Category: Senior

Breaking Down The Admission Team: Week 4: Wide Receivers and Running Backs

One hot August night during college, a friend of mine (who happened to be the starting center on our football team) and I got pulled over by a cop who immediately started berating us about the speed limit and asking why we were out so late and if we had been drinking (we had not). My friend handed over his license and registration to the officer who grabbed it and headed back to the patrol car.

Through the rearview mirror I saw him stop, turn, and come back to the driver side door. “Listen. Going to let you off without a ticket tonight. But be safe, slow down… and good luck this season.” I was pumped! Win, right? But my friend had a different reaction, “Man. If I were a running back or wide receiver, he would have recognized me right away. #linemanproblems

Yep. That’s how running backs and wide receivers roll. They are the face of the organization. It’s their name and picture on websites and cards. And so it goes for Fantasy Football. Along with the quarterbacks, running backs and wide receivers have the big names, the featured press conferences, and the long interviews– but with better celebration dances, bigger personalities, and generally warmer demeanor.

Well, my friends, I’ve just described admission counselors (though typically with fewer tattoos and less ability to evade speeding tickets, especially in places like Waldo, Florida. Ughh… still bitter). Counselors are the faces of the college. They are the ones who travel around the country and meet thousands of people each year at schools, programs, and coffee shops. If you visit campus, they are the ones who give the presentation or meet with you and your family.

Who are they?

1- Like many of the star running backs and wide receivers in the NFL, most admission reps who are recruiting and doing first/second read on college applications are in their 20s or early 30s.

2- They generally get into admission because they love their alma mater, so they typically start out working there. Others may simply be intrigued by Higher Education or love working in a college environment. Others may be buying time before grad school– and more so lately they are doing both simultaneously.

3- They are affable and generally extroverts who have good public speaking, communication, and relational skills. Those who don’t have those skills get a ton of practice refining and improving all of these within the first six months on the job.

4- Like RBs/WRs who are asked to be versatile and flexible in their routes and game plans, the same is essential for admission counselors. They walk into schools around the country not knowing exactly what to expect. “Today you’ll be speaking with four kids for 10 minutes.” Next school: “We are putting you in the auditorium. Thought you could speak to our 10-12 graders for an hour about college admission and maybe your school for max five of those.” Next: “We don’t have any students for you to see today, but we are short-handed in the cafeteria. How are you with prepping veggies?”

Admission counselors get into this field because they love students. They want to have a positive impact and believe they can in this role. They enjoy meeting new people, and love experiencing new places and opportunities. They are curious, open-minded, positive, genuine, bright, and passionate. They see the best in others. An added bonus is they want to have fun while accomplishing all of that.

counselor-picThere is no shortage of jokes, laughs, dance moves, and big personalities in admission offices around the country. I realize this may be slightly self-serving, but I believe these are some of the very best people you’ll ever meet.

Why Should You Care?

Unfortunately, in recent years, the stress surrounding the admission process has increased. Much of this is due to more students applying to more colleges, but it’s also correlated to financial costs, family pressures, and competitive, achievement-centered high school environments. As a result, “getting into college” has become more transactional and less relational. But that does not have to be your experience. Here are a couple of tips to keep in mind when interacting with an admission counselor:

When meeting in person…
When an admission counselor shows up at your school or you meet them on campus, remember that they simply want to talk to you and help you. These are not judgmental folks. They’re not perfect and they don’t expect that from you. So ask your questions and listen, but also relax. Talk about the things you love in school and in life. Share your personality. Allow them to make connections with you and for you by being genuine. You’ll learn a lot more from that than from asking them to quote the library’s book sharing policy or what percentage of kids study abroad. Sure. A running back can answer questions about offensive schemes, but what you remember from interviews are the stories. Ask good questions.

On your application….
An admission counselor is the kind of person you want reading your essays and reviewing your application. Remember what you know about them: they are positive, and they naturally see and are trained to look for upside. On your application, they are listening for your voice. They want to know you and want to be in your corner. I’ve asked high school students to close their eyes and describe who they think is reading their essay. The typical response is a white, middle-aged male who has spectacles, patches on his tweed coat, and snarls as he opens his red pen. Look at a few of the staff websites or office social media accounts of the universities you are interested in (not the actual counselor’s Instagram, mind you— that’s weird). Check out Google images for “admission counselor.” Mean people? Nope. Running Backs and Wide Receivers.

So whether you are working on an application right now or planning a visit to campus soon, keep these admission counselor traits, motivations, and personalities in mind. While this won’t change the low admit rates at UPenn or Pomona or University of Michigan, it hopefully puts in perspective that these folks see themselves as being on your side. And that makes all the difference.

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Breaking Down The Admission Team: Week 3: The Bench

Alright, after a break for the election and Thanksgiving, it’s time to refocus on the important things in life… like Fantasy Football.

If you apply to a selective school (schools that  have an admit rate of less than 33%), they will use a holistic review process. Given that full-time admission staff also needs to travel for recruitment, meet with families, and make presentations on campus, there is simply no way for them to also read every application, front to back, with care and detail.

In Fantasy Football when you’re down a player, you need to have a good bench: skilled, experienced, and readily available to help out when the team is down. And trust me, when thousands of applications pour in on the last two days before the deadline and you are looking at a calendar trying to calculate daily quotas, you can feel down. The weather is getting colder, the sun sets earlier, caffeine doesn’t have its normal effect, the kids get sick and… sorry, where was I? Oh, yeah… the bench. Every good team has to have one, and in admission offices around the country, the bench are the seasonal employees.

 Our Bench: The Seasonals

Back when we received about 17,000 applications at Tech, we had five folks on the “bench.” Now we’ve crossed over the 30,000 mark, and our bench has grown to 15 (for context, plenty of other institutions employ well over 50 seasonal readers). Some schools only hire former admission officers, teachers, or counselors for these roles. We take a more holistic approach, so our bench includes an aerospace engineer, a former TV show producer, consultants from a variety of industries, several GT alums, and yes, some with extensive admission experience. Nationally, more and more of these employees work remotely, but ours mostly come into the office for 20-30 hours each week. They start with a week of training in early October to refresh on our process, learn any new updates, and go through complex application examples. They wrap up their work in mid-February each year.

Our staff loves this group– not just because they lighten their load, but because they bring life, energy, stories, and tons of personality with them each day. We call them “The Seasonals” (but we’re open to new team name suggestions).

Their Job

Seasonals come in specifically to read applications. Exactly which role this group plays varies from one school to the next, but ours are primarily doing first review. They review your transcript, enter your GPA in the system, count the number of AP/IB/ Dual Enrollment courses you’ve taken, note your highest math class, confirm official test scores are in, and verify that your senior schedule is complete. When they’re all reading, AND if our technology (including the Keurig) is working well, AND assuming no fire alarms, AND barring no silly meetings called by the director, they work through roughly 500 applications a day. Think of these folks as dental hygienists: they are poking and prodding around to ensure the file is complete, and clean, before advancing to second read.

Your Job

I’m not going to rename them “The Hygienists,” but to extend the metaphor, you would not intentionally put your tongue in the way of a double bend hook or ask to have your gum pierced by a sickle scaler. That would only lead to a bloody mess and severely slow the work of the hygienist. Similarly, you want to submit an application that’s clean and keeps these folks working smoothly.

1. Follow Directions. Before you start any section of an application, read all directions thoroughly. I know that sounds preachy, but this is a serious pitfall. Most applications specifically tell you not to abbreviate, and that’s for good reason. Sure, we know what Lit and Comp mean. But how about Dis of Hum Geo? Is that math or social science? And some abbreviations lead to all kinds of awkward… for example, Anal. Geometry is uncomfortably common.

2. Run Spellcheck. Senior schedules are basically free form, which can lead otherwise academically talented students to list Psycology, Psychologie, Scicology. Or how about Chemistrie, Cemistry, Chemistree? I’m not making these up, and they’re not one-offs either. The bench has a lot more patience for this kind of thing than I do (they’re good people, I tell you).  But remember that “best foot forward” thing? Yea… it’s a thing.

3. Be Specific. Students often say they’re taking Calculus spring of senior year, when in reality it’s actually Multivariate Calculus or BC Calculus. More information, not less, is the basic principle of holistic review.

4. Send All Transcripts. Have you switched schools in high school? Be sure that you have official transcripts sent from each one. We’ve seen plenty of examples of early grades being misrepresented (and often shortchanged) on the current school’s transcript. Is 9th grade not on your current high school transcript? Get it and send it.

Your School’s Job

1. Quality Check. Some schools (and at least one entire state) send photocopied transcripts (some with test score tapes covering important information). If we can’t read it, it’s pushed to the bottom of the stack until we can get a better copy. Not only does this not help your students and your school, but it also upsets the hygienist!

2. Help Us Help You. On the counselor form of The Common App, there is a place for “student rank.” This is where we should see simple numbers like 2/245 or 11/326. Instead, we will often see 1/119 followed by “Number sharing this rank: 21.” What the…?! 21 valedictorians? NO! Just like there should be limits to the distance off the highway that a restaurant must be in order to advertise on the exit sign, so too should there be limits to number sharing rank.

3. More Information, Not Less. Again, this is Rule 1 of holistic review. Selective colleges are making nuanced decisions. Based on application volume and class size, we are going to differentiate in extremely slight ways. Over the last decade we’ve seen fewer and fewer schools provide rank on profiles and forms. It’s moderately annoying, but borderline understandable. Lately we’ve seen a trend to not provide a GPA. Line crossed. Now we are in a position of making some uncomfortable assumptions about calculations in the absence of critical information.

I’ve heard many reasons from friends on the secondary side for these adjustments. Invariably, the headmaster or board or Grand Poohbah believes that not giving rank, or not giving GPA, or altering a grading scale, or not adding weight, is going to help more kids “get in.” We all have bosses, right? Admission directors can relate to the shoulder shrug, head tilt, eye roll, and knowing glance of “Yep. That’s what I told them.” Just humor me and add that Harvard’s admit rate is not going back above 7% regardless of how you frame your profile… and the bench doesn’t appreciate the extra splinters in the pine either.

Vegas, baby.

Our Seasonals primarily work out of two offices. These are small conference rooms with multiple desks or long tables. One is called “The Bat Cave.” The other is affectionately called “Vegas,” because what is said there stays there.

Don’t let the tips above be like Vegas. Share this, heed this, discuss these points, and put them into practice. We love reading your applications. We want to turn around decisions as fast as possible.

So show some love to the Seasonals as you submit information this winter. Accuracy and the quality of the information you and your school provide dictate their ability to keep the rest of the team moving. So how ’bout a slow clap for the bench?

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Thanksgiving Thoughts

Every Monday morning we meet as a Communications Team to talk about what is going on and what is going out that week. Basically, the agenda is broken into four parts:

1. Immediate outbound messages (aka email blasts): what are we saying to applicants and prospective students? FYI- prospective students are non-applicants who have either visited campus, met our staff during our travels, or whose name we’ve bought or been given from list sources (hm…. seems like we might need a blog soon on the entire search process, i.e. “how did you get my name?”).

2. Urgent/Fires: We’ve had 100 calls this week about X. Clearly, X is confusing on our website or in our publications, so we need to help people better understand X. Although, sometimes it’s about Y, which is dismissed as “Yeah, people are just going to call about that. It’s Y. Happens every year.” Or put differently “Y Happens.”

3. Future focus/Strategic: These are the bigger communication projects we’re working on, such as the production of videos, and publications that we’ll mail out in the coming months.

4. Social Media/ Timely: We talk a lot about helping people get a day to day sense of Tech. Pictures, stories, events… a “sense of face and place” is our basic purpose. We’ll review what we have and should be saying on social media. What is helpful and interesting? What can we learn from that engagement? Every few months we’ll discuss delving into Snapchat or whatever new social media platform is emerging. Then we’ll inevitably shelve that to “look at the analytics,” which is code for “<<insert new medium here>> just feels like we’re going too far.”

It’s in section four we talk about this blog. Have we received comments, or do people seem to be sharing it with others? What is happening right now in the admission cycle that we can attempt to bring some insight to? Or, did my kids do something ridiculous that we can somehow stretch into an analogy?

Is anyone out there?

Well, friends, this week is Thanksgiving. The basic consensus was that people are checked out. “Sure, you can write a blog but doubt anyone is going to read it.” They’re watching football, hanging out with family, sleeping, traveling. Counselors, teachers, and others in schools who may read occasionally are finished with most of their recommendation letters and just need a break. If they’re reading anything this week it’s a good novel they’ve put off for the last few months as school started and admission deadlines took over their lives.

Students aren’t reading this week either. They’re either totally checked out after meeting said deadlines, or they are focused on finishing papers or studying for impending tests. Parents… nope. Cooking, cleaning, driving, dealing with sometimes awkward Thanksgiving family dynamics (I suppose that can be said for anyone on this list).

So, you might ask, why am I already 500 words into this post? It’s a valid question. Maybe it’s because I promised to write weekly. Maybe it’s because the office is quiet right now and I can’t answer another email or continue working on bigger projects. Call it being committed, or stubborn, or even procrastination.

I say it’s because I’m thankful. I’m thankful you are only reading this because you want to this week. And to add cheesy to the list, I’m also just thankful for you. Thankful that your family is in town, or you are going to them. or that you have friends to gather with. Thankful that you get a chance to read whatever you want for a change, or just go see a  movie. I am thankful that you are going to sleep in, or nap on the couch after eating too much. I am thankful that in a fall of tests and elections and deadlines that you can take a step back.

A Time for Reflection

See, the admission process, like life, is filled with looking forward. It’s clogged and clouded with impending deadlines, decision release dates, campus visit planning, and the list goes on. But this week… this week is an oasis, a respite. It’s about reflection. It’s about sitting still for a minute and ruminating and considering. 

I’m not trying to give you homework.. but I do hope you’ll consider using a little of your downtime to brighten the week of those around you. How?

Ask
Who has helped you to this point? Who has written a recommendation letter for you, or helped you edit your essays?  Who has given you some good advice on where to apply (or where not to)?

Act
Amidst the frenzy of the fall, we often forget to thank these people. Sure, maybe in passing or in a text, but really,  I mean really, say thanks.  I encourage you to recognize these people with a hug, or a jubilant high five, or an actual hand written, postage stamped note. Even a genuinely heartfelt email will do the trick. To make it easier for you, feel free to copy-paste or edit the following statement as needed: “Hey {name}. Thanks for writing that rec letter. I know you are crazy busy and you have written a ton this year. Whether I get into {college name} or not, I really appreciate your time and willingness to support me.”

A Note to Seniors
Mom and dad need some love too. Fall of your senior year is not easy on them. They’re excited for you, but they’re nervous. And despite what they might say, it’s not all about where you are going to get in or how much it will cost. They know a year from now you’ll be on a college campus somewhere. Maybe they don’t know exactly where, but they know you won’t be at home. Don’t let their plans to convert your room to an office or guest room fool you. Their hearts are breaking a little right now, so they could use that same hug and note.

As for me, we’ll be with my wife’s family this week. My folks will be on the opposite side of the country, but I want you to know that I plan to practice what I preach, and am getting out some note cards now.

PS – We’ll get back to Fantasy Football Admission next week with an inside look at The Bench (the Seasonal Readers). Until then, give thanks, friends. Life is good.

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The Admission Guide to… Soup Making ?

I love the fall. It’s hands down my favorite season. Football, holidays, changing leaves, crisp days, and… soup. You can’t really eat soup in the summer in the South (the human body is just not built to tolerate that much heat). Every fall, I feel like I rediscover this simple delicacy. Chowder, French Onion, chicken noodle, vegetable… anyone else getting hungry? At this time of year, I could live off it. And with young kids, soup is easy to make and a good “project.” They have fun grating cheese, counting out the carrot sticks, and finding the right measuring spoons for spices. So unless someone slices a finger or gets onion in their eye, it’s a win-win. Dinner is prepared and we did a mini math lesson in the process.

Now what does this have to do with college admission? EVERYTHING. In fact, when I meet someone on a plane or at a random social gathering and I don’t feel like talking college admission, I say I make soup for a living. And it’s true. On a college campus, everyone has their own ingredients they want in the mix. Deans from each academic unit may want more or less students in their program, depending on faculty: student ratios or the health of job prospects in their industry. This year at Tech, we’ve added a major in Music Technology. That means students who may not have been a good fit last year are very much on our radar this year. On the other hand, if a college eliminates a major, that vegetable is out of the soup.  While there was plenty of oregano in last year’s bowl, this year that container is left in the cabinet untouched.

Institutional priorities such as academic profile or net tuition revenue dictate ingredients and the recipe for that year. If last year’s out of state enrollment was too high they may try to curb that back (so not a good year to be a radish). Or, they did not get enough in Business, so the directive may be to double up (and increase the amount of pepper) this year.

This article from Money magazine sheds some light into admit rate variance by admission plan (i.e. Early vs. Regular). It has some compelling points and stats, but I don’t think it delved into the real drivers of why students “have the same chance.” It implies both in title and content that the rationale for why some students are admitted and others are not is “hidden” from view.

Here’s how the soup is made

When applications roll in and reading season begins, it’s like walking through a really great farmers market. Almost every application has sound merits. We just started file review in our office and each day there are conversations about an amazing applicant who has done X or Y, or wrote a great essay, or had an incredible life circumstance. Each of our prep cooks is reading and saying, “Oh, yes. We definitely want this celery,” AND “Throw a couple of these potatoes in,” AND “Cabbage? Yep.” Each school/state (like a stand or stall at the farmers market) has fresh, beautiful, tantalizing options that would all be great.

BUT… the trick of soup making is the size of the bowl. Last year at Princeton that was around 1300. At The University of Washington, it was about 6800.

Admit rates are partly a function of applicant pool size but also of the other vegetables. (Note: This is Soup Making 101. We’re not going to get into the melting off of “yield rates” or the post-boil adding back of waitlist. Advanced Soup Making is a spring workshop.)

Public schools in North Carolina are legislated to enroll at least 82% of their class from their state. When the vast majority of your bowl is filled, your ability to add lots of celery or onions is going to be diminished. So the state you are from, major you want to study, or the background and interests you bring to the table, dictate admission prospects. You are not necessarily competing against all the other applicants—often it’s those like you by some academic, demographic or institutional goal measure. Is this fair? No. This is soup making. You may be a completely unbruised and symmetrically perfect tomato, but that does not mean you are going to be in this year’s “Brown University Bisque.” Because guess what? They may only needed a fourth of a tomato this year. You may be grass fed, organically raised, and free range but you are not included if UCLA decides they only need 22 from outside their borders.

What does this mean for you?

When you visit the campuses you’re interested in, ask them about students like you. “How many students were from Massachusetts in your class last year?” “Are you trying to grow in our area of the country, or in my major at your school?”  In asking specific question like this, you will more likely get specific answers. Schools are also happy to share their admit rates, but you need to ask the details behind those rates. At Tech our EA admit rate is higher than our RD rate often by 15 percentage points. Part of that is driven by the fact that Georgia students apply early, and our total undergraduate population is 60% Georgia. Historically our most talented in-state students apply in the first round.

Some schools won’t know some of these admit rates or demographics off the top of their head. Are they hiding something? Usually not. A chef (admission rep) walking around your school in the fall has his mind on telling the story of the restaurant (university), rather than all the details of the soup. That’s not cagey. It’s human. So they offer to get back to you, which is great, as you can continue the conversation and they know you are interested.

At the most elite schools nationally (>20% admit rate), you’ll often get a confounding answer that sounds a lot like a Jedi mind trick or political stump speech. But go back to the Princeton statistics. 29,000+ applicants to admit less than 2,000. Lot of super fine slicing & pinches of spices that leave amazing produce that would be the highlight of another soup sitting on the cutting board.  It’s not an evasive answer. They simply can’t answer that because they aren’t taking entire stalks of celery or broccoli.

Kitchen notes: At the end of the day, you may not end up in the recipe you have in mind right now. But the beauty of soup is that each ingredient is ultimately complimented and improved by what it’s surrounded by and interacts with over time. You will find the right place to add your flavor to others and be improved by their presence in the years ahead.

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College Admission Essays: I’ve heard that one before…

Last week I talked to a high school senior as a favor to a friend. The student is not applying to Georgia Tech, so I was giving him general application advice.

We talked about prioritizing extra-curricular activities, such as putting the things you care about most and have the most involvement with, first. While an application may have eight, 10 or 30 lines for involvement, busy admission officers who speed read this section may only get to third on the list. Make them want to keep learning about you by telling them clearly and thoroughly what’s most important to you.

Then we talked about his supplemental responses. Since I don’t work for the schools he’s applying to, I told him to research their websites, social media, and literature and pay attention to themes and key messages. At Tech we focus on our motto of Progress and Service and improving the human condition. Students applying to us will see questions along those lines, or should be astute enough to find opportunities to provide connections to those concepts. Every school has these, you just have to dig deeper at some places. Inside Tip: if you can’t identify what’s important to a school, then they haven’t done a good job articulating it, or they can’t differentiate themselves, or they’re just not resonating with you. Any of these is a red flag.

The Essay

Finally, we talked about his essay. I’ll be honest, the topic was trite (something about learning through basketball about overcoming odds). Admittedly, at that point, I was also packing for a trip so I was a bit distracted (and I was not being paid for this time or advice). But here’s the bottom line: the topic doesn’t really matter anyway. I’ve been reading essays for over 15 years. I’ve read for several institutions, two testing agencies, and various scholarship competitions. Conservatively, I’d say I’ve looked at more than 10,000 essays by now. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s more, and I know plenty of people on my staff and around the country who put that number to shame.

But as somewhat of an expert, here’s what I firmly believe: there is no completely unique topic: sports analogy about life, failure, and triumph? Heard it. Mission trip to a third world country, including multiple transportation modes, animal crossings, and flat tires? Check. Family drama where you displayed tremendous patience, empathy, and wisdom beyond your years? Sure. The list goes on: difficult coach/teacher turned advocate… stuck out a horrible summer job that provided valuable lessons and renewed focus and direction … beloved grandparent who moved in, built close friendship, died, but taught a lot of valuable lessons in life and death (this one often doubles as an excuse for late app submission as well)… second verse, same as the first.

As Ecclesiastes says, “When it comes to college admission, there is nothing new under the sun” RCV (Rick Clark Version). Does that mean the essay does not matter? That you should resign yourself to mediocrity? Not at all. My point is that your energy should not be spent on selecting the topic. Once you figure out which question you want to answer, meaning you really have something to say or you’re somewhat excited to respond, start writing.

Find Your Voice

Knowing the topic won’t differentiate you, it has to be something else, right? This is where your voice has to be evident. And like the list of extra-curricular activities, it needs to be clear in the first sentence or two. I know many readers who read the first and last paragraphs and only go back if those are compelling. Otherwise, it’s a dime a dozen and the ratings are accordingly average. Some schools will tell you that two separate readers evaluate every essay in its entirety. Given volume, staff sizes, and compressed timelines between application deadlines and decision release, that seems at worst a blatant lie, and at best an incredibly inefficient process.

So how do you find your unique voice? I’m going to give you a few steps, but first check out the picture below. The woman on my right either thinks I’m insane or that something disgusting is on my hand. The woman to my left could not care less and simply can’t believe I’m still talking. The guy on the end may be interested in the woman to my right and is likely mad at me for making her mad at life. So continue to read knowing that if you disagree or think these tips are weak, you’ll not be the first– and certainly won’t be the last.

Step 1: Read it aloud. There is something magical about reading out loud. As adults we don’t do this enough. In reading aloud to kids, colleagues, or friends we hear things differently, and find room for improvement when the writing is flat. So start by voice recording your essay.

Step 2: Do it again and Listen. REALLY listen. Is there emotion in it? Does your humor come out? Can the reader feel your sadness?  Does it sound like you? If you can’t tell, play it for someone you know and trust. What do they say?

Step 3: Do the Math. (What?! I was told there would be no math on the essay section.) If 5,000 other applicants chose the same essay prompt, and 100 of those choose the same topic, will your essay be noticed? Does it provide specifics and descriptions of you or others, as well as setting and moment?

Step 4: Keep it simple. Three steps is enough. Once you’ve gone through those, hit submit and move on. Sitting on your essay until deadline day is only going to drive you nuts. So pray over it, do a dance, catch a falling leaf, or whatever else you think will help, and then be done.

Your essay topic may not be entirely different or unique, but your senior year can be. Go enjoy it!

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