Thank you for the informative presentation on college admissions. I have a better understanding of the holistic review process and factors considered.

1. How Do We Select Students?

2.  Michele Brown, Senior Assistant Director
◦ The Ohio State University
 Rae Ann DiBaggio, Senior Associate Director
◦ Case Western Reserve University

3. What’s the hype with the
college admission process?
◦ Media Attention
 Headlines “Toughest Year Ever in College Admissions”
◦ What does “Holistic Review” really mean?
◦ Confusion between “Best Schools” and “Most
Selective”
◦ We’re here to give the insider’s view on admissions
at selective colleges!

4.  Open Admission
◦ HS diploma, accept on first-come first-served basis
 More Selective
◦ More selective than open enrollment
◦ Look at a variety of factors
 Very Selective
◦ Small number of schools
◦ Receive 10-15 apps per slot
◦ Tough review process for admission

5.  Admission and Application Process
 Types of admission:
◦ Early Decision (ED)
 ED admit/deny
 ED defer
◦ Early Action (EA)
 EA single choice – restrictive EA
 EA defer
◦ Regular Decision
◦ Deadlines vs. Rolling Admission
◦ Final grades do matter

6.  What are we looking for?
◦ strong record of academic performance
◦ enthusiasm for learning
◦ academic promise in part by standardized testing
◦ distinctive achievements or talents
◦ knowledge of self & appreciation for individual
differences
◦ demonstrated interest
◦ institutional needs/goals
 Bottom Line: We want students who will be
successful and who will contribute to our
community

7. Review Process
 First Read:
◦ Typically - counselor assigned to high school
◦ Make admission/scholarship recommendations
 Second/Final Read:
◦ Another admission counselor – adds another dimension
◦ Approaches review from a non-familiar look at app
◦ Committee:
◦ Some files – borderline cases
◦ All files – some schools may review every app in a discussion
environment

8.  Key factors on the transcript
◦ Course selection
 what is available at your school, and what did the
student take?
◦ Grade trends
 Upward or downward trends
 Strength or weakness in a subject area
◦ Level of rigor
 Did the student challenge him or herself?
 Did the student take the minimum requirements or go
above and beyond?

9.  What do admission offices need from high
schools?
◦ Grading Scale
◦ Description of rigor
 Is this an honors or accelerated class?
 Is it included in the GPA?
◦ School profile
 Demographic information about your school
 Course offerings
 College bound rate of your students
 Performance on standardized tests

10.  An essay that grabs our attention
◦ Students should be willing to take a risk and talk about
something unique
 An essay that doesn’t just retell information that is
already included in the application
◦ Too many essays just list activities and other information
that can be found on the transcripts
 An essay with appropriate topic/subject/language.
◦ Students should consider if they really want the
committee to know about this particular topic
◦ Students need to use appropriate format and grammar.
We do judge on how the essay is written!
◦ Students should ask - What image is left with the reader?
◦ PROOF READ

11.  Recommendation letters can carry a lot of weight
◦ Tell us information about the student beyond the
information in the application
◦ What type of student is this individual? Are there special
talents we should know about?
 Enlist others to help
◦ Ask parents to submit a “brag sheet” to give you a better
picture of the student
 Help other faculty and staff
◦ Develop writing guidelines for teachers and other staff
who might write letters of recommendations

12.  Extra-Curricular Activities
 Leadership
 Work
 Race/Ethnicity
 First Generation Status
 Socio-Economic Status
 Geographic Diversity
 Special talents

13.  College Admission decisions do not happen
in a vacuum
 The institution will have set goals that will
affect who is offered admission that can
include:
◦ Number of students
◦ Diversity of student body
◦ Types of majors available

14.  Students can control
◦ Academic Performance
◦ Essay
◦ How application is put together
 Counselors can control
◦ Profile, letters of recommendation
 College can control
◦ Institutional goals
 No One Controls the applicant pool

16.  Excellence College
◦ Selective, Private, Liberal Arts College
◦ Admission Rate: 50%
 Average GPA of admitted students = 3.9/4.0
 ACT middle 50% = 27 – 32
◦ Student Population: 2,500 undergraduates
◦ Available Majors: Traditional Liberal Arts
 Select 1 student to admit, 1 to deny

17.  Great State University
◦ Public, Selective, Research University
◦ Admissions Rate: 65%
 Average GPA: 3.7/4.0
 ACT Middle 50%: 25 – 30
◦ Student Population: 25,000 undergraduates, 8,000
professional and graduate students
◦ Available Majors: Arts and Sciences, Business,
Engineering, Education, Health Sciences
 Select 1 student to admit, 1 to deny

19.  Michelle Gregory, Williamsburg, VA, UND
◦ GPA: 3.74, Class Rank: DNR/153; SAT 1300
 Stephen Markowitz, Cincinnati, OH, UND
◦ GPA: 3.56; Class Rank DNR/480; ACT 29: SAT 1310