<p>I'm just curious about how this goes down. I'm guessing admissions offices have come a long way from having a manila folder for each applicant. Anybody know how the process works these days at the top colleges? They just sit at computers and pass electronic files back and forth with their comments on them? Do they sit around a big table and flash an applicant's info on a screen and collectively give a thumb's up or down? Do they triage them into categories like "Definitely in," "Definitely out," and "Let's discuss"?</p>
<p>Many of the larger not highly selective public universities admit most or all of the students by the numbers, so the process is easily automated (especially if they have the students self-report courses and grades on the application, to be verified with transcripts only after matriculation).</p>
<p>More selective schools may use holistic reviews, but the mechanics of such reviews vary. Smaller schools may have each application presented to the entire admissions committee, while larger or public schools may have two or three readers score each applicant and then rank the applications by score to determine admission. Examples of different holistic review processes:</p>
<ul>
<li>Smaller private university: [Making</a> the grade: Inside the college admissions process - Philly.com](<a href=“Inquirer.com: Philadelphia local news, sports, jobs, cars, homes”>Inquirer.com: Philadelphia local news, sports, jobs, cars, homes)</li>
<li>Larger public university: <a href=“http://academic-senate.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/committees/aepe/hout_report_0.pdf[/url]”>http://academic-senate.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/committees/aepe/hout_report_0.pdf</a></li>
</ul>
<p>Here’s a quick read, fiction but apparently well informed:
[Admission:</a> Jean Hanff Korelitz: Amazon.com: Books](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Admission-Jean-Hanff-Korelitz/dp/B0051BNU1Y]Admission:”>http://www.amazon.com/Admission-Jean-Hanff-Korelitz/dp/B0051BNU1Y)</p>
<p>There’s a film made from this book, starring Tina Fey, but I can’t vouch for it.</p>
<p>My impression from skimming the Tufts admissions blogs is that they are still mostly working with paper. Link here: [Tufts</a> University Admissions Department](<a href=“http://admissions.tufts.edu/blogs/inside-admissions/author/dan-grayson/]Tufts”>http://admissions.tufts.edu/blogs/inside-admissions/author/dan-grayson/) I know last spring Dan blogged a couple of days of the group sitting around the table eating donuts and discussing applications.</p>
<p>There was usually a 2 person read on app. Easier now as they can be viewed on computers, Ipads, even smart phones on a cloud. When two admissions employees agreed or disgreed in unison, then that was it. The decisions had to be made when there was not consensus. What’s scary is how little time the average application gets even at the highly selective schools.</p>
<p>The paper/electronic question poses a particular conundrum for applicants this year because of the insufferable common app formatting. An essay or additional information section that looks pretty good on the pdf preview screen comes out in the printed version with important text missing from the bottom of pages. Correcting the application to make it print everything makes the pdf view messy and difficult to decipher. There appears to be no good solution that works for all schools.</p>
<p>Even with CommonApp, I know at least some schools like Purdue still print out everything and staple together in a folder just like in the movie. There are plenty of books that describe the admission process at different schools. Some highly competitive schools would have the first reader going through the numbers and eliminate some applicants based on score and GPA early on to reduce the applicant pool to a more manageable size.</p>
<p>Thanks everybody…very interesting. I’ve observed a few students preparing their Common Applications, and am amazed by the volume of info involved compared to the 2-sides-of-one-piece-of-paper applications most people in the Parents forum probably used decades ago. Maybe the problems with the Common App this year will make some people ask if perhaps the process gotten too complicated. They ask for something like your top TEN activities?? And some of these colleges are asking for 2 or 3 essays in addition to the main one…no wonder the admissions people get exhausted and cranky.</p>
<p>^^Yes the application might have been only 2 sides, but the essays, recommendations, etc. were all typed (or handwritten). The applications these days don’t ask for much more than what they did in the 70s. I still had to get 2 recommendations, write an essay, write a supplemental essay or two and fill out the application with the personal info, the classes I was taking senior year, the clubs, sports and ECs I was involved in. The manilla envelope, holding the app, the essays, the sealed recommendations, sealed transcripts etc. was not thin. AND that was for 1 college and I applied to three so times that. And we still had to have the ACT and SAT scores sent to the colleges. Being able to do it online mostly saves “time” because you can type right into the forms and things can be sent electronically and to multiple places.</p>