Jobs And Interview

admin · Site Admin Joined: 05 Jul 2005 Posts: 689

The college admissions process is all about marketing and fit. Initially, the colleges market themselves to prospective students in an attempt to get a diverse group of applicants (and to meet certain quotas). Once a student decides which colleges he/she wants to apply to, then it's the student's turn to market his/her unique qualifications to the colleges. Once the marketing game has played out, the decisions by the colleges on which students to accept and by the students on which schools they will attend all come down to fit; the college admissions staff wants to admit students who will fit well on campus and the students want a place where they feel they belong.

With these issues in mind, we set about trying to help you learn even more about the college admissions process; hence this annual study.

The 2005 Questions
After careful review of previous years results and the new developments and trends in college addmissions, we formulated these questions for our 2005 study:

Does your college/university have an early decision option for students who know your school is their top choice? If yes, what criteria do you look for in these students that is different than students who apply for regular admission. If no, why has your school chosen not to have such a program? What do you think are the most important factors that should go into a student's decision to apply to a college for early decision?

It seems like you cannot talk to one high school student who has not completed some amount of community service and the number of hours keep rising. How important is an appliant's involvement in community service to your admission decision? How does it rate compared to involvement in student activities and organizations? What does communty service say to you and your staff about an applicant? And with so many students now doing community service, does it given any applicant an edge?

We talk a lot to high school students about finding a college/university that is the right "fit" for them in terms of academics, size, location, etc. As you look at applicants, do you and your staff also look at "fit" of applicants? If so, what kinds of things go into judging "fit" -- and how can applicants better explain why they think they would be a perfect fit for your school?

Does your school require or recommend an essay from applicants? If yes, can you describe some of the characteristics of the best essays you have read over the past few years? What's your advice to an applicant who wants to make a personal statement with the essay? If no, why has your school decided not to use essays?

Can a student with a mixed academic record (we're talking A's to F's) in a tough curriculum (AP, IB, Honors) justify that record (due to illness, family issues, etc.)? What if balanced with high standardized test scores? In other words, can a student with such a mixed academic background find a path to admission to your college/university -- and if so, generally how must it be accomplished?