THE COLLEGE ADMISSIONS OFFICE – HOW THEY MAKE DECISIONS
Ask Admission Officers at different colleges how they select their students and you may get some very different answers. Some larger state universities simply run student figures (SAT, G.P.A., rank in class) through a formula to determine the bulk of students they will accept. Other colleges, particularly smaller ones, read and re-read every application carefully. Some schools place real value on the essay and interview, some on the strength of courses, still others on a student’s personal qualities. Finding out how the colleges on your list make decisions can help you determine your chances for admission as well as show you which areas you should emphasize in your application to a particular college.
Here is one example of how decisions are made:
What Happens When We Receive Your Application?
Come with us as we descend into the depths of a college admissions office and reveal to you, serendipitous scanner, what really goes on there. In this installment: What happens when we receive your application?
Let us say that you decide, in your infinite wisdom, to apply to Boston University. Our application review process begins when we receive the first piece of your application package. That may be your SAT I, ACT, or SAT II: Subject Test scores, a recommendation, a transcript, or the Boston University application itself. This event sets off a complex chain of actions and reactions that will ultimately result in our making a decision on your application.
Upon receiving any part of your application, we create a folder for you. We also update your computer file through an obscure process known as “keying,” performed by people known as “keyers.” For the most part, only quantitative information is entered into the computer. (We read the remainder of the information directly from the application itself.)
At a point not long after our recommended application filing date (January 15), we will inform you of any missing ingredients in your application package. Once your file is complete, one of the keyers will generate a “review sheet,” which is a summary of data (name, address, Social Security number, high school, grades, test scores, and other “vital statistics”). The review sheet is packaged with your application and is forwarded to one of our assistant directors of admissions (ADs). Which AD receives your application is based on your high school and School or College to which you are applying.
The AD’s job of recommending whether you should be admitted to Boston University is not always easy. Their task begins with recalculating grade point averages (Gaps). Because different high schools use
different formulas for determining Gaps (if they calculate them at all), Ads recalculate using a single method that takes into account only the “five academic solids”: English, math, social science, natural science, and foreign language.
The ADs will then analyze your GPS based on the difficulty of your high school curriculum. (Hint – ADs prefer applicant whose high school curricula are challenging.)
After they have successfully exited the GPA maze, the ADs will scrutinize teacher and guidance counselor recommendations, standardized test scores, extracurricular activities, and other information.
Finally, your essay comes up to the plate. While always significant, the essay plays the greater role in applications that are “on the fence”. If, based on your grades, scores, and activities, the AD is not certain of your “admissibility”, the quality of your essay may be the determining factor. ADs generally view the essay as an opportunity to see how applicants organize and present their ideas, and to gain a sense of their personalities.
After weighting all the factors, if an AD is still too unsure about an applicant to make a decision or recommendation on admission, the application is put into “committee.”
A committee is a discussion group of members of the Board of Admissions. Members of a committee together consider an applicant’s merits and, we hope, reach a consensus on whether to offer him or her admission. In those infrequent instances when the committee is a “hung jury,” the director of admissions or a senior associate director will be called in to render the verdict.
This seemingly interminable process usually reaches its zenith in mid- March, when the first batches of decision letters are “dropped” (into the mail, that is). Soon thereafter, you’ll see an envelope from us in your mailbox and you’ll probably get really nervous…
Whew! This application thing is pretty complicated, isn’t it? Yes it is.
Deciding whether or not to accept a student into a college is a serious matter, and boards of admissions must be extremely diligent in their decision-making processes. We believe things work for the best that way.
In an ideal world, we would like each student to be admitted to the school of his or her dreams. In a real world, we know that some of you may not. We are here to support you in any way possible and advocate on your behalf at each school to which you apply.
Even if you have outstanding credentials, you may not be offered admission by all the colleges to which you apply. The most highly selective colleges deny far more students than they accept, with several now accepting less than 12% of their applicants. Some may factor in your level of interest, which they ascertain by whether you have visited, interviewed, or remained in contact with the school throughout the admission process.