Learning Curve
Admissions is a fast paced business and yesterday’s start to committee presented an enormous learning curve. Senior counselors did their best to read slowly at first while simultaneously explaining new terminology and acronyms. However, today’s committee began with no time to waste. Each officer read out their analysis of their territory’s applicants but spoke their acronyms aloud. You see, applicants have a word count on their essays but we have a character limit on our write-ups too!
Here are some common acronyms used in “admissions land:”
TU – Tufts University
SOE – School of Engineering
GC – Guidance Counselor
TE – Teacher Evaluation
CAE – Common Application Essay
SE 1 – Supplemental Essay 1
TAAP – Tufts Alumni Admissions Program
For lunch, I enjoyed homemade soup and sampled the tasty assortment of winter treats baked by my colleagues. Honestly, how could anyone resist a fudge brownie in the shape of a Christmas tree with a candy cane trunk? Serious feasting was done. After lunch...
Gatekeepers
Last week, the office wrapped up the reading process for the Early Decision applicants for the class of 2016. After a weekend to decompress and refocus, our office separated into three “committees” to make some final decisions on the first members of Tufts 2016.
With almost six months in the office under my belt, I have finished my first day of committee and performed one of my most essential duties as an admissions officer. I know all you applicants are nervous but…I am too. It’s my job to advocate for applicants and while some decisions are clearer cut than others, losing sight of the humanity in our conversation is impossible.
Tufts is a school that cares about who you are and what you offer at every level of our office. We visited your schools to get to know you one on one in your home environment, designed a new website to introduce you to the Tufts vibe, and now sit here discussing why an applicant should be a part of the community.
During our lunch break, I sojourned to the...
Tour Guide Season!
Just because hoards of visitors shepherded by backward stepping jumbos have disappeared… our work has far from finished.
Yes, this is the time of year where countless students of the “current” variety come in to Bendetson Hall to strut their stuff and try out for the tour guide position. It’s no easy task… written applications, interviews, and a “mock tour” make up an incredibly selective process within an office that is no stranger to selectivity. We’ve loved these kids once (to get in) but now we have to choose again?? Brutal.
Then, today, I couldn’t help but chuckle as prospective guides led me around campus extolling their love of Tufts. This new crop will be a special group of guides. For prospective families who have yet to visit, you have a great deal to look forward to when you wander into Dowling Hall. No matter how far your travels have taken you, these students are going to be ready to show off Tufts as the honest, quirky, authentic, and just plain smart group that they are...
150 Days
Having just entered my fifth month on the job, the looming “reality” of my job has just hit. Yes, Early Decision reading has commenced.
Some argue that reading is the best part of the job...but so far this has been pretty cool. In my first “real” job I have purchased 22 iPads for the office and worked with the team to make them as useful as possible. I’ve gathered my fair share of frequent flyer miles traveling from California to New Jersey and met some really smart kids along the way. As I write this, my colleague and fellow blogger is tapping away on additions to the entirely new website on which, if everything has gone correctly, you are now reading this blog. I have new friends, a new apartment, and the much dreaded post-grad “real” life. But you know what? It may be even better than school. Icing on the cake: The Dean just bought a puppy and I've been on dog sitting duty.
So, here I sit with a puppy in my lap knowing that the next big challenge of this job is reading applications...
Love Your List
As a recent college graduate and one of the newest members of the admissions staff I find myself watching crowds of prospective students with fond memories. Yes, fond memories. Now that the summer visit season on campus has come to a close, it’s time to think long and hard about the colleges you have visited and researched.
Lets be honest here: everyone stresses so much about “getting in” to college that students instinctively take a shotgun approach to college applications. Have you heard a friend say, “It’s on the common app…why not?” If that general disposition bothers you, you’re not alone.
Here is my advice: Love your list
In the landscape of higher education, there is no excuse for feeling “bleh” about a school you apply to. Honestly, if you can’t see yourself going there why spend the effort writing essays, filling out forms, and shelling out application fees? Love your list.
Pick schools that deserve your talents but do not abandon reality. “Safety school”, “match school”, and...