It's time to bring the college admissions process into the modern age, writes Kevin Carey at the Atlantic. He doesn't mean the process by which elite students get into Ivy League schools—he means the real world, where the vast majority of students end up picking a school because it happens to be nearby and cheap, or because of "what their friend's older brother's girlfriend said that one time at the mall." The problem is that far too many students drop out because they pick a poor match.
Solution? Information technology. Let's do for college admissions what Match.com and eHarmony have done for relationships. It "would be a boon for bewildered students and parents trying to make heads and tails" of the process, writes Carey, especially first-generation kids. "Students who used to default to the local community college might be willing to drive an extra 20 minutes to a competitor if they know the education they receive will be much better." It can't be superficial change, though. Carey calls for a fundamental rethinking of the entire admission process to take advantage of the technology now available. Click for the full column. (More college admissions stories.)