Dear President Roth and the Wesleyan Community,

I was dismayed by the news that Wesleyan had ended need-blind admissions. I believe that this decision damages Wesleyan morally, as well as academically. Further, I anticipate that this decision will have a disproportionate effect on Wesleyan’s science departments, whose student body comes almost entirely from the middle class. I was also dismayed that this kind of bombshell would be dropped without any concerted effort to inform the Wesleyan community and reach out to alumni in order to find an alternate solution to Wesleyan’s financial troubles. Why did I first hear about this from the news media?

Universities in the United States not only educate our young but also are a gatekeeper for the society—admission to an elite university offers greatly increased opportunities for success in our society. As it currently stands, children of the wealthy already have many advantages and have far more access to the spoils of our society than the rest of us. Do you think students who can get personal tutors, can attend top high schools, can take courses that train them how to beat the SATs don’t already have an admissions advantage at schools such as Wesleyan? In my day, I was one of the few students at Wesleyan without two parents who had graduated college. Were we really finding the best and brightest and nourishing their minds?

There is lots of talk in the news these days about the decrease in social mobility in the U.S. from what it was 30 to 40 years ago. The major institution that affects social mobility in the U.S. is its universities. We should be working to increase social mobility, not dismantling it. I strongly believe part of the mission of our fine university is both to shape the minds of the next generation of our elite, but also to make admission to the elite more just.

Allowing the wealthy to buy their way into the elite undermines this mission. What message does this policy send to our students and to the world? What values does it convey? I have read that the plan is to admit on a need blind basis the first x percent of the student body (say 90 percent), until the targeted financial aid budget is exhausted. While I do not have any particular knowledge about Wesleyan’s admissions, one would assume that the yield (the decision to enroll) from the last students admitted would be much higher than average. If a student is a marginal admit for Wesleyan, he or she likely has fewer choices of a similar quality to Wesleyan. So I would expect even if we admitted say 10% of the class based on their ability to pay, the effect on the incoming class would be far greater than 10% as many of these marginal admits would choose to enroll.

This is not a small change. I really think that this decision will have a devastating effect on academics at Wesleyan and on its reputation. One effect is clearly that we would not be admitting the best possible students. Another effect is that the decrease in diversity will diminish the value of class discussions and discussions outside of class. I fear the school will slowly be transformed from a cathedral of ideas to a playground for the rich. Twenty-one years ago I served as a member of the Student Institutional Priorities Committee (as the lone science department member) under President Chase. We then, as now, were grappling with financial realities and were discussing ending need-blind admissions. In my day, the math and science faculty screamed murder since practically all of the math and science students were on financial aid of some kind. I do not know if that is still the case, but I strongly suspect it is.

I came to Wesleyan in part because of the strength of its science departments. Wesleyan is a rare place where faculty are conducting real research, and undergrads have the opportunity to participate. I fear for the future of our science departments after this major change in admissions policy.

I have given money to Wesleyan every year. I periodically come back to Wesleyan and give talks. I love Wesleyan. I also feel that I owe Wesleyan for providing me with enough financial aid that I was able to attend. And to me it’s the finest school in the world, with great teachers and scholars and the most interesting students that I have ever met. Whenever I meet a Wesleyan alumnus I have a great conversation—and this has to do with the character of the school and the qualities of the students it admits.

President Roth, if you had come to me and the other alumni and said, we are in trouble, we do not have enough money to provide financial aid to all our students without sacrificing the future of Wesleyan, we would have stepped up even in these difficult economic times. But I have rather mixed feelings about contributing now—I just don’t think a school that would sell admission is a school I want to support.

I do not want the character of Wesleyan to change from the diverse, intellectually curious and socially engaged place it is, to a glorified country club. I do not want people to see a Wesleyan alumnus, and wonder if his or her degree was bought or earned. I do not want to see Wesleyan’s fine science departments suddenly short of students. Please reconsider this decision to end need-blind admissions.