and they need emphasizing today more than ever, not just among our young people but across our population," writes Bill Bennett, former secretary of education. (iStock/Bill Bennett)
Instead, it’s the values and virtues our country was founded on — including self-discipline, compassion, responsibility, courage and perseverance — that provide the best guardrails.
But the ultimate guardrail, the true guiding light, is our faith.
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These values and virtues matter.
They inform smart decision-making and positive, productive experiences across a lifetime — and they need emphasizing today more than ever, not just among our young people but across our population.
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As my wife, Elayne Glover Bennett, and I noted in "The Book of Virtues: 30th Anniversary Edition," "The world always changes, but virtues do not. They help provide sure footing for healthy, truly happy souls."
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