What is it Like Inside the Room of College Admission Deciders?

“So, what really happens in there?” It’s a question I’m regularly asked when folks find out I was an admissions director. They want to know what happens behind closed doors. “Do you actually read every application?” “Does the dean always have the final say?” “Do you ever just secretly flip a coin?” (I’ve never been asked this question, but I know at least one parent was thinking it.) The application process is not transparent. Admissions officers fiercely preserve and protect the privacy of their decisions. As a student applying to colleges I, too, was fiercely curious about what happened behind the scenes. I had heard that admissions decision making was an art. I had heard it was a science. And some admissions counselors had publicly proclaimed it to be an “artsy science.” But after becoming an insider, I learned that the process is more of a business. An artsy-science-y business.

“Why would a student born in July be named October?” a committee colleague commented while biting off a Twizzler head. “Maybe that’s when she was conceived,” another colleague chimed in. “Kind of like when people name their kids after locations where they were conceived. Paris. Brooklyn.” In this excerpt, I share examples of how conversations about applicants could have progressed. As a reminder, I’ve changed all identifying details of applicants and their candidacies. (October and all other applicants are fictional.)

The application process is not transparent. Admissions officers fiercely preserve and protect the privacy of their decisions.

“Schenectady,” another colleague muttered sarcastically. It wasn’t my first time at the admissions rodeo, but I was the rookie in the room. I had worked for two years at St. Lawrence University before joining the Dartmouth staff. At St. Lawrence, 60 percent of students were admitted. At Dartmouth, we were nearing the 10 percent mark. I had been on the job for a few months, learning the ropes of reading. The process itself was straightforward (and similar to other processes at competitive institutions). Every application received at least two independent reads. (The regional admissions officer read the app first, summarizing and taking notes on the file.) Applications with stronger votes were sent for a dean’s final read. Applications with fewer strong votes were sent for a director’s third look. (Those whom the dean or director weren’t ready to admit or deny were kicked to committee.) In addition to learning how files were processed, I was trained how to read the applications. Nothing was out of the ordinary. Record all grade trends from freshman to senior years. Summarize...

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