Top College Admission Deans Tell Students What They Really Want from Applicants

My colleague Meredith Principe recently attended a college admissions panel discussion in Lexington, MA—here’s her recount of the experience.

“AP Courses and Other Myths About What Colleges Really Want,” held at Cary Hall at the end of January, grabbed my attention—and that of several hundred other community members.  The town hall building was packed with parents and students who came to see admissions deans and directors from Boston University, Harvard, MIT, Tufts, and UMass Amherst.  The presenters were lively, engaging, and honest about the college admissions process.  This wasn’t an information session about specific schools, but instead it was a forum to discuss student stress, admissions standards, and how to help high school students achieve a work life balance.  I’d like to share some of the highlights that made an impact on me.  If you’d like to watch video of the entire panel, I’ll include links at the end of this entry.

Naturally, there was a lot of discussion about what colleges really look for and how they make their decisions.  Lee Coffin, from Tufts University, spoke about using a student’s 11th and 12th grade curriculum to gain a sense of their intellectual fingerprint, saying that the courses they choose and the levels they select make up a unique set of interests, challenge, and motivation.   The most interesting part about admissions criteria came in a conversation about data versus “voice”.  Coffin spoke about two applicants from the same high school with roughly the same grades and same test scores. Student #1 took 5 APs and Student #2 took 3 APs; both students were applying for premedical programs.  Student 1 wrote his essay about shadowing a surgeon—he described the activities of the day, then concluded that he wants to be doctor.  Student 2 wrote about working as an EMT and about a specific elderly woman he helped. He wrote about sitting in the ER with her, holding her hand to comfort her.  His essay was reflective and, equally importantly, his recommendations backed up what a thoughtful, caring individual he was.  Both students were academically qualified, but one stood out as having a stronger voice, and even though he had fewer APs, he was more likely to be admitted as a result.  This solidifies even further the importance of carefully selecting your essay topic and being sure to write in a manner that allows the admissions officers to truly gain a sense of your personality.  A well-written, factual essay that doesn’t evoke emotion just isn’t enough in these days of competitive admissions.

There was a good discussion about the disappointment in the college admissions process—especially for those students who are high-achievers. Stuart Schmill, from MIT, pointed out that for many MIT applicants, the college admissions process is the first time in their lives that they can do all the right things and not receive the desired outcome.  He said that we, as adults, know that it is still important to seek challenge, work hard at school, and be involved in activities regardless of the admissions results, but that for many students this is their first big disappointment.  This can be the first moment for students to learn, simply, that life is not fair. 

So how can families and students navigate this process with less stress and more reasonable expectations?  John McEachern, from Boston University, talked about reframing the definition of success—consider colleges you haven’t heard of before and don’t focus on having a “first choice” but instead focus on having several “right choices.”  He commented that at many of the colleges represented on the panel, the retention rate from freshman to sophomore year is 90-95%, but he guarantees that at the time of admission, they weren’t the first choice college for those same students.  His point is that if you have many “right choices” that you apply to, you can enroll at any one of those schools and eventually discover all the wonderful things about it that make you want to stay there for four years.

Toward the end of the discussion, the moderator, Linda Wertheimer, asked each panelist to share something they wish students wouldn’t do in the admissions process—a list of the “Don’ts” of college admissions, if you will. Here were the suggestions:

·        Don’t declare a major when you really don’t know much about it.  Kevin Kelly, from UMass Amherst, spoke about being frustrated by students who say they want to study “X major” and when asked why, don’t really have an answer. 

·        Stop writing the essay about being raised in the “suburban bubble.” This is a deadly essay—no good can come of it.

·        Don’t mount a campaign to be admitted.  Admissions officers don’t care about politicians, celebrities, or other famous people who you’ve met and don’t need to be bombarded by communications from you.

·        Please don’t fixate on one particular school throughout this process, especially not one you’ve been fixated on from a very young age.  Keep an open mind, explore lots of options.

·        Don’t rush everything away, don’t call and complain about not being admitted.  Instead, celebrate every little victory along the way.

·        Don’t wait until after acceptances come out to tell your child that finances will play a role in the choice of which college to attend.

·        There’s no whining in college admissions.  It’s not personal if you don’t get in.  And it’s not a “do-over” for parents from their own experience.  Let this be your child’s education.

Overall, this was an excellent panel with thought-provoking comments and perspective.  Unfortunately, I’m not sure it achieved its’ goal of helping reduce the stress involved in the college admissions process.  When deans from some of the most selective colleges in the country tell you to relax and not worry about how many AP classes you take, yet the admissions statistics continue to reflect alarmingly low acceptance rates, it’s difficult to listen.  At least it was a start, however.

If you’d like to watch a video of the panel discussion, visit LexMedia athttp://www.lexmedia.org/ondemand.html and search for “AP Myths.