<p>It's getting close to that time of year when decisions start rolling in and i for one am pretty nervous about what is going to happen. My thoughts keep turning to where my application must be at this very moment, and I've realized, i have no idea.</p>
<p>So what happens to your application once you send it? How is it reviewed? Around when are most of the decisions made (before you receive them)?</p>
<p>I realize I'm being general here, so if anyone has some specific colleges they want to discuss, or just generally want to outline the process, please help me out!</p>
<p>Many universities read them starting on a certain date (Harvard starts Dec 1, Princeton Dec 15), in the order in which they were submitted. For some schools sending out decisions around April 1st, all decisions are pretty much done by about March 20th, sometimes a bit later. It’s common for a school to have people go through all of the applications and make a file for each applicant that puts their scores, transcript, summary of ECs into one format. Schools have varying processes of reading the application. Some places have two read throughs. Some places have just one. In some places, many different people will read parts of your application. Sometimes, rejected legacies get extra review to make sure it was a sound denial of admission.</p>
<p>It varies.</p>
<p>Have you checked out The Gateskeepers by Steinberg? I think that was the book that helped me the most in understanding college admissions. Also, when you visit colleges an admission officer will usually go over their admission process during the information session, what they look for in applicants, etc. Your application is usually read first by a regional admission officer who is the most familiar with your school district, then, depending on the schools, it may go through a second or third reader, and finally some sort of an admission committee that will cast the final vote. It differs a lot by school though.</p>
<p>Edit: aka what Millancad said.</p>
<p>The application review process varies drastically from school to school. Many state institutions with pretty clear cut guidelines for admission will just hand the application over to someone in the office, who then checks your GPA and your SAT/ACT score, confirms that both are high enough, then looks at a handy little reference chart to see if you get any money. It’s quick, it’s efficient, and it only focuses on numbers.</p>
<p>In contrast, the big private schools will usually have an admissions committee. Your application is first reviewed by someone in the office who will look at GPA and SAT/ACT to see if you meet certain general qualification. That person will make a decision of whether to drop you or keep you, and then pass on your file to another person who will either agree or disagree with the first reviewer. If both agree, you are advanced or dropped accordingly. If they disagree, a third person is brought in to make the final decision. For all the applications that move on to the next stage, a more complex committee will review the details. This committee generally consists of admissions officers, faculty, and sometimes adminstrators or current students. At the Ivies, where thousands upon thousands of applications pour in, it takes a very long time to work through all the applications. Everyone on the committee “reads” (by which I mean skims) your resume, essay, personal statements, etc. and scores you. Usually the first round of committee review is pretty clear cut as to who is still in and who gets thrown out. Of the remaining applicants (we’re in late Feb/early March at this point), outside factors start to weigh in: what state is the applicant from? How many people of this race to we want? How’s the public/private high school ratio looking? These and other factors will really make or break you. The committee has in mind what a “perfect” entering class will look like, and they start sifting through the applications to find specific students who meet what the committee wants. At this point, about 20% of remaining applicants will make it in, about 40% will be cut, and the rest will get waitlisted. Decisions are literally being made days before letters go out.</p>
<p>That’s based on my experience as a student committee member.</p>