Collection of articles on Inside the Admissions process: selective LACs

[Skyhook]

<p>I haven’t read all the articles yet (I intend to) but my eye was caught by the following quote:

What’s not in play, by design, is whether the applicant will need financial aid to pay the school’s more than $43,000 a year in costs, including tuition, room and board. Instead, unspoken or whispered cues pass between Chermonte and Braat — this applicant will need a full ride, perhaps offset by the next candidate who can pay full freight.

</p>

<p>To me, this confirms that, although the dynamics may be intricate, the student who DOESN’T need any financial aid has an admission advantage. Even if it is only to allow the adcoms to admit someone they really want who needs a full ride!</p>

[Papa_Chicken]

<p>This 2006 article is more about using statistical tools for recruiting rather than admissions- at larger institutions-, but I wouldn’t doubt that such an approach hasn’t affected the ‘demostrated interest’ weighting factors in some admissions decisions.
[The</a> Chronicle: 10/13/2006: The Power and Peril of Admissions Data](<a href=“http://chronicle.com/free/v53/i08/08a04601.htm]The”>http://chronicle.com/free/v53/i08/08a04601.htm)</p>

<p>If Pomona’s approach is any guide to other selective LACs, perhaps these methods are less frequently used:

Colleges that refrain from data mining are generally small private institutions that have had consistent numbers of applicants and students who accept offers of admission, such as Pomona College, in Claremont, Calif.</p>

<p>“The only calculations I do are in my head,” says Bruce J. Poch, vice president and dean of admissions at Pomona. “People spend thousands to have companies tell them how to interpret their data, and they break the numbers down so finely that it doesn’t mean anything.”

</p>

<p>However, others might…

…Some students may not know that such information is collected, and others may not have the wherewithal to make campus visits, for example. Instead, he says, admissions officials should read each application carefully and judge the candidates on their individual merits. Only after officials have decided whether to admit or deny each student should they turn to the models to see what adjustments they need to make to the number and type of students they have accepted.</p>

<p>At Union College, Mr. Lundquist, the director of admissions, says he does just that. After a human being has read each application and debated its relative merit with the admissions committee, the predictive model’s final calculations of such factors as who will accept an offer, or how much an applicant will contribute to tuition revenue, may determine whether the college accepts or rejects a particular student.</p>

<p>“It’s like balls running through a pinball machine,” says Mr. Lundquist. “We put in our picks and run the model to see what the head count looks like, and if it spits out a number that’s higher than our financial-aid target, or has too many engineers, or whatever, we have to go back and take some people out and put others in.”</p>

<p>In recent years, Mr. Lundquist has had to make some difficult decisions. He has, for instance, told his application readers to pull out names of financially needy students that they had planned to accept. Why? The statistical model had predicted that Union’s net tuition revenue would be lower than expected given the students he had chosen to admit.</p>

<p>Although no admissions official interviewed for this article would admit to using statistical models to make admissions decisions, one who asked not to be identified said he was fired twice for refusing to employ such criteria. The official, who has worked for two highly selective colleges, is now employed at a less competitive one.

</p>

[Papa_Chicken]

<p>An HD.NET transcript of a May 2008 Dan Rather show (Stress Test: Getting Into College)…includes Chicago, Earlham, Caltech, Kenyon & more:
<a href=“http://www.hd.net/cgi-perl/transcripts_send_word_doc.pl?id=A5223[/url]”>http://www.hd.net/cgi-perl/transcripts_send_word_doc.pl?id=A5223&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

[Papa_Chicken]

<p>another Harvard article, circa 2005:
[Keys</a> to the Kingdom - Boston Magazine](<a href=“http://www.bostonmagazine.com/articles/keys_to_the_kingdom/]Keys”>http://www.bostonmagazine.com/articles/keys_to_the_kingdom/)</p>

[Papa_Chicken]

<p>this subject of behind-the-scenes looks at the college admissions process is apparently so sexy that there’s a new novel out now…Princeton admissions office as the setting:
[The</a> mystery of college admissions | Philadelphia Inquirer | 07/05/2009](<a href=“http://www.philly.com/inquirer/entertainment/books/49858387.html]The”>http://www.philly.com/inquirer/entertainment/books/49858387.html)</p>

[darling]

<p>Great thread! Only the Stanford link doesn’t work…</p>

[kayakmom]

<p>my head hurts from reading all these links…great stuff!</p>

[Papa_Chicken]

<p>darling-- looks like Stanford re-mapped their news and magazine archives, and that the article is lost in cyberspace. I looked hard, but could not find it (January 1998, feature article #5 entitled: “Class of 2002”, I think…index found on a saved PDF of the subsequent article in that issue here: <a href=“http://www.scandalis.com/Jarrah/Documents/StanfordArticle.pdf[/url]”>http://www.scandalis.com/Jarrah/Documents/StanfordArticle.pdf&lt;/a&gt;)</p>

<p>I did find a letter to the editor regarding the admissions article:
[Letters</a> to the Editor](<a href=“http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/1998/mayjun/departments/lettoed.html]Letters”>http://www.stanfordalumni.org/news/magazine/1998/mayjun/departments/lettoed.html)

I just wanted to thank you for your recent series of articles on building the class of 2002 (Stanford Today). Being able to read about actual applicants made the college admission process much easier and also eased my mind. I am happy to report that I was offered a chance to become a part of Stanford. Needless to say, I will be accepting that offer. See you at the Farm!

</p>

<p>Note that “Stanford Today” doesn’t seem to exist anymore, and a new “Stanford Daily” only has archives back to 2001.</p>

[Papa_Chicken]

<p>Brandeis (date unknown) on video:
[A</a> behind-the-scenes look at the undergraduate admissions process - UnivSource.com YouTube EDU Channels](<a href=“http://www.univsource.com/edu-channels/show-video/A-behindthescenes-look-at-the-undergraduate-admissions-process__bB86s3JYkbg.html]A”>Discover Best Colleges In U.S. - U.S. News Best Colleges)</p>

<p>[this is Brandeis sponsored, not an independent news report, but interesting nonetheless]</p>

[darling]

<p>Thanks Papa Chicken… too bad it’s lost tho. But thanks again!</p>

[Papa_Chicken]

<p>this 2004 article on Florida state schools’ admission process is a counterpoint to all of the other articles on this thread…[State:</a> Admit, deny, done.](<a href=“http://www.sptimes.com/2004/02/08/news_pf/State/Admit__deny__done.shtml]State:”>http://www.sptimes.com/2004/02/08/news_pf/State/Admit__deny__done.shtml)</p>

<p>

Admissions officers at most Florida universities rarely read entire applications. Some spend as little as four minutes on a file before single-handedly deciding an applicant’s fate.</p>

<p>One reason is volume: Florida universities are among the largest in the nation. They get tens of thousands of applications, forcing admissions officers to work year-round, sometimes on weekends, sometimes curled up on the couch at home, crunching numbers and comparing scores.</p>

<p>And since most Florida schools aren’t overly selective, most admission decisions are based on grades and test scores. When evaluators look at essays or letters of reference, it’s usually because an applicant is right on the edge of qualifying.

</p>

[Papa_Chicken]

<p>Bowdoin, Cornell & Rice (copy of a 2000 Time article) </p>

<p>Title: “In or Out: Inside College Admissions, An exclusive look at the admissions process of three top schools exposes the myths that keep students from getting into the college of their choice”
<a href=“http://www.leigh.cuhsd.org/advising/pdf/In_or_Out.pdf[/url]”>http://www.leigh.cuhsd.org/advising/pdf/In_or_Out.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

[Papa_Chicken]

<p>Harvard</p>

<p>I found these NYT ‘Choice Blog’ answers from Fitzsimmons of Harvard to be interesting, and quasi ‘inside’, but they do not recant much in anecdotal stories about the heat of the decision (like some of the other articles & linked stories on this thread), so to speak, more on Harvard’s approach:</p>

<p>on general process & financial aid: [Guidance</a> Office: Answers From Harvard’s Dean, Part 1 - The Choice Blog - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/harvarddean-part1/]Guidance”>Guidance Office: Answers From Harvard's Dean, Part 1 - The New York Times)
on SATs & helicopter parents: [Guidance</a> Office: Answers From Harvard’s Dean, Part 2 - The Choice Blog - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/11/harvarddean-part2/]Guidance”>Guidance Office: Answers From Harvard's Dean, Part 2 - The New York Times)
on ECs and Recommendations: [Guidance</a> Office: Answers From Harvard’s Dean, Part 3 - The Choice Blog - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/14/harvarddean-part3/]Guidance”>Guidance Office: Answers From Harvard's Dean, Part 3 - The New York Times)
on essays: [Guidance</a> Office: Answers From Harvard’s Dean, Part 4 - The Choice Blog - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/15/harvarddean-part4/]Guidance”>Guidance Office: Answers From Harvard's Dean, Part 4 - The New York Times)
on secondary school origin: [Guidance</a> Office: Answers From Harvard’s Dean, Last of 5 Parts - The Choice Blog - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/16/harvarddean-part5/]Guidance”>Guidance Office: Answers From Harvard's Dean, Last of 5 Parts - The New York Times)</p>

[Papa_Chicken]

<p>here’s a direct source for the Times article (In or Out: Inside College Admissions) mentioned in post 52:
[In</a> or Out: Inside College Admissions - TIME](<a href=“http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,57724,00.html]In”>http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,57724,00.html)</p>

<p>although dated, its still great advice with some admissions committee insights, IMHO.
headings fyi:
Myth 1 Make yourself look as well rounded as possible
Myth 2 The essay counts only in close calls
Myth 3 Send your “award-winning” art portfolio
Myth 4 Don’t spill your guts
Myth 5 If a teacher says he’ll write a rec, it will be a good one
Myth 6 Don’t be too eager</p>

[Papa_Chicken]

<p>new set of articles on Duke
[Application</a> increase overwhelms review system | The Chronicle](<a href=“http://dukechronicle.com/article/application-increase-overwhelms-review-system]Application”>Application increase overwhelms review system - The Chronicle)
[Duke</a> balances competing goals in admissions | The Chronicle](<a href=“http://dukechronicle.com/article/duke-balances-competing-goals-admissions]Duke”>Duke balances competing goals in admissions - The Chronicle)</p>

[Keilexandra]

<p>^And part 3 of that series:
[Duke</a> draws ?rich kids of all colors? | The Chronicle](<a href=“http://dukechronicle.com/article/duke-draws-rich-kids-all-colors]Duke”>Duke draws ‘rich kids of all colors’ - The Chronicle)</p>

[Papa_Chicken]

<p>Wall Str Journal video with the following description

WSJ On Campus presents a rebroadcast of our interactive webcast, Inside the Admissions Office. Join admissions deans from Bryn Mawr, Grinnell, Marquette, Princeton, Penn, UVM, Wesleyan and Williams as they take you behind the curtain and reveal what you need to know to get into your top-choice schools.

</p>

<p>[not an allowed cc website, so here’s a clue]
link: "<a href=“http://www..com/articles/inside_the_admissions_office/">www..com/articles/inside_the_admissions_office/</a>”
replace ***** with these 5 letters
u
n
i
g
o</p>

<p>this video is pretty good</p>

[Papa_Chicken]

<p>

We want bright, edgy, curious, energized, community-oriented future Polar Bears who are going to do something cool with the opportunities here. We are not trying to admit just the students with the best testing, or all of the valedictorians, or most of the Eagle Scouts, or every student who’s never gotten a “B” grade. We are trying to admit the bright, talented, accomplished students who would be great at Bowdoin.

</p>

<p>[Dean</a> Scott Meiklejohn: Table for Twelve?Inside Bowdoin?s Admissions Committee Bowdoin Daily Sun](<a href=“http://www.bowdoindailysun.com/2011/02/dean-scott-meiklejohn-table-for-twelve—inside-bowdoin’s-admissions-committee/]Dean”>http://www.bowdoindailysun.com/2011/02/dean-scott-meiklejohn-table-for-twelve—inside-bowdoin’s-admissions-committee/)</p>