My opinion

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The prominent weightage accrued to letters of recommendation and personal statements make one wonder whether the standardized examination-adjudged meritocracy misses out on applicants’ assessment as whole persons. However, the origin of letters of recommendation and personal statements a century back may be speaking for itself according to “Affirmative Action for the Rich: Legacy Preferences in College Admissions” in United States and “The Class Ceiling: Why it Pays to be Privileged” in United Kingdom [1-2].

 

Irrespective of the original reasons to institute letters of recommendation and personal statements a century back, the current application processes to judge wholesomeness of applicants have inducted too many parameters to assess during the application processes [3]. However, these parameters’ quantifiable objectivity is always in question imploring futuristic thinkers to consider developing standardized intelligence-emotional-social-collective quotient assessment portals to level the field for the applicants [4]. In the interim, it may be better to consider replacing the current interviewing processes assessing sociability among fitting-in applicants with practical examinations wherein the applicants may be able to objectively demonstrate their technical know-how as pertaining to their fields so as to complement their theoretical know-how demonstrations during written examinations.

 

The principal question is: Isn’t it getting obsolete to only seek knowledgeable talents instead of sociable collaborators? However, the selection processes’ biases while seeking sociable collaborators must be overcome by exploring futuristic collaboration know-how assessment tools sans their all-pervasive subjective dimensions. Herein independently functioning artificial intelligence may come in handy. The bottom line is: One cannot surrender or squander one’s naturally endowed innate privileges secondary to the accident of one’s birth or origins or familial support systems or finances [5].

 

Reflectively, if the system favoring those born with a silver spoon in their mouths had been so counter-productive, the societies based on such systems may have failed long time ago unless few or all of the following things may be happening:

• There is a large lag period before such inequitable system fails
• This is the only way the system is supposed to work whereby achieving equality in the nature always remains elusive
• This is just system adapting to the rising costs of education and training warranting legacy/development case contributions to sustain nurturing the excellence of super-selectively talented few from humbler backgrounds whose super-excellence in their fields is immune to ambiguities of the system and on whose shoulders the same system rises up to excel further in spite of its ambiguities [6]
• There is the immateriality of institutional education and training as compared to life experiences and teachings making the issue of equitable access to institutions moot [7]

 

Therefore, the question arises: Should there be a cry for breaching the ceiling? It may be painfully truthful that the glass/class ceiling may be a “Self-Healing Ceiling” wherein even when breached, it self-heals underneath the ones who have breached the existing ceiling [8]. Thereafter, in time the ceiling self-perpetuates above them especially when too many have breached the existing ceiling turning it into an unstable doomed floor. Henceforth, the call for breaching the ceiling may be just a cry to renegotiate the existing terms and conditions of the ceiling because the classes constantly warrant restructuring based on their differential access across the self-healing ceiling.

 

Evolutionarily, the opportunities for growth and even survival turn leaner as the societal classes rise up within their hierarchies. Thereafter, the selfish gene overtly interferes regarding whom to collaborate with [9]. Although it may have appeared more equitable when choosing among the larger populations while dwelling at open-spaced bottoms, it may become impossible to ignore family and kinship when competing at tight-spaced horizons. Innately, everything may be boiling down to the selfish gene which may be propagating a convoluted misconception that whoever survives must be the fittest.

References

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1. Affirmative Action for the Rich: Legacy Preferences in College Admissions https://w ww.amazon.com/Affirmative-Action-Rich-Preferences-Admissions/dp/0870785184 Accessed on February 12, 2020
2. The Class Ceiling: Why it Pays to be Privileged https://www.amazon.com /Class-Ceiling-Why-Pays-Privileged/dp/1447336062 Accessed on February 12, 2020
3. Applying to Medical School: The Parts of Your Medical School Application https://students-residents.aamc.org/applying-medical-school/faq/what-parts-yo ur-application-tell-medical-schools-2/ Accessed on February 12, 2020
4. Before Happiness: The 5 Hidden Keys to Achieving Success, Spreading Happiness, and Sustaining Positive Change https:// www.amazon.com/Before-Happiness-Achieving-Spreading-Sustaining/dp/0770436730 Accessed on February 12, 2020
5. Accident of birth https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accident_of_bir th Accessed on February 12, 2020
6. The Real Reasons Legacy Preferences Exist https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2019/04/legacy-admissions-preferences-ivy/586465/ Accessed on February 12, 2020
7. Why 'A' Students Work for 'C' Students and 'B' Students Work for the Government: Rich Dad's Guide to Financial Education for Parents https://www.amazo n.com/Why-Students-Work-Government-Financial/dp/B00EEDFIY2 Accessed on February 12, 2020
8. Self-healing material https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-healin g_material Accessed on February 12, 2020
9. The Selfish Gene https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Selfish_Gene Accessed on February 12, 2020

Source(s) of Funding

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NOT APPLICABLE

Competing Interests

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NOT APPLICABLE