How does one justify becoming an admissions counselor on moral grounds

International Students
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<p>I came up with this question after having spent about a year browsing CC for the benefit of both myself and my siblings; I saw threads where people were confused and upset after being rejected on intangible grounds and people who were ebullient at the prospect of being accepted to a university they had no chance at.</p>

<p>Admission counselors dedicate months weeding out "good" applicants from the "bad" in a "holistic" approach in which they consider factors such as an applicants geographic location; colleges always seem to portray them as extremely positive people, excited at the prospect of admitting the new class for a university they have come to love. People readily forget that another part of an admission counselors job is to reject applicants- often more than they accept.</p>

<p>We're lead to believe that these admissions counselors compassionately scrutinize every aspect of our applications to find an excuse to accept us. But statistics argue otherwise, they scan our applications looking for reasons to why they should reject us; essentially they judge thousand of young and hopeful college applicants based on their test scores and essays. One might argue that these are a good indications of a student's level of conviction and intelligence, and I don't disagree. What I find rather perturbing is how these individuals (college counselors) can possibly put themselves in the position to judge thousands of people thereby dictating the course of their lives. Personally I wouldn't take the job on moral grounds.</p>

<p>Off course, the job is necessary; otherwise how else would colleges manage the vast number of applications they receive, I mean they can't offer everyone a place! This is again a notion that I completely agree with, but it doesn't change the fact that to become an admissions counselor you must put yourself in a position where you're in some ways "playing god". Also, It is disappointing that counselors do not appropriately disseminate certain information e.g. their stance on financial aid more specifically for internationals.</p>

<p>I've seen people go into depression after being rejected from universities, and personally, I would not want to be the cause of such despondence. Are admission counselors shallow, or are they just stupid. Because their job creates more pain and misery in the world than any good.</p>

<p>I know ^^, this borders on trolling; but I thought this was a pretty interesting contention (I don't really think all adcoms are pure evil)</p>

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<p>“I’ve seen people go into depression after being rejected from universities, and personally, I would not want to be the cause of such despondence. Are admission counselors shallow, or are they just stupid. Because their job creates more pain and misery in the world than any good.”</p>

<p>I was an admissions counselor to a private college and I don’t think I’m either shallow or stupid. A good admissions counselor lets the student know that not being accepted to their particular college is NOT the end of the world. If a student goes into a depression after receiving a college admissions rejection letter, there needs to be therapy for that student to find out why rejection from one of thousands of colleges sends him/her out of control.</p>

<p>College admissions counselors and not gods. They do not save people lives nor end them. People decide for themselves which events in their lives will enrich or destroy them. You’re really giving too much power to an admissions counselor.</p>

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<p>Your post applies to any person who has to judge people as part of their job description, whether it be admissions counsellors, job interviewers or even teachers. At the end of the day, even though it may sound harsh, rejectees have no option except to suck it up and move on. Letting a decision from a college break you down is just asking for trouble later in life when you have worse problems to deal with. It’s not the end of the world if you don’t end up going to HYPSM. It’s not the end of the world if you’re forced to attend community college. Where you’re going to get to in life is a result of what you do with the opportunities you get, not how much you moan over those you’ve lost.</p>

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<p>Framed</p>

<p>"they scan our applications looking for reasons to why they should reject us; essentially they judge thousand of young and hopeful college applicants based on their test scores and essays. "</p>

<p>Correction please, it should read they are looking for reasons to pick you from among that huge mountainous pile of application paper. And that job can be so difficult considering that they can pick up only a limited number from so many eligible ones. Tough job indeed.</p>

<p>The depression comes from getting attached to a college before a decision is out and also from not having mentally prepared for the outcome of a very complicated and tedious process. So therefore the application process has to start from very early on 11th Grade maybe earlier, and get familiar with all the nitty gritty involved and be ready for whatever is thrown at you.</p>

<p>And like they say your perspective defines who or what you want to be in life. So if you look at it from a point of view of accepted candidate, the adcoms do an awesome job. And the point of applying to many colleges is that you will get noticed for your merit if your college list is matching with your capabilities, at some places if not all. Welcome to the real world, one word, Competitive.</p>

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<p>As Ascaris pointed out, its not end of the world, if you get rejected from top notch schools. Hundreds of people in our own don’t make it to the IITs, and yet most of them do pretty well. Admission counsellors are NOT playing god. They have a tough job indeed, no doubt it, but they definitely don’t dictate the lives of all those who applied. There is so much data about people reaching very good positions and being happy and they’re from XYZ schools. One doesn’t have to be from Harvard or Yale to change the world, or basically be happy in their lives. More than those crimson and gold seals on your degree from the Ivies, its you and your personality that define your life; that make or break it. </p>

<p>I am sure thousands of people will be disappointed to learn about rejections from their dream schools, yet they should be mature enough to eventually understand, its not the end of their journey. They should realise and understand that living, enjoying and leading your life, doesn’t require some Latin words on a certificate, all it requires is a healthy dose of serotonin :D</p>

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<p>The truth is, a decision from an admissions counselor has so many factors. Yes, you might be perfectly qualified to attend the school and have brilliant ECs but perhaps they already accepted another national chess champion (Considering the brilliant people here at CC, there are tons of national whatevers trying to go to HYPSM) , and don’t need you. I’m not saying that a rejection doesn’t hurt–I was rejected from Yale EA and believe me, it hurts–but what we as applicants have got to understand is that a rejection does NOT mean neccessarily that they don’t like you or want you – there are many factors, such as interest demonstrated, financial aid asked for (I know this is unfair, I asked for a LORLDLY TON of aid, and that’s really why Yale rejected me, instead of a deferral.), and many other aspects. </p>

<p>And as to the jealousy that occurs when an “underqualified” applicant gets into the reach a “qualified” applicant thought he or she had a chance at, think about this. Often, many bright students do not express enough interest to attend a specific school they think is their safety (cough, cough, an example is the FALSE assumption of
Tufts Syndrome). Wheras a “weaker” applicant might have expressed deep, sincere interest through their essays and character to the adcom, and thus, they might actually think “Well, I’ll take the “underqualified” because he or she actually proved they have goals in attending this University or College.” So, the moral is, IMHO, whatever college you are applying to, FUTURE HS SENIORS, do NOT take an acceptance for granted – PLEASE show who you are through all of your essays and I promise you that you will fare MUCH better in the process. </p>

<p>Adcoms have a tough job–but they are human, and many factors go into their decision.</p>

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<p>You are talking about admission counselors to the most selective colleges. Most colleges in the US accept more than half of those who apply. Actually there are more non selective colleges than selective. When you apply to a school where you know up front that your chances are less than 10%, and you also know that most of those applying are as strong as you are in profile, you have to know up front that the chances of acceptance are small.</p>

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<p>Point taken ;)</p>

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<p>And yet, as your name implies, you attend an elitist institution the prestige of which depends on its being highly selective and rejecting many, many more applicants than it accepts. So you are the direct beneficiary of the work of the admissions people you condemn on moral grounds. How do you live with yourself?</p>

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<p>^Good point.</p>

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<p>@anialways, I’m not talking about how difficult their job is or how much time they put into rejecting people. I’m talking about whether or not they fully understand the implications of rejecting someone and whether or not they confront the suffering they cause.</p>

<p>From my personal experience the application process was extremely painful. The only two places I got into were UChicago and Cornell. Being rejected from UCLA, UCB, MIT and some others places was a traumatic experience.</p>

<p>Yes the world is competitive but that doesn’t really address the question.</p>

<p>@Ascaris, the job of adcoms solely revolves around judging people. Interviewers and teachers both make contributions to society. Interviewers usually have other jobs and teacher educate future generations. Lets face we all innately judge people, we can’t help it! But I think its morally unacceptable to make a career out of it.</p>

<p>It’s quite clear that there isn’t a systematic approach towards making a decision, an adcom will always have an opinion. If decisions WERE in fact based solely on stats, the job of an admission counselor would be far simpler and would make more sense from a moral standpoint. Essentially, they dictate the course of lives based on opinion.</p>

<p>@50ishwoman, to be honest adcoms do have a huge impact one a persons life. Even though people try to deny it, ending up in community college does nothing to bolster ones confidence or ones future prospects.</p>

<p>All the replies to the topic have focused more on applicants rather than the adcoms themselves. Just because I attend an elitist institution doesn’t mean I think that becoming an adcom is justified, the two things are completely unrelated. I attend Cornell partly because I was lucky and my stats were high enough, but loads of people just as qualified- in some cases even more qualified are rejected every year. I certainly don’t see myself as beneficiary of the work of an adcom.</p>

<p>Again I’m not saying adcoms aren’t necessary of that their job isn’t difficult; I’m asking what made them chose to become adcoms and whether or not they realize the amount of suffering they cause albeit short term suffering in most cases ^^.</p>

<p>I knew someone would bring up IIT xD, I was mainly referring to adcoms in the US since in India and elsewhere particularly the UK, focus on grades. Unless your personal statement is an absolute debacle they’ll most likely accept you if you meet their criteria.</p>

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<p>So you were rejected by two big, rather crowded public universities whose real strength is graduate education and research. You were accepted by two selective, prestigious private schools with fabulous undergraduate programs. Sounds like a pretty good outcome to me.</p>

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<p>Why are we discussing the outcomes my applications to university from 2010 lol.</p>

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<p>“I’m talking about whether or not they fully understand the implications of rejecting someone and whether or not they confront the suffering they cause.”</p>

<p>And my answer to that would be “Yes they are fully aware and understand the implications”, and they do so as they are Professionals in their fields and fully understand the confidence placed in them by the Universities to do a thorough job. Very difficult and highly unlikely that they would do anything otherwise. That is what I believe and expect from them. And they are human so empathy is part of the nature for all of but that is not the factor for decisions. </p>

<p>And the confrontation and anger and rejection is what we need to deal with, because if they had to be mindful of that, nobody would be willing to do that job. and then you would have even more chaos, put all applications in a box and pull out the lucky numer. I do not think you would wat that either.</p>

<p>And as for playing Gods, if you think about life like that then loads of other people, not all, qualify for that category. Parents - for deciding their children’s future, the Doctors - for deciding what line of treatment to choose, the Teachers - always playing favorites, the Boss in the office - victim of sycophancy. At least the adcoms do not even know who you are and what you look like. They only know what is there on the piece of paper.</p>

<p>The above is not what I believe but in response to your labeling them as playing Gods.</p>

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<p>“From my personal experience the application process was extremely painful. The only two places I got into were UChicago and Cornell. Being rejected from UCLA, UCB, MIT and some others places was a traumatic experience.”</p>

<p>If you are heading to Cornell with this mindset, will do you no good, you need to change and accept and be proud of your achievement. Time to be Proud to be a Cornellian and count you Blessings. Just in case you have not had the opportunity, this is what you are going to be part of, so move on. I am sure you must be aware of this but this for all others who should also know that how lucky you are and high time you appreciate that dear.
This is from Wiki and I quote,</p>

<p>""Cornell counted 245,027 living alumni as of August 2008 and its alumni constitute 31 Marshall Scholars and 28 Rhodes Scholars, and Cornell is the only university with three female winners (Pearl S. Buck, Barbara McClintock, and Toni Morrison) of unshared Nobel Prizes among its graduates. </p>

<p>Cornell, a research university, is ranked fourth in the world in producing the largest number of graduates who go on to pursue PhDs in engineering or the natural sciences at American institutions, as well as fifth in the world in producing graduates who pursue PhDs at American institutions in any field. Research is a central element of the university’s mission; in 2009 Cornell spent $671 million on science and engineering research and development, the 16th highest in the United States.</p>

<p>Cornellians are noted for their accomplishments in public, professional, and corporate life. Lee Teng-hui was president of Taiwan, Mario Garc</p>

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<p>Correction, did not notice you are already a Sophomore. So all the more reason for you to stop whining how the world/adcoms not being fair and sensitive to your feelings. In fact you should be encouraging and inspiring future applicants on how to handle decisions and seriously . . . . .Move on man.</p>

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<p>^Well said.</p>

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<p>How did the focus of this discussion go from whether adcoms consider the ethical implications of their jobs to me not being proud of being a Cornellian. Ofc I’m proud of being in Cornell ! If I didn’t like it or took an apathetic stance towards school spirit, I wouldn’t have chosen to study in the US. I don’t see the connection between deriding admission counselors and a lack of fondness for ones university.</p>

<p>I was merely citing examples from my personal experience, this thread doesn’t revolve around my personal “trauma” at having been rejected from a few places since I didn’t dwell on it for too long. It focuses more on the cumulative effects of a single team of adcoms decisions on lets say 5000 rejected applicants. Like I said adcoms play a necessary role in the college application process, what I seek to question is why an individual might chose to become an admissions counselor. </p>

<p>Intuition and experience with adcoms here in Cornell tells me that the likely cause is a misbegotten sense of school spirit. My contention is, is that the very fact that they are aware of the ethical implications of being an adcom should deter them from considering it as a potential job. It is difficult to gauge a single persons decision in life, but we can still speculate xD </p>

<p>Yes, we all have to move on after rejection but there will always be that moment where we ask ourselves “why” they rejected us in favor of another applicant; unfortunately, the answer to that question may simply be a case of geographic location and fee status. Personally I would find making a decision like that extremely frustrating, for obvious reasons.</p>

<p>Handling application decisions honestly depends on the personal, when it comes to college decisions you should be as objective as possible.</p>

<p>For me this thread borders on trolling ^^ and I definitely don’t live by the argument I’ve made. Its simply a topic I thought would be interesting.</p>

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<p>“what I seek to question is why an individual might chose to become an admissions counselor.”</p>

<p>Because it is a job. Somebody’s gotta do it, to read all those “original” essays. And you get paid and one needs to earn a living. How hard is that. An HR managers job is as much about recruiting as it is about handing over a dismissal letter. And also they need to hire the perfect fit for the job of the many applicants, and there you go. That is how I see this discussion. </p>

<p>Also a rejection will lead to some amount of disappointment and sadness after all there was an expectation attached to the decision of one’s application. It is a natural human reaction. So it is OK to feel hurt and the important thing is though it is a sort of a feeling of being letdown but should not be taken personally. </p>

<p>And my apologies if my reply has offended you in any way but that was not the intention. Your post sort of conveyed that you were still bitter about your rejection decisions. And I truly believe that in order to live a contented and fulfilling life we need to let go our burden to sit in judgement of people who do not agree with us or with whatever we have to offer.</p>