<p>This is amazing... you guys actually find time between reading a mountain of applications and posting on this forum... Amazing organizational skills... :D By the way, are you guys any good at making sorbet? I posted this on another forum but nobody replied ...:p</p>
<p>Oh, Inaina, I JUST made a sorbet!!! It's really easy. What kind? I made a cantaloupe sorbet...mmm...</p>
<p>One of the other reasons I come to CC is because at times, our jobs can be really tough and discouraging (much like the process can be for you guys)...coming here reminds me of why my job is important and that there are real people behind the papers I read. </p>
<p>Thanks for all of your kind words...I wish you all the best of luck in the next few weeks!!!</p>
<p>Chacha...to answer your question...we do look at students in what we call "school groups" because we can, in a way, compare "apples to apples". In other words, we know that all the kids applying from the same high school have the same resources available to them at the school. This certainly doesn't mean, however, that every kid applying from Exeter is going to be compared only to the others from Exeter applying. We look at your accomplishments with respect to your school, but also in comparison to kids from your geographic area, as well as to everyone else in the applicant pool. You don't just need to worry about your 25 classmates applying...you've got to worry about everyone else applying! Well, don't "worry" too much about it...just remember that we're going to look at what you've had in terms of opportunities (meaning schooling, socioeconomic factors, ability to develop special talents, etc...) and if you've taken advantage of those. </p>
<p>Luda...yeah, there are definitely essays that can be really moving...some have actually made me laugh out loud...some have actually made me cry (sniffle, sniffle). And some have enraged me. I know a lot of officers who keep a "favorites file" in their desk to read for inspiration some times...the essay is my favorite part of the application, and it can make or break a student's chances of admission...this year I've admitted several kids because their essay compelled me...they had the goods academically and otherwise, but the essay pushed them in. Same thing can happen with interviews, too (though not really as much). </p>
<p>Reddrummer...there's no specific "career path" or prescription for becoming an admissions officer. Like any profession, there are people who are in it and see it as a path to something else, but for "lifers" like me it comes from a passion for lifelong learning and wanting to help students achieve their goals. Well, that's why I'm in it anyways. I would suggest trying to get a student job in the admissions office of the school you go to/will be going to and check it out...talk to the officers and maybe shadow them if you can to get a sense of what it's like. Many of the students in my office have told me they'd never want my job after working in my office; others have already asked me for recommendations for positions they are applying for! </p>
<p>ferris...in a way, i personally think what you described is an invasion of privacy...there's talk in the admissions world about different sites like facebook and myspace, for example, all the time. we all have our foibles and do and say stupid things, but i'm not sure that fishing for info on students on CC, myspace, or facebook is appropriate...at the same time, the stuff you put on your webpages or on CC is out there for anyone to view. i personally don't make it a habit of trying to figure out who anyone is on here...although after ed/ea offers went out it was fun to see some of the posts on here for my school! but i just don't think it's fair...you're all here to express yourselves...this site isn't your college application. that being said, there are a lot of folks trying to figure out who i am and it's getting annoying......but i respect all of you guys' (i know that's not really grammatically correct, but i'm tired) privacy and right to vent on here, so i'm not trying to figure out who any of you are. </p>
<p>bbecker...each school does things differently...i usually take 20 minutes per application to read and another 20-25 to make notes. my staff does a holistic review and this is rather time-consuming...other schools have cutoffs for scores and gpas, others don't. just depends on where you are applying. you should ask officers at the schools you are applying to (if you haven't already) how they do it! </p>
<p>nikrud...seriously, i have not gone to a starbucks for the last 5 days...you know how sometimes you go in there and you come out and you can smell the coffee on you? that's how my sheets and office and condo smell because i do a lot of reading there. i switched to tea, but i still can smell the darn coffee!! i don't know if i can ever go back...i don't feel like a rockstar...i'm learning a lot from you guys and i'm appreciating it. i wish i was a rockstar though sometimes...sigh. and sadly, the madness doesn't end after decisions go out...there's admitted student events on and off campus to attend, there's tons of phone calls to answer and be made, and then there's spring travel to start meeting the next group of applicants for next year. when june comes, i'll be relaxing :) oh, and the grammar and spelling is a little scary, but the worst is seeing it in application essays. seriously people, use spell/grammar check! lol</p>
<p>okay, time to sleep. again, best of luck to you all!!!!</p>
<p>^^AdOfficer - I just noticed the spelling in the title of this thread. lol. Maybe some of these kids have used their a-d-m-i-s-o and n keys to the point that they stick?!?</p>
<p>yeah, i saw that, too lol!</p>
<p>AdOfficer... I was sort of wondering a brief overview of how you being the review process.</p>
<p>Basically, each (well, most) student's application is sent to your school via Internet/online. What's the first thing you do when you receive everyone's app? What do you do with the essays? Print everything out? Save it to your computer?</p>
<p>And then the rest of the app (teacher recs, transcript, etc) is sent via snail mail... So you consolidate these two parts of the app and put them in each student's file, and then review all the paperwork?</p>
<p>I just read through all of these posts, and I am thankful there are college admissions officers out there telling us the truthful, behind-the-scenes process of college admissions. I would also like to say that AdOfficer should continue to have his privacy valued. The whole reason he is coming on CC and sharing his off-the-records insights is because of his anonymity. Leave him alone.</p>
<p>Here are a few questions I can think of (I can think of more later, but it's late):</p>
<p>1) How do you view upward trends in relation to class rank? Will a drastic upward trend make you consider class rank with considerably less weight?</p>
<p>2) How big an impact do teachers' recommendations have on the admissions process? Do you closely consider the essay, rankings, or both?</p>
<p>3) Do you, or other admissions officers you know of, Google, "Facebook," or "MySpace" applicants' names? (I know you mentioned this, but I was wondering if you'd care to elaborate.)</p>
<p>4) Are applications arriving closer to the deadline viewed differently?</p>
<p>just curious, why does everyone seem to think that AdOfficer is a "he"? lol ;P</p>
<p>You know, I, too, thought about that after my post. But I thought since AdOfficer alluded to being a male, I was safe from the linguistic feminists: </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Presumably, AdOfficer is a male. Unless she has grotesque amounts of body and facial hair, I think this is a reasonable conclusion.</p>
<p>Edit--Oh, whoops, it looks like the CC sleuths have one more piece of information to track down AdOfficer. I have effectively cut down the number of people they need to investigate in half. This is like "Guess Who?: Admissions Officer Edition."</p>
<p>haha true, but what if AdOfficer is a female, and when "she" said "don't shave", she meant her legs... you know how some ladies can be really uptight about shaving their legs, at least I'm one of them... ;)</p>
<p>You guys are too funny...I don't like to shave at all...</p>
<p>I just finished reading the most amazing kid! My area got so many apps this year that I'm still reading! Can't believe it...</p>
<p>with<em>one</em>voice...
we do actually still get applications in the mail, believe it or not! but most apps come in via the internet. we have folks that work in our data department who download everything and print it out...then we have administrative assistants/data entry staff for enter all the info from the applications into our admissions system...most schools have their own information systems/applicant management systems where students are "coded" in different ways...all the demographic, school, and other data is inputted and a record is created. at my school, everyone gets a file created (physical and computer) and once all the essentials are received and put in the files (application parts, essays, supplements, transcripts, testing scores, recommendations) i get the physical file to "rate"...different schools use different rating systems...at my school, once the application, supplement, testing, transcripts, school report, recs, and essays are received i can read...if only one teacher rec has arrived, i'll still go ahead and read it...you would be amazed at how long it takes to enter all these documents into the system, file it, and get it to me! we do a holistic review - i read EVERYTHING in EVERY file, even if a student isn't looking academically compelling - just to give everyone their fair time and read. then i make my decision...some are pretty cut and dry and don't go to committee (other officers hearing my applicants) while others do (most of them...) and we vote, majority rules...i also sit down with my dean and discuss - one-on-one - a lot of my applicants as well. it is a very, very long process...but i don't review anything until all the essential parts of the application have been received via snail mail or electronically...i rate and do everything by hand, but some offices i've worked in have online programs where officers can do their "workcards" online...i have carpal tunnel so bad right now...my right thumb, pointer, and middle fingers are blistered up...oh the pain!</p>
<p>Aww...get some sleep :)</p>
<p>So this is standard procedure? It's like this at just about every college admissions office?</p>
<p>M Cookie,
Have a heart--carpal tunnel and fingers in pain and you ask one more question requesting a typed reply!</p>
<p>AdOfficer--thanks for participating. Your insights and good cheer are very much appreciated. Trying to zero-in on your school is a fascinating way to use my mind as I wait out these last few weeks.</p>
<p>I am not asking, nor do I want, you to tell us where you are currently working, but a hint every now and then makes this fun. Today's hint, at least for me, is that you used the word "supplement." That means you accept the Common App. with a supplement, which, I think rules out Stanford and Brown; either that, or you are taking something to promote hair growth.</p>
<p>^Not so fast. A lot of schools have supplemental information forms, like for the arts and writing, other additional info, etc. (Even Stanford, UChicago, etc.)</p>
<p>Trust me, I sent a supplement to just about all my schools :)</p>
<p>And a lot of kids send supplements (or "supplemental materials") even when not required or requested to do so. At a holistic admissions school, the admissions officers would certainly read and consider them.</p>
<p>By supplements I mean supplementary materials...like an extra essay or recommendation, or a music sample...stuff like that...</p>
<p>Ice...</p>
<p>If a rank shoots up, that usually means so, too, have grades, right? So that's a good thing. However, there is such a thing as too little, too late...waiting until your first semester senior year to do your best work is cutting it a little late. However, many students have rough freshman or sophomore years, but seeing a student rebound from this is a promising sign. </p>
<p>Teacher recommendations are very, very important...they tell us what kind of student - and person - you are in the classroom and with your peers. They also tell us what your level of academic engagement and curiosity (very important!!!) is and how you react to setbacks academically or otherwise. Decisions can hinge on what your teachers say.</p>
<p>I don't google (I love how that's a verb now) students or use facebook or myspace...I think it's in invasion of privacy. There has been chatter in the admissions and counseling world about the use of these in the admissions process, but in general I do not believe it is a practice being used by admissions offices. I actually had an interview once and literally, as I'm interviewing with this woman sitting behind her desk, I can see, in the reflection of her glasses, a photo of me on her computer...she googled me as i was sitting in front of her! It was horrible...I didn't take the job...not cool. </p>
<p>I can't say that applications are viewed "differently" depending on when they arrive. I don't work at a school with rolling admissions...We read them as we get them, but that is usually in the span of one month, not several like at rolling schools. We know what kind of student is a good fit for our institutions...thus, whether we read an application on January 12th or March 12th, if a student is compelling and a fit, they are going to be in the running...</p>
<p>I am totally ignorant of the admissions process. Does a school accept kids who round out specific areas, as in: a kid who plays bassoon if you need a bassoonist, or a high level golf kid if you have a team who needs one right now? Do the dept. heads come and give you a 'shopping list' of kids to look out for before application review time? I would think that some years would be heavy in singers and other years in physics whizzes...just by chance. It's all very interesting.</p>
<p>Thanks again to the admissions officers for taking the time to answer questions here.</p>
<p>AdOfficer, does each admissions rep have a certain region assigned to them?</p>
<p>At colleges with thousands and thousands of applicants, certainly the same person can't read all of the apps and essays... So how many people read each app? Is it like, just each applicant's regional rep?
And then that rep pitches his/her applicants to a board of more admissions people? What do you discuss in such "pitches"? The topic of the applicant's essay? Their GPA/SAT?</p>
<p>Hehe, sorry... I think everyone really appreciates your insight into college admissions.</p>