<li><p>GPA - simple enough, how hard does the student work?</p></li>
<li><p>number of AP classes taken/how many AP classes it was possible to take - how hard does the student push him or herself?</p></li>
<li><p>essays - is this an interesting person who will contribute to the college’s atmosphere?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I wouldn’t count:</p>
<p>standardized tests - too easy to “game the test”, only shows natural intelligence, not hard-workingness.</p>
<p>lists of ecs - if people want to talk about them in their essays it’s ok, but it seems like a lot of people just join clubs to make their lists longer</p>
<p>Anything I’m missing? And how would you rate these factors?</p>
<p>Edit: whether there was an interview or not would depend on the type of school, small school yes, large school no.</p>
<p>Not me, I got a 2280 on the SAT and I think it’s bullsh1t. Getting straight A’s even for one semester requires more work than a 2200+ SAT score.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>GPA-- for the same reason that you stated, how hard are students willing to work, how steady they are about their school performance and how diligent they work towards their educational goals.</p></li>
<li><p>What classes they take-- this doesn’t mean only AP classes. Are the students taking a wide selection of classes or are they taking the bear minimum. I’d take into consider honors classes and subjects that the student is interested in. If the student is applying as an art major, it would be nice to see a wide selection of art classes. Same with those with science and English majors. Looking at only AP disables a lot of students from admissions.</p></li>
<li><p>Essays-- for the same reasons as you proved. It also gives insight to each students unique situation and reasons behind their college goals.</p></li>
<li><p>ECs in and outside of school-- this includes volunteer work. I don’t think that admissions should only look at clubs and activities that were participated in at school. They should extend it to outside activities.</p></li>
<li><p>Letters of recommendation-- just to get an opinion from another individual on the student.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I wouldn’t take test scores into consideration at all because they don’t reflect ANY information about the student.</p>
<p>The only documents required would be FAFSA and SAT score report.
Divide up the scores by income range and take the top of each group until the class is filled.</p>
<p>lol, does it even matter? I don’t think any of us will be running a college anytime in our lifetimes.</p>
<p>I would see which careers tend to make the most money, only offer those majors (like pre-med, pre-law majors, finance, business, etc.), and admit people based on the things they have accomplished in those areas. Who cares about SAT scores if they started a semi-successful business? Who cares about GPA if they are able to convince people to their views?</p>
<p>Essays only? These can be manufactured as well. Currently holistic admissions weighs the teacher recs much higher than many of you have noted. Not that it’s all or nothing – but it does serve as an objective, outside view of the applicant. File readers are *looking *for ways to admit students. I think the teacher rec is one of the best sources for providing the reader the rationale to move positively on any particular file. </p>
<p>Consider this: you get five top GPA, top course rigor, top scoring applicants. Their essays give the reader a flavor about the student. The teacher recs can really stand out in a sea of superlatives.</p>
<p>One more thing to note: this whole exercise presumes that the college you run actually is *desired *by masses of students. What I mean is this: 90% of college admissions deans ALREADY only consider two items: GPA and scores. NOTHING else matters.</p>
<p>All of you who are adding to this thread presumes that you’re steering the admissions processes of a top “name” college… not as easy as one might think, eh?</p>
<ol>
<li>Essays that show a great deal of knowledge and interest in attending the school</li>
<li>An interview, simply because there is more to a person that his/her numbers</li>
<li>Extracurricular Activities that aren’t used to just get into the school but that apply to the students intended major. Also taking leadership roles in these activities and intending to get involved on the college level.</li>
<li>GPA</li>
<li>Rigor of Schedule</li>
<li>SAT is last, simply because of the fact that one test shouldn’t determine someone’s whole future. Everyone has a bad day and some people just aren’t good test takers. Also some people have the luxury of hiring private tutors, taking classes and being ultimately better prepared for the exam than others. The SAT in my opinion is simply unethical and should be done away with.</li>
</ol>