Entrance exams

Fascinating article about the history of the entrance procedures at Ivy League universities. Thanks to Salome from Hype for the link. Short version: explicit racial profiling gave way to more subtle discrimination in favour of those with good "character" and physical characteristics (I'm normally loath to cry "homoeroticism!" when I find such things, but there's a distinct whiff of it in what they used to (perhaps still) look for). Also, once you correct for ability properly, the Ivy League universities confer no extra financial benefit on their alumni!

Exercise for the reader: compare and contrast with your own alma mater.

In other news, a photo of wormwood_pearl's Mountie is now online. We still haven't decided on a name for him - any ideas?