Inside the Admissions Process
What Happens to Your Child's Applications?
Applying to college can be a stressful endeavor for both parents and children. If you and your child work together to identify schools that are a good fit, however, there’s reason to be optimistic. Four-year colleges and universities accepted an average of 7 out of 10 applicants for fall 2005, according to the August 2007 State of College Admission report by the National Association for College Admission Counseling.
It's true that colleges look most closely at factors such as grades in college-preparatory classes, the strength of high school curriculum, and standardized-test scores. But 78 percent of schools also look at the student's interest in attending the institution. Of course, colleges also admit students based on their own goals for boosting certain student populations and strengthening specific programs. So it's good to remind teenagers that being rejected by a college is not a judgment on their ability to succeed.
In addition, it can help to understand what schools are looking for and what takes place as they select potential students. Here's an inside look at the admissions process at several colleges.
Iowa State University
"There is precious little mystery in our application process, which is why we offer admission to 89 percent of students who apply," says
An admissions professional reviews the applications of students who are close to meeting the criteria or are missing an element. This is a much smaller percentage of the applicant pool than at schools with a more selective admissions process, Harding notes.
The school makes admissions decisions on a rolling basis, so Harding encourages prospective freshmen to apply early, by January 1 of their senior year. Students admitted early are in a better position to take advantage of financial aid, scholarship, and housing opportunities.
Harding notes that a big part of making a decision about attending a school is finding the right fit. Acceptance doesn't guarantee that the college is a place where the student can succeed. "Selecting a college is not like buying a car or some other product," states Harding. "In this process, you start out as a consumer and end up as the product. You become your school, and you carry that identity throughout your life. So the business of finding the right fit is very important," he says. Four-year colleges and universities accepted an average of 7 out of 10 applicants for fall 2005.
Rice University
Rice, located in
As is true with many colleges, the number of students applying to Rice has increased in recent years, so the school has revamped its admissions process. A committee no longer reviews every application. Instead, applications are first read by a member of the admissions staff who is assigned to a specific region and is familiar with that area's high schools.
The staff member ranks applications based on five criteria. These are the caliber of the high school and the student's course selection, academic performance, letters of recommendation, presentation (answers to essay questions, etc.), and personal qualities, such as leadership. This initial reviewer recommends further consideration of fewer than half of the applications. A second reader from a committee of admissions staff, faculty, and students reviews most of these and further narrows down the applicant pool. A senior committee made up of three faculty members and three admissions professionals makes the final decisions.
“Rice enrolls students who are prepared for an extraordinarily demanding academic experience,” notes vice president for enrollment Chris Munoz. “Yes, our admitted applicants performed exceedingly well in high school and have extremely high SAT and ACT scores. However, we do not judge our applicants based on academic preparation alone. We are looking for students who will contribute to the education of those around them. Leadership, generosity, and service to others are values we genuinely appreciate.”
University of Georgia
The
Students may apply to the school as either a nonbinding early action (EA) applicant or a regular applicant. Admissions officers review EA applications on the basis of academic performance only. They weigh grades, the rigor of the curriculum, and standardized-test scores. Academically superior students are admitted by mid-December.
The majority of students who apply EA are deferred to the regular admittance program. Admissions officers review regular applications for the same academic criteria listed above as well as additional factors. Among these are intellectual curiosity, leadership, commitment to community service, and an appreciation of diversity. They also consider recommendations, short-answer essays, and the student’s activity resume.
Applications close to being denied based on academic performance generally receive a review by senior admissions staff to confirm that the numbers are a true reflection of the student. The university does not look at race, gender, or legacy in the admissions selection process.
Nancy McDuff, the school’s director of undergraduate admissions, recommends that parents encourage students to experience their high school years to the fullest—without focusing too much on college. "We see students who look really good on paper, but by the time they get to college, they're burnt out. They've been programmed and structured for so long that they're not ready to do the course work," she says.
Boston University
The school reviews every application individually, without the use of computer sorting, which executive director of admissions Kelly Walter says is rare for a university of its size. Regional teams of admissions professionals, familiar with the high schools in their areas, read applications. "Selecting a college is not like buying a car or some other product," states Harding. "In this process, you start out as a consumer and end up as the product."
About 80 percent of applicants are recommended for committee review based on this initial reading, which takes into account all aspects of an application. Applicants who do not meet minimum grade and test-score requirements can remain under consideration if they show other strengths. Examples include leadership and strong writing skills.
The 20 percent of applications not recommended for committee review are considered again by the senior associate director or executive director of admissions before they are denied. That way, every application receives at least two reviews.
Committees consist of three to four admissions staff members who review applications by school groups. Because high schools vary, applicants are not compared from one school to the next. "We want to determine if a student has done well within his or her school environment," states Walter.
Walter recommends that students recognize their self-advocacy role in the admissions process. "We want to make informed decisions, so students need to really let us know what sets them apart. This can be difficult for teenagers in a culture that discourages boasting, but we need to get a true picture of a student's skills and abilities," she says.
Quinnipiac University
Quinnipiac is a medium-sized, private university in
The admissions committee consists of staff members who visit high schools, so they are very familiar with individual schools. The committee considers a combination of factors. These include the type of program a student’s high school offers, the level of courses taken, grades, grade progress, scores on the SAT or ACT, the application essay, and letters of recommendation. The admissions staff highly recommends that high school seniors send in their first-quarter grades to show how they are progressing. Students who meet Quinnipiac's criteria based on the review of these various factors are admitted. The admissions committee looks again at any applications in a gray area.
The vice president and dean of admissions, Joan Isaac Mohr, notes that the number of students applying to Quinnipiac has doubled in the last six or seven years. "The number of high school seniors peaks in 2008, so students are concerned about the competition for space at the college of their choice,” she says. “We see students and parents starting the college search as early as sophomore year” in order to identify colleges that will be a good fit. Isaac Mohr suggests exploring colleges on the Web, requesting information, and visiting schools to find colleges that are great options.
