Minverva Schools: The future of college?

[Eldon]

Minerva Schools, a college startup based in San Francisco, California, believes that the traditional model for college is failing students.

Based on application numbers for the Minerva Class of 2021, it seems that there may be tens of thousands of students that agree.

In just its fourth year accepting applications, the unconventional college received 20,427, admitting 385 students. That acceptance rate, at 1.9%, is far lower than at any schools in the Ivy League or Stanford.


....

http://www.businessinsider.com/college-startup-minerva-harder-to-get-into-than-harvard-2017-5

From the article: The school does not accept any standardized test.  It does not accept a pre-written essay.  It does not accept extracurriculars.  Why not?  All of these largely proxy for wealth.   

[#UnleashSean]

Doesn't measure on wealth... Costs 30k a year.   

[reinko]

Really interesting idea, but what struck me was the 80% of its students are from outside the US.

I work have partnered with the school highlighted in this article, like Minerva a disruptor for sure, but at a fraction of the cost.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.forbes.com/sites/michaelhorn/2015/04/30/match-beyond-no-excuses-meets-disruption-in-higher-education/amp/

[warriorchick]

Minerva has its own set of assessments and essays that are done live on camera and recorded. This includes an oral and a written interview.

I want to know how a school that only admits 385 students can afford to process 20,000 applications of this type. 

[4everwarriors]

Easy Dame, dis is accountin' 101. Da application fees generated by 20k apps. moore den pays four da hole admission's dept., hey?

[reinko]

I want to know how a school that only admits 385 students can afford to process 20,000 applications of this type.

They have to have some kind of automation or computer algorithm to weed out a high %.

[forgetful]

They have to have some kind of automation or computer algorithm to weed out a high %.

They probably check parents net worth.

[GooooMarquette]

I saw a documentary on this quite a while back.  The concept seems great - very high levels of interaction between students and profs, focus on critical thinking skills and the like.

It will be interesting to see how grads fare compared to those from other top schools.  And if they do well - which would not be shocking - it would be interesting to see how they might translate this to larger scales.  As I said, it's a very high-interaction place so I'm not sure how effectively they can commoditize it without jeopardizing the quality.

[GGGG]

Any college that requires that much international travel will be nothing but a bit player.