@shawnspencer I am very aware of the plight of low income minority students since this is the population I work with on a daily basis. Most of my clients qualify for free lunches. Knowing my students, a supplement and/or LOCAL interview would actually help them more than hinder. It would give them a chance to show off their unique talents, which may not come across with a consideration of test scores. I don’t agree that an ability to submit supplemental materials would be a hindrance. The supplements could be videos, music performances, writings, artwork, software apps, maker projects, etc. These days anyone with a smart phone can take a video or fabulous photograph. And yes, many of my free lunch clients do have smart phones, although they may not be the latest model. Furthermore, there are resources around to help my clients obtain computers and low cost internet. If someone is applying in CS, one would assume that they have had at least some contact with programming. So being able to submit one’s program/website/graphic designs, etc rather than not, just doesn’t seem to be a disadvantage. Application fees and test fees are an issue, but my understanding was that these could be waived for students qualifying for free lunches. Really these new measures do not make sense to increase diversity.
I actually believe an increase in summer program scholarship funds for a diverse populations would do the most to increase access. I think some of these measures that CMU is taking will harm diversity.