<p>I am really hoping that Wikileaks will move onto the college selection process soon. It is easier to get info about the State Department, the FBI and the CIA than to find any info on how schools make their choices. Geographical factors need to be considered. I think part of the reason my DS was accepted in 2008 was the fact hat we are from CT and the northeast was a bit under represented at UChicago at the time. Maybe the College is no longer need blind. Is there really no communication between FinAid and AdComm??? So, let’s face it we can characterize things generally and use anecdotes but we really can’t tell. I wish there was more transparency but their isn’t and I feel for the students and parents who go through this every year.</p>
<p>^^</p>
<p>Wikileaks doesn’t leak documents themselves. They help protect the identities of those who wish to leak documents, which makes the idea of Assange as a terrorist even more absurd. In any case, unless someone in the admissions department steps up and leaks the documents, it would never be accomplished.</p>
<p>“Along with every other top college, it wants the best students (as shown by everything in their applications, not just their “stats”), not the students who like it the most.”</p>
<p>Sometimes it’s both. At some schools, kids who “like” the school, those who show interest, visit overnight, etc., are more successful, i.e., graduate at higher rates. For some reason, schools like high graduation rates. ;)</p>
<p>“to find any info on how schools make their choices”</p>
<p>This should not be made public; too many applicants would simply fudge their apps to match what schools say. It’s sufficient to know that schools admit the kids they want the most, and since schools are not all alike, they have different reasons for wanting a given applicant more or less. Sometimes it’s the other applicants who indirectly influence whom else is admitted, and this can change dynamically during a given admission cycle.</p>
<p>Read [Crafting</a> a Class: College Admissions & Financial Aid, Elizabeth A. Duffy, Idana Goldberg](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Crafting-Class-Admissions-Financial-1955-1994/dp/0691016836]Crafting”>http://www.amazon.com/Crafting-Class-Admissions-Financial-1955-1994/dp/0691016836)</p>