New in elite college applications: Sal Khan's Dialogues
- lesscollegestress
- Jul 21
- 1 min read
Beginning this admissions season, colleges like the University of Chicago, Johns Hopkins University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Vanderbilt University, Columbia University, Colby College, Northwestern University, and Washington University will begin accepting "Dialogues" from Schoolhouse.world, a platform co-founded by Sal Khan.
I appreciate the pros and cons of this. First, the con: don’t students have enough hoops to jump through? But I get the pro, too:
Why would colleges do this?
Grade Inflation: When so many students have perfect or near-perfect GPA’s, even with high rigor, colleges need to see beyond the numbers. That’s why essays matter…however…
AI Essay Concerns: With artificial intelligence tools making it difficult to determine if essays authentically reflect a student's voice and abilities, Dialogues offers a way to observe students' real-time thinking and communication skills during live conversations.
How does it work?
Authentic Interaction Assessment: The platform connects high school students worldwide for one-on-one video conversations about important topics like climate change, immigration, and artificial intelligence. This allows admissions officers to witness how students navigate differing viewpoints with curiosity and open-mindedness in real-time situations.
Should we expect elite college applicants be informed enough to discuss real-world problems? Should they be able to communicate effectively about them? No one is asking them to solve the problems.
Colleges have always valued strong communication skills. Perhaps these institutions are using Dialogues to dissuade students who apply because of the schools' prestige, but are not academically serious enough to engage in thoughtful, civil conversations with peers. That might make admissions' job of finding best-fit students easier.
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