Q & A - Admission officers from colleges across the country answer your most pressing questions - Brief Article

Careers and Colleges, Sept, 2000 by Yojairy Sanchez

C&C: What makes a college applicant stand out?

LINDA M. MILLER: What makes an applicant stand out in the most positive way is a strong academic record--that is, A's in the high school's toughest curriculum. Well-written, interesting essays also help, and strong leadership or achievement in extracurricular activities.

JENNIFER DURAN: If they have some kind of unique talent or do something that's a little different. If they write an essay that's a departure from the standard things we see. It's also good if they are pursuing some academic subject such as astronomy that's different from what students typically pursue. I had an applicant who was really into math. This kid had been part of a number of math olympiads, had gone above and beyond the math curricula, had taken courses in other colleges, and had taken on independent projects with professors.

C&C: Have your ever admitted a student despite low grades or low test scores? If so, why?

TERESA DUFFY: We have admitted students with low test scores but good grades each year, and I would bet that we will continue to do so. The high school day-to-day perseverance is much more important to us than one- or two-attempt standardized test results. What we have not done is admit a student with good test scores and poor high school grades. That student demonstrates to us that he or she has the innate talent but no "stick-to-itiveness"--an almost assured predictor of failure here.

C&C: What are the biggest mistakes students make on the application?

CONNIE GORES: Applicants trying to reinvent themselves by being something they aren't. They must be themselves. For example, if an applicant is humorous by nature, it's okay to use humor. If one is more serious, though, now is not the time to become a comedian just to impress the admission committee.

JEAN JORDAN: Not taking time with the application. This shows through sloppiness and questions that might be skipped because you're going too fast. When they do this, people clearly give the impression that this isn't a very important choice to them. We wonder if they're really interested in the university.

PETER V. JOHNSON: We get applications from students that want to major in a field that we do not offer. We've gotten some applications from students in Utah who say they'd like to commute. I'll never forger the kid who said, "During my years in high school, I've held many orifices." All these mistakes are usually a result of the student rushing through the application process, not carefully proofreading responses, or not looking carefully at the questions to ensure that the answers are appropriate.

C&C: Do you give any special consideration to students who are from far away or from areas that are underrepresented at your school?

MILLER: We are eager to enroll international students and students with a variety of backgrounds and experiences. If applicants are from another part of the country and have experienced a different kind of life from our Eastern seaboard majority of students, that would be a slight plus. A student who has grown up on a remote ranch, or has lived in an igloo would certainly add diversity to our student body.

C&C: What was the most unusual application you have ever seen?

MILLER: Perhaps the one we got from a nine-year-old. Or maybe the Eskimo triplets who were legacies (a parent went to the school). The gimmicks (a baseball bat with a sign on it saying "Bat me in!" from a wait-listed applicant or a staged "This is Your Life" presentation on videotape) are not likely to do the job. They don't necessarily hurt. They're usually just irrelevant.

JOHNSON: We had one essay that was written in between the panels of a soccer ball. The person had obviously read somewhere that he should stand out from other applicants. This was perhaps too careful a reading of the recommendation to stand out. We've also received applications that have been completely designed by students. If you choose to subvert the process, you still have to conform to the format we have suggested in our application.

DURAN: I got one from a student who pasted her essay onto a cardboard box with six surfaces. On the two ends she pasted a picture of herself and on the inside she put bells. The applicant was an Indian dancer so it was consistent with the essay. It was probably more than we anticipated or needed, but it conveyed her enthusiasm and creativity. It wasn't something that was needed.

C&C: What impresses you most when it comes to teacher recommendations?

NANETTE H. TARBOUNI: A teacher recommendation can be important. It is the opportunity for us to see the student as a "learner." How they participate in class, and their interaction with the teacher and peers can be influential in decision-making. The counselor recommendation also supports the academic work or can indicate why things are not as they should be--a trauma in the student's life, an illness in the family, or the student own illness, etc.

MARLYN MCGRATH-LEWIS: Teacher recommendations really can be powerful clarifiers of the strengths or weaknesses of an applicant. Anything specific helps us. It doesn't help for teachers to string together a bunch of sentences like, "She's a great student" and "He's a nice guy." It's important to get something comparative. It's better to say, "He was the best student I've had in all of the four years I've been teaching." This helps us to know how the teacher would rate the student in comparison to other students.