I am posting this same comment in multiple threads…

The reason the mo legislature did this is dumb, but the $4.5M is a small amount. For instance the STL County Library budget in 2021 was over $56M, but the state aid portion of that is less than $400k. In other words, it’s a rounding error, and getting the state out of local library decisions should actually be better than allowing them to influence things.

https://www.slcl.org/sites/default/files/2021-Approved-Budget.pdf

“Admissions stats also played a big role in the rankings formula. In 2003, ranked at 127, Northeastern began accepting the online Common Application, making it easier for students to apply. The more applications NU could drum up, the more students they could turn away, thus making the school appear more selective. A year later, NU ranked 120.” - https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2014/08/26/how-northeastern-gamed-the-college-rankings/

It also makes them money. Reject a $100 application and have $30 of labor and cots in it = $70 profit

Some schools court applications just to reject students… it makes them look artificially selective