It isn't just high school seniors who try to make themselves look good in college admissions. So do the schools, and they waste everyone's time and money in the process.

Comparing the number of people who apply to the number who are accepted is the most obvious way to measure how selective a college is. As a result, colleges have been doing everything they can to make themselves seem more popular by encouraging even unqualified applicants to apply. "The marketing is unbelievable, just unbelievable," one counselor said. "There are places like Tulane that will send everyone a 'V.I.P.' application."

The results are artificially depressed acceptance rates, and an increasingly frenzied admissions process. Data suggest that controlling for students' standardized test scores, qualified applicants can still expect to get into elite schools, as Kevin Carey reports for The New York Times. Eighty percent of well-qualified applicants are accepted into at least one elite school -- they just have to send out more applications to be sure of receiving an acceptance letter somewhere.  According to one survey, the number of high school students applying to at least seven colleges has more than tripled since 1990, to 29 percent.

This shell game in college admissions is just one example of a much large problem: There's no handy way of ranking schools. In order to maintain their place on lists like that of U.S. News and World Report, colleges do all kinds of things that are at best a distraction from teaching. Sometimes, these shenanigans are costly. Witness George Washington University's monumental spending on new dormitories and recreational facilities for students, which transformed the campus from an affordable commuter school that could serve working people to an exclusive and expensive but highly ranked university.

An obvious solution would be to develop a thoughtful, comprehensive system for ranking schools based on data. Then schools wouldn't gain anything by deflating their acceptance rates. The rankings might depend on whether schools make an effort to include first-generation college students from poor families or whether their graduates default on their debt, for example. And the Obama administration has proposed to do exactly that.

University officials nationwide have reacted angrily to the proposal. They worry that a federal system would force colleges to focus on the wrong things. That's a real concern, but it would be a more persuasive objection if high school seniors weren't busily sending in applications by the dozen.

What's in Wonkbook: 1) Obama's meetings on Ferguson 2) Opinions: Inequality, the Internet, Ray Rice, sharks 3) Climate talks begin in Lima 4) Shutdown deadline nears 5) Why the parents of dreamers were left out, Corinthian Colleges, gay men could be able to give blood and more

Number of the day: $380.95. That's how much the average holiday shopper spent over the four days since Thanksgiving, including online purchases. Total sales for the period declined 11 percent sine last year, flummoxing analysts who are still predicting a strong season for the retail sector. Maybe the figures reflect underlying weakness in the U.S. economy, or maybe people are just tired of Black Friday. Hiroko Tabuchi in The New York Times.

Chart of the day:

The major banks feel confident enough about a new agreement with federal regulators on who is liable when borrowers default that they're adopting less stringent standards for new mortgages Monday. In particular, some banks are expected to eliminate the additional points on a borrower's credit score many banks have required above federally mandated levels. Joe Light in The Wall Street Journal.

1. Top story: Obama to meet with cabinet, civil rights leaders on Ferguson

We may hear about police militarization from Obama soon. On the agenda at the White House Monday is a review into various federal programs that help local law enforcement agencies acquire military-style equipment. Julie Hirschfield Davis in The New York Times.

In Ferguson, things have quieted down. After seven days of protests, the community seems to be ready to move on. Meanwhile, Mayor James Knowles announced the creation of a civilian review board to handle complaints about police misconduct. David Montgomery and Wesley Lowery in The Washington Post.

Officer Darren Wilson has resigned from the police force. His mind had been made up some time ago, according to previous reports. In a letter, he said he hoped his resignation would "allow the community to heal." He will not receive severance pay or a pension, as he had served less than three years. Monica Davey, Mitch Smith and John Eligon in The New York Times.

BLOW: Whites misperceive the link between race and crime. Through the financial crisis, banks were pushing subprime loans on black borrowers, which in addition to decades of discriminatory lending is one more reason why so many blacks live in areas where crime is high. The New York Times.

MICHAEL ERIC DYSON: Obama dodges the real issues in Ferguson. When the president preaches to black folks about obeying the law and acting like respectable members of society, he ignores the decades of lawbreaking by people like Martin Luther King that allowed Obama to attain his current office -- and no one listens to him anyway. The New York Times.

COBB: More riots result in yet more governmental commissions. The explanations for the unrest in Ferguson are the same as they when the Kerner Commission convened in 1967, but Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has decided the issue needs further study. The New Yorker.

DOUTHAT: Neither party knows how to move the country beyond race. Both Republicans and Democrats have colorblind goals, but neither party can figure out how to achieve them. As a result, voters see Republicans as the party of whites and the Democrats as the party of everyone else. The New York Times.

BRUENIG: Actually, riots can be economically efficient. If the rioters in Ferguson discourage just a few police officers around the country from using lethal force when it isn't necessary, the benefits of mayhem will have far outweighed the costs. Gawker.

2. Top opinions: Inequality, Internet control, Ray Rice, tax extenders and the great white shark

LAURA TYSON: Inequality has an economic cost. "Growing income inequality and stagnant incomes for the majority of Americans mean weaker aggregate demand and slower growth. Even more important, income inequality constrains economic growth on the supply side through its adverse effects on educational opportunity and human-capital development." Project Syndicate.

CROVITZ: The Obama administration wants to give up control over the Internet. Since its inception way back in the Clinton era, the World Wide Web has been supervised by the U.S. Commerce Department. The White House intends to give up that control, but the result could be that authoritarian states like China can censor their citizens' Internet usage more easily. The Wall Street Journal. 

KAVITHA DAVIDSON: Ray Rice's suspension was arbitrary to begin with. He deserved to be punished promptly and severely, but the NFL preferred to look the other way at first after Rice viciously beat his wife in an elevator in Atlantic City. Now his tardy suspension has been vacated, and the league has proven itself incapable of disciplining its players. Bloomberg. 

DIONNE: Obama was right to veto the tax extenders. "Some who claim to care passionately about deficit reduction abandon their inhibitions when corporate tax breaks are on the table." And more broadly, Obama will clarify the national debate between the parties as he pursues his agenda through vetoes and executive actions -- it will be clearer to the public who stands for what. The Washington Post.

In defense of the great white shark. In Australia, most beachgoers have seen a shark on the beach sometime in the past year, a survey found. They know that sharks aren't dangerous to humans, and that great whites suffer undeservedly from a bad reputation. Julia Baird in The New York Times.

Disturbance in the Force interlude: The trailer for the next Star Wars film, "The Force Awakens," has been released. Filming for a new installment began after Disney purchased Lucasfilm in 2012, and the cast will include Mark Hamill and Harrison Ford as well as some newer faces. Dave Itzkoff in The New York Times.

The script: "There has been an awakening. Have you felt it? The Dark Side -- and the Light." Watch the trailer here.

A lightsaber shown in the trailer is fitted with a crossguard. On a real lightsaber, a crossguard would probably just get in the swordsman's way, argues a practicing smith who specializes in making weapons. Andrea Peterson in The Washington Post.

 

3. Climate diplomats meet in Lima

After decades of failed negotiations, maybe now is the time. The announcement of the agreement between China and the United States two weeks ago is lifting spirits among the negotiators, but a deal might be too late to avoid dangerous climate change. Coral Davenport in The New York Times.

The clock is ticking. This meeting is the last one before a deal is supposed to be signed in Paris next year, but the obstacle is the same as it's always been: who is responsible for averting climate change? And there will be frustration in Lima, since developing countries feel that wealthy nations and major polluters need to do more immediately -- that is, this decade -- to prepare for global warming. John Vidal in the Guardian.

4. Government funding deadline nears

Congress must pass a spending bill by Dec. 11. Lawmakers are expected to present a budget on Dec. 8. Meanwhile, other items on the legislative agenda include pending presidential requests for money to deal with Ebola, the Islamic State and child migrants at the southern border. Andrew Taylor for the Associated Press.

Speaker Boehner aims to avert a shutdown. He has to persuade the G.O.P. rank and file, who are angry about Obama's executive action on deportations, to put off a major confrontation with the president. Boehner thinks Republicans would be blamed for a shutdown, but Democrats worry he won't be able to get his caucus to support a funding bill no matter what. Carl Hulse and Jeremy Peters in The New York Times.

5. In case you missed it

The House's Obamacare suit focuses on what are known as "cost-sharing reductions." They're like the tax subsidies, but instead, they're given to the insurers instead of the subscribers to help lower the cost of insurance for people who can't afford it. It looks as though Congress never appropriated the money for these reductions, but the Obama administration has been giving them out anyway. Robert Pear in The New York Times.

The White House wanted to give parents of "dreamers" a reprieve from deportation. Administration officials worried that doing so would exceed Obama's legal authority to act. Critics say the decision to exclude the parents was politically motivated. Juliet Eilperin and Jerry Markon in The Washington Post.

Gay men may soon be able to donate blood. An FDA advisory panel meets this week to consider revising the 31-year-old rule. One proposal would restrict donations to those gay men who have not had sex within the past year. Brady Dennis in The Washington Post.

Under new management, Corinthian Colleges will be not for profit. The schools relied heavily on federal student loans, but their graduates regularly defaulted on their debts, and they encouraged new students to commit fraud on federal applications for financial aid. Corinthian will reorganize as a not-for-profit enterprise -- but one that is owned by a debt-collection company that could potentially profit off overly leveraged graduates. Although the deal might appear to create a conflict of interest, it has the blessing of the Department of Education. Danielle Douglas-Gabriel in The Washington Post.

The feds get $29 million, and students get nothing. Yes, the new owners are technically not-for-profit, but the CEO made $1.1 million in 2010, and the employees receive annual bonuses worth hundreds of thousands. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has sued the firm for its aggressive treatment of bankrupt graduates, but Education gets a fat check as part of the deal. The Wall Street Journal. 

NICK BUTLER: Expect the decline in energy prices to continue for a long, long time. Solar panels, fracking and other new technologies will not only increase the supply of energy, but also allow the world to use it more efficiently. Energy companies, meanwhile, have been planning on steadily increasing energy costs for years. The Financial Times.

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