Holistic Admissions at Berkeley

Parents Social Lounge
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<p>Confessions of an Application Reader: Lifting the Veil on the Holistic Process at the University of California, Berkeley
By RUTH A. STARKMAN
New York Times
August 1, 2013

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A HIGHLY qualified student, with a 3.95 unweighted grade point average and 2300 on the SAT, was not among the top-ranked engineering applicants to the University of California, Berkeley. He had perfect 800s on his subject tests in math and chemistry, a score of 5 on five Advanced Placement exams, musical talent and, in one of two personal statements, had written a loving tribute to his parents, who had emigrated from India.

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<p>But he was only ranked a 2 on a 1-5 scale. The author discusses why.</p>

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<p>Welcome to reality. ‘Holistic’ admissions aren’t all that different from ‘holistc’ hiring practiced at many firms, especially government or government-related ones.</p>

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<p>Well, that was a depressing read.</p>

<p>Sadly, it was not surprising either.</p>

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<p>The gods must not want me to comment because my post disappeared.</p>

<p>Read it again. Note her confusion and how she switches between that and “impressions.” I’m what she calls an “external reader” and I don’t see this sort of confusion in our team. But she’s at a top state school and I work for an Ivy. The most notable thing I can agree with is, “looking for ways to advance the student to the next level, as opposed to counting any factor as a negative.”</p>

<p>No, when you apply to a highly or most competitive school, it’s not all about nicey-nicey. It is your college app. The pat on the head comes from friends and family. Big guy or gal in high school is not what it’s all about. Nor perfect stats. Not woe. Your ability to succeed, thrive and contribute at that top college is. No, it’s not perfect. </p>

<p>The point of the article is her confusion, not some rare insight about holistic, across the board.</p>

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<p>Search for “Hout report” if you want to know more about the Berkeley admissions process.</p>

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<p>I didn’t like the comment from one administrator “Oh, you’ll see a lot of THEM”, referring to high stats Asian applicants. It smacks of racism.</p>

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<p>And the “you’ll see a lot of THEM” to the student with the low GPA who served in the Israeli army.</p>

<p>Seriously, wth???</p>

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<p>You’re assuming it’s racism. One author. One report of conversations. One point to be made. Why do you think, “a low-income student with top grades and scores, and who had served in the Israeli army, was a 3?”</p>

<p>Take a look at the Hout report that ucb noted. Page 6+ shows the range of goals to accomplish- not just three that sound good to folks, say, low-income, top stats, ex-army.</p>

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<p>The title is deceptive, I don’t think her essay lifted any veil at all. By definition “holistic” is going to incorporate factors that defy quantification. It seems her problem is that she never quite grasped how to evaluate these qualities.</p>

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<p>You can see the marked contract between this inexperienced ‘reader’ and an experienced one like Ralph Figueroa, described in The Gatekeepers. But thankfully there are 2nd readers and ultimately the committee to keep checks and balances in the process.</p>

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<p>The same old mish mash of innuendo and articles that the OP is so fond of posting. The article has an annoying habit of insinuating one thing but then backing off a firm conclusion. In my opinion it’s a lazy article, using a shotgun approach to explain alleged preferences, but ultimately failing to prove anything. It’s certainly lacking, especially considering that it was written by a Stanford writing Prof.</p>

<p>The Prof doesn’t seem to understand that she was hired to read essays and search for some form of holistic greatness. She was hired as a detective for unobvious talent but seemed more content to question the obviousness of GPA & SAT. HER JOB WAS TO FIND THE TALENT AND FLAG IT, NOT TO QUESTION WHY TALENT ISN’T RANKED HIGHER!</p>

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<p>It’s interesting how little effect test scores had. The graphs on page 45-46 imply that increasing verbal SAT from 500 to 700 only decreased average read score by only 0.1 to 0.2. In contrast, the equivalent percentile change in weighted GPA rank had a tremendous influence, dropping read score by ~1.4.</p>

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<p>UC Berkeley and UCLA use similar holistic methods for undergraduate admissions.</p>

<p>Richard Sander, a U.C.L.A. law professor, studied the UCLA admissions data and published a paper: [The</a> Consideration of Race in UCLA Undergraduate Admissions](<a href=“http://www.seaphe.org/pdf/uclaadmissions.pdf]The”>http://www.seaphe.org/pdf/uclaadmissions.pdf).</p>

<p>Here are some news reports of the study:
[‘Holistic</a>’ Controversy | Inside HigherEd](<a href=“http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/10/31/debate-over-admissions-and-race-ucla]'Holistic”>Debate over admissions and race at UCLA)
[Findings</a> by law professor suggest that UCLA Admissions may be violating Prop 209 | Daily Bruin](<a href=“http://dailybruin.com/2012/10/23/findings-by-law-professor-suggest-that-ucla-admissions-may-be-violating-prop-209/]Findings”>Findings by law professor suggest that UCLA Admissions may be violating Prop 209 - Daily Bruin)
[Race</a>, ‘Holistic Admissions’ and U.C.L.A. | NYTimes](<a href=“http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/13/race-holistic-admissions-and-u-c-l-a/]Race”>Race, 'Holistic Admissions' and U.C.L.A. - The New York Times)</p>

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<p>Not to sure what the issue is…the Adcoms at UC readily make clear that they want the campuses to reflect that demographic makeup of the State (in accordance with the UC Master Plan). Thus, they are doing everything legally possible to accomplish that goal.</p>

<p>And yes, UC has long favored GPA over test scores. Again, that is part of their goal.</p>

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<p>The issue is that Prop 209 does not allow the race-conscious admissions process that this reader says is happening at UC Berkeley.</p>

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<p>nope: it’s about self-reported, “overcoming adversity”. Anyone can play that essay game.</p>

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<p>Even “overcoming adversity” depends on the actual delivery. It’s not the situation but what strengths the kid exhibits- and that includes how he proceeded, challenged himself, moved forward, had some impact, in ways that show the qualities that college wants. It’s more than stats or stu gov president. Most don’t get that it’s not “my woe is worse than your woe.”</p>

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<p>A 1 is the highest score. I’m not sure what the issue is, it seems like a 2 is a very good score, considering the student is applying to Berkeley.</p>

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<p>Is that professionally-written essay really detectable? Do pros write in a “cloying pompous” style?</p>

<p>I haven’t read many college essays, so I wonder.</p>

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<p>Yes…and no.</p>

<p>Once this type of subjectivity is introduced, it is only human nature to ‘feel’ more for some than others. If two readers feel the same…accept.</p>