Featured Post from University of Delaware

Hidden in plain sight: UD researcher exposes gaps in college application process

Analysis of 6 million Common App entries by Dominique Baker and colleagues reveals disparities in extracurricular reporting, prompting a push for fairer evaluations in the admissions policies.

Jun 11, 2025

2 min

In a groundbreaking study in the American Educational Research Journal, University of Delaware Associate Professor Dominique Baker and others has unveiled significant disparities in how students report extracurricular activities on college applications, highlighting inequities in the admissions process.​


Analyzing over 6 million Common App submissions using natural language processing, the researchers discovered that white, Asian, wealthier, and private-school students tend to list more activities, leadership roles, and unique accomplishments compared to their peers from underrepresented racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. However, when underrepresented minority students did report leadership roles, they did so at rates comparable to their white and Asian American counterparts.​


CaptionResizeWrap TextRemove


“All students do not have the ability to sign up for eight, 10 or 15 extracurricular activities,” Baker noted, emphasizing that many students must work to support their families, limiting their participation in extracurriculars.​


To address these disparities, the researchers recommend reducing the number of activities students can list on applications—suggesting a cap of four or five—to encourage a focus on the quality and intensity of involvement rather than quantity. This approach aims to level the playing field, ensuring that students with limited opportunities can still showcase their potential effectively.​


Baker and her colleagues draw attention to Lafayette College, which has recently reduced the number of extracurricular activities it reviews from 10 to six. While data on the impact of such changes is still forthcoming, the move aligns with the researchers’ recommendations and signals a shift toward more fair admissions practices.​ Other institutions are beginning to take note.


If you wish to delve deeper into this research and explore its implications for college admissions, Baker is available for interviews and has been in a number of national outlets like The Wall Street Journal, ABC News, and Inside Higher Ed. Her insights could provide valuable perspectives on creating a more fair admissions landscape.

Powered by

You might also like...

Check out some other posts from University of Delaware

Blood Clots Can Sideline Elite Athletes. Could Microrobots Offer a New Approach? featured image

1 min

Blood Clots Can Sideline Elite Athletes. Could Microrobots Offer a New Approach?

Blood clots have sidelined or ended the careers of several elite athletes, drawing attention to a potentially life-threatening condition. The University of Delaware's Sambeeta Das is part of a team that has developed tiny, magnetically guided robots that could offer a new approach to removing such blockages. The list of athletes affected by blood clots includes NBA champion Chris Bosh, whose career ended after recurring clots; tennis great Serena Williams, who survived two life-threatening pulmonary embolisms; San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama, who was shut down in February 2025 when deep vein thrombosis was discovered in his right shoulder; and Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, whose recent diagnosis of blood clots in his lungs has drawn national attention. In a published study, Das and her colleagues demonstrated that magnetic microrobots could mechanically break apart clusters of human liver cancer cells and clear them from narrow channels designed to model blood vessels. The robots used mechanical forces rather than drugs or chemicals to disperse the clusters. The research offers an early proof of concept for using microrobots to remove unwanted cellular material in confined spaces. Das can discuss how the technology works, its potential application to blood-clot removal, the challenges of targeting blockages inside the body, and what further research is needed to explore its use in patients. To contact Das and arrange an interview, visit her profile and click the “Contact” button. Reporters can also email MediaRelations@udel.edu.

From Baseball to Business: The Science of Team Success featured image

2 min

From Baseball to Business: The Science of Team Success

The ingredients that create a World Series team often mirrors how units achieve success in business. How did they get there? The University of Delaware's Kyle Emich says the answer goes beyond assembling a roster of star players. Emich, a professor of management, says that how players combine their strengths, respond to opponents and create opportunities together can be just as important as individual talent. The same is true in business, where a collection of talented employees doesn’t automatically translate into a high-performing team, he said. One example is the approach that the 2026 Milwaukee Brewers’ took during their postseason run. Rather than relying exclusively on home runs and individual star power, the team created opportunities through a combination of speed, patience at the plate, timely hitting and pressure on opposing defenses. A stolen base, a walk or a defensive mistake might seem like a small event on its own, but the effects can build as players’ actions interact. These interactions matter, he says, because teams are not simply collections of individuals; their performance emerges from how people and their activities affect one another within a larger environment. The same is true in business as well as baseball. Businesses may recruit exceptional employees or invest in promising technologies such as artificial intelligence, yet fail to realize their potential if their processes, team structures and working practices don’t support those strengths. Emich can discuss: • Beyond Moneyball: What baseball’s emphasis on statistics and individual talent reveals about the limits of evaluating people in isolation. • Building better teams: How coordination, complementary strengths and the interaction among team members contribute to performance. • Strategy and competition: What baseball teams’ adjustments to opponents can teach business leaders about responding to competitors and changing conditions. • Technology and the future of work: Why adopting artificial intelligence or other new technologies is not enough without considering how people, processes and technology work together. To reach Emich directly and arrange an interview, visit his profile page and click on the "contact" button. Interested reporters can also send an email to MediaRelations@udel.edu.

NBA stars and Achilles injuries: The road back to peak performance featured image

2 min

NBA stars and Achilles injuries: The road back to peak performance

A new NBA season brings plenty of storylines, from star players in new uniforms to the debut of promising rookies. But for players recovering from Achilles tendon injuries, returning to the court is just the beginning, says the University of Delaware's Karin Grävare Silbernagel. Regaining strength, explosiveness and consistent performance can take longer to achieve, said Silbernagel, a professor of physical therapy who studies tendon injuries and rehabilitation, with a focus on Achilles tendon ruptures, ankle function and long-term physical performance. Her research explores why recovery involves more than healing tissue or returning to competition. Strength, movement, tendon function and the ability to perform under the demands of sport all matter, she said. In a recent study, Silbernagel and colleagues examined single-leg jumping in people about two years after an Achilles tendon rupture. They found that fatigue affected ankle power differently on the injured and uninjured sides, highlighting how an injury can influence movement and the way the body distributes physical demands even well into recovery. Silbernagel can discuss: • Why returning to the court does not necessarily mean an NBA player has regained full strength, explosiveness or durability. • How clinicians assess recovery and readiness to return to sport after an Achilles tendon rupture. • How rehabilitation, progressive loading and return-to-sport testing can help guide recovery. • What research reveals about lingering changes in movement and function after tendon injuries. • What Achilles injuries can mean for athletic performance over time. Silbernagel leads the Delaware Tendon Research Group and consults with professional sports teams. Her research has helped inform clinical guidelines for treating tendon injuries. To reach Silbernagel directly and arrange and interview, visit her profile and click on the "contact" button. Interested reporters can also send an email to MediaRelations@udel.edu.

View all posts
Powered by