Inside the college admissions process Parenting TODAYshow com

this morning of education nation today inside the college admissions process it is nail-biting time for high school seniors the applications are in but the answers still weeks away so how do schools decide who gets in and who misses the cut today got an exclusive peek at what happens behind closed doors that's the one thing I fear if we're going to take a risk on a student I'd like to know that there's some sort of compelling argument it's a give and take 15 minutes that can decide a student's future don't think we should deny at Grinnell at top liberal arts college in Iowa - admissions officers read an application their comments are shared wait lists and order but I could even go with a deny this is were you reading this one two three and then the application is parsed grades and scores are scrutinized this SAT two in history right 750 so that isn't writing censor a C's essays evaluated yes essay really kind of spoke to his willingness to step out and try new things comparisons made she's far and away the lowest in the group which probably ends it for her extracurriculars Wade why should we treat a musician differently from the way we treat an athlete and finally a vote who would be in favor of a waitlist okay Quentin you're still sticking to your denying I stick to it well sorry you're outvoted Seth Allen is Grinnell's Dean of admission and financial aid I would love to say that the admission process is a very straightforward process where every student is considered on their own merits but that simply isn't true the process is highly subjective which means the pros and cons of a candidate are sometimes debated that's a great example of an essay I mean it tells us a lot about the student well but I guess I would take a contrarian perspective um he's talking about how much he's changed but I do really see that in the evidence of his application for me the issue is more of the transcript coupled with the light extracurricular he's at a school and in an area where we'd probably like to have some more kids people can be very persuasive if someone provides a rationale that you hadn't thought of they raise issues that you hadn't really considered your mind can change who would be in favor of admitting one Tina okay waitlist it's little things in the process that please us surprise us uncover something that we think wow this is someone unusual that we'd like to include in the class who would vote to admit okay coloring in it then and we want to thank Rennell College for its cooperation Chuck Steinberg is the New York Times national education correspondent and moderator of its blog the choice jock good morning to you I got nervous just watching that took me back to when I was a senior in high school because you never do get over that feeling and is that the way the application process works pretty much at all schools across the board Grinnell uses a template that existed about 50 or so highly selective schools that you know deny probably more students than they accept and it's a very very involved process where there's scrutiny of every sort of aspect but they said something there that might make students feel a little better about the process and in the sense that it is subjective it's really not a referendum so much on the kid as it is maybe what the college needs at that particular moment no I think that kids and parents should never read this Passa this process as a referendum on how good a job they did as students or how good a job they did as parents as you can see from that video there's so many factors at play at one time and as an outsider you can't possibly know what they're looking for at that moment they're around that day yet there are certain guidelines right that they follow certainly and you know for example the rigor of your curriculum how hard were the courses you took is the very first thing that they look at in most instances and now to stretch yourself in yeah and that's something that sort of is within your control but don't go overboard and feel that you have to take you know five advanced placement courses a year and what about extracurricular how much do they weigh that that's certainly in the mix as well but I think kids and parents tend to think that you need a million activities when you know commitment to a few activities something outside the classroom for a few years often will suffice just as good what about age and gender and maybe what part of the country that you live in those things but these are the sorts of things where you know it can kind of make you crazy as an outsider they'd like to admit somebody from every state so if you're lucky enough to be the kid applying from North Dakota that might give you an edge but gender is certainly important they're very upfront about the fact that racial and socio-economic diversity is important how as an outsider could you possibly figure out whether you're going to get in or not exactly but the essay again you listening to those folks in that room is so important and then for one kid it worked against the child actually the essay because it didn't match with what they were looking at in the transcript but again you can't know what they're looking for I think the essay is one of those things that's within your control how can you come alive as a person in a way your test scores and grades don't pop make happen so for high school junior watching this now with twits the takeaway here I mean it's a crazy thought but if you can't control this process and you can't out strategize it maybe it's counterintuitive but can't you relax a little bit and sort of be yourself and and just put yourself out there and let the chips fall where they may well easier said than done but hopefully this will calm some kids down John thank you so much thank you

Channel: Henry DelAngelo

Views: 532,504

Rating: 4.8799434 out of 5

Keywords: University And College Admission, School, Student

Id: 2AB-5dCFQrs

Length: 5min 45sec (345 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 07 2014