<p>At schools that receive 18,000+ apps, how many employees would they likely have processing apps in an Admissions office? </p>
<p>I find the whole thought overwhelming - tens of thousands of stats, course grades, test scores, transcripts, etc.</p>
<p>I realize that some schools - that include essay requirements - might need more employees, and those who don't require essays might need less, but how many employees would likely be needed? </p>
<p>I think that a good way to get a feel is to visit a large university and wander around their admissions buildings (if they permit that). I’ve done this in a few universities.</p>
<p>I don’t know the answer. However, when I went to a presentation regarding SAT prep at UCLA, one of the speakers mentioned that he was one of an entire crew of people hired part time to assist with admissions at UCLA. UCLA is a school that gets more than 55,000 applications a year.</p>
<p>It varies dramatically from school to school.</p>
<p>I know of a public flagship that gets the same number of apps as we do and they have about twice as many staff members. Temps and student workers are a huge help at most schools.</p>
<p>You’ll need to do a little math to update for “modern times” and acceptance & yield rates, as well as extrapolate for population, but in the late-80s I worked in the admissions office of a small New England, highly competitive LAC. Targeted freshman class was around 425.</p>
<p>There were five full-time admissions counselors, and four full-time office personnel. In addition, there was one part-time admissions counselor, and one part-time office person.</p>
<p>This was before technology, in most senses of the word. Heavy files were lugged around constantly. We did a LOT of reading and meeting with each other. It was grueling. And low-paying. However, the benefits were great.</p>
<p>I made it through one cycle of the process. It was incredibly tedious work.</p>
<p>I suspected that others are brought in to help with the process, so popping one’s head in during a campus visit during the off-season wouldn’t reveal much. Also, some “essay readers” may not even be on the campus at all.</p>
<p>I think of the app cycle being anywhere from 12 - 20+ weeks (depending on the school), so the thought of processing - say - 25,000 apps during that short time seems amazing. Working 5 days a week, that would mean sometimes a thousand or more would need to be processed within one day. Would that be right?</p>
<p>I think the volume of applications received by the UC system is why their due date is November 30. I told my S he must push the button on those before we leave for Chicago for T Day. We’re certainly not waiting until Nov 30, my birthday!</p>
<p>I met with a private financial aid counselor who worked for many years in the financial aid office of a selective New England university. I was surprised when she mentioned that she had read application essays. She told me the office put everyone to work reading application folders, and yes, it was grueling.</p>
<p>It’s worth reading the first chapter of Baud’s “On Writing the College Application Essay” to get a feel for the magnitude of the work. Technology might make some of it easier, but any school that uses a “holistic” process has to have the staff to actually do the analysis. And, I can only imagine what it’s like for the schools that actual decode all those transcripts in order to re-calculate GPA and determine the rigor of curriculum.</p>
<p>When you think about it, you realize the application fees are not really that bad…</p>