Cindy Chupack (Medill ’87) always knew she wanted to be a writer. But growing up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Chupack said she didn’t know of many ways to make a career out of her craft — which was one of...

Rick Singer, the head of the college-admissions preparation business implicated in the nationwide admissions scandal, spoke of a "side door" to gaining admissions. Only one of those three doors was available to SESP junior David Guirgis, a first-generation, low-income student — albeit barely.“I had to kick down the front door to get here,” he said.

The myth of meritocracy sits at the foundation of our educational system: if you work hard enough in high school, you’ll get into a good college and eventually, get a good job. It is a system that for...