Reading A File
If you’re reading this, chances are you are curious about how we approach an application once you’ve clicked the always terrifying submit button. When I applied to schools, I imagined a cloak and dagger process behind closed doors where admissions officers guffawed at the bad ones and lionized the works of art.
Guess what, there are no daggers…and a distinct lack of guffawing. Mostly we just read in our homes.
Every couple days, I wander into the office to take a look at my “reader bin” which, in reality, is a metal shelf with my reader code on it. See, you all get the common app ID and we get numbers too. 16 (my reader code) evaluates 1343564 (I made this number up completely). That may seem impersonal but once we open a file (admissions lingo for the manila folder that holds your common application materials) it couldn’t be more personal.
First, I’m all about academics. What have you taken in high school? Have you challenged yourself? Does your performance line up with your testing? If it doesn’t, can I figure out why? All good questions but the biggest one I ask myself is, “Can they do the work?” Applicants focus so much on the “admit/deny” that I think they lose sight of us trying to bring students here who can be successful academically and, almost more importantly, challenge themselves.
Next, I take a swing through your family background. Parents, siblings , languages at home, all help me ground you. If your grades were low in 11th grade but your father moved to China for work that year…suddenly I have much needed context.
Extracurriculars…the list portion. I document them, and try to get a sense of your commitments. Scattered, consistent? New? Old? It’s a process of adding more depth to my mental list that is you.
Essays. Finally, I hear your voice! Data can be interesting but you are a human being that can write, think, and convey. I love the essays. Really, they are your chance to tie everything into a bow and hand it to me. We sent an email out about a month ago that said “we want to admit you.” We do. I do.
With essays read, I write up a synopsis of my thoughts and the next set of eyes to see your application will go through a very similar process as we inch toward a deeply considered decision of admit, deny, or wait list.
Where do (or did) you think your files go?