<p>I was just wondering how colleges read our applications. Do they assign people to a certain region? If they do, do they make the same people read year after year so they know more about the specific area?</p>
<p>Yes, most colleges have region specific admission officers. Colleges each have individual policies in reading apps. Some generalizations are that most traditional state schools use GPA formulas and are more numbers based, while LAC’s are generally more holistic and will read each file and pay closer attention to essays.</p>
<p>Take a look at a book called “The Gatekeepers” by Jacques Steinberg; it goes into detail on how Wesleyan does this process, though it varies between school. Generally, you’re regional admissions officer reads your application and gives it a grade or score (at Wesleyan it is apparently an “accept” “accept minus” “deny plus” or “deny”) and hands it on to another reader chosen at random who does the same thing. If your application is very strong or very weak, it is removed from the table then, but if it is somewhere in the middle it goes to the committee of admissions officers, where the admissions officers take a vote on whether or not to accept you. Keep in mind, this is Wesleyan and not necessarily every college.</p>