General Comments from Admissions Counselors
At my association’s conference that I attended earlier this month (IECA), I had the opportunity to attend a seminar with college admissions representatives from respected institutions (e.g., Boston College, Tufts, Allegheny…etc.), varying in size and selectivity, shedding some light on how they read their applications.
Although there were some similarities in what they expressed there were also differences, which allows you to come to the conclusion that each school is its own entity, making its own decisions on what students they are looking for and how they evaluate their application packages.
General
• Boston College (BC) maintains relationships with Jesuit high schools and has 70% of their students who identify as Catholic (BC does not track demonstrated interest)
• They check to see how the students letters of recommendation line up with the rest of the application – Is there consistency
• Smaller liberal arts schools – Like to see that there is a 2 way relationship, a way to express your interest in their school
• If offered, do an interview in the area or ask for a Skype interview – This sets you apart
• For those schools that take this into consideration, one way to make the cut is to see how much a student displays demonstrated interest – did the student do something to reach out to us
• Some schools will wait list for lack of demonstrated interest
• Email a counselor/the admissions office because you have a genuine question, not just to communicate for the sake of communicating/for no reason
• Some College’s hire consulting firms to tell the school what the chances are for a student who applied, if they will attend
• For athletic recruiting, it is an indication that a coach is interested in an athlete if they speak with the student often, not just once
• There are certain highly selective schools that if you are not academically in their range your application won’t even get a read.
If you have any questions about the college admissions process or the above information please do not hesitate to contact me at info@signaturecollegecounseling.com or by phone, 845.551.6946.
