Whaley: They’re Missing Out

From Inside Higher Ed:

“The exemption was originally purely for resource reasons,” said Lindsay Whaley, associate dean for international and interdisciplinary programs. About 200 out of the approximately 1,000 Dartmouth freshmen have been granted exemptions each year based on SAT verbal and, in recent years, writing scores. (The cut-off varies each year based on capacity and class size, but last year for instance students needed at least a 740 on both the verbal and writing portions of the test to qualify.) “In a sense, I think it was [perceived as] an honor to be exempted,” Whaley said of the student view. “There was a sense that ‘Wow, this is great.’ From a faculty standpoint, there was a sense that they’re missing out.”

I would observe that most students who have been through the writing program pointedly disagree. The program is a veritable repository of the dregs of the faculty.