Things That Might Surprise You in the College Admissions Process

1
Things That Might Surprise You in the College
Admissions Process

• Dave Crooks Coleman Tuggle
• Alumni Interviewers

2
Getting Into College is Like Getting a Job

• Attend college fairs
• Formal college visits with interviews
• College weekends for seniors
• Contact admissions reps
• Visit department chairs on campus
• Get to know alumni, recent and old

3
Consultants

• The role of a coach is to encourage, advise, and
  help the player reach their full potential
• The coach doesnt play the game!
• Consultants who assist and encourage the student
  to do the best job he/she can in preparing an
  application serve a useful purpose
• Consultants who prepare a canned application
  based on a short interview with the student are
  doing the student a disservice

4
Match the Personalities of the Student and the
College

• Know who you are your strengths, weaknesses,
  learning style, social environment, risk
  appetite, etc.
• Visiting campuses is a must!
• Your sense of a strong match with the college
  should come through in all your communications
• Use Naviance

5
College Essays Interviews

• The essay needs to be about you and by you
• Make your personality shine through in your essay
  and your interview why are you who you are?
• The school wants to know Who is this person and
  how will admitting them benefit this college?
• Do interviews matter?
• Show up for an interview neat, prepared and ready
  for a conversation
• Practice interview!

6
The Admissions Process

• Life in the admissions office
• Weighing GPA, board scores and activities
• Show commitment over time and leadership in a
  limited number of activities
• Get a real recommendation from a teacher, not a
  form letter
• Convey your interests and passions!
• Demonstrate what you can add to the school

7
How Many Applications?

• Quality, not quantity
• Realistically determine your stretch,
  probable and safe schools and apply to 2-3 of
  each MAX!
• Visit the schools you apply to
• Do a great job on each application, dont just
  pump them out
• Colleges know when youre genuinely interested

8
Diversity Special Talents

• Ethnicity helps if you are from an
  under-represented group
• Colleges seek geographical diversity (if youve
  lived different places, bring that out)
• Being a recruited athlete is a HUGE advantage
• If you have artistic or musical talent, make sure
  the school is aware of it (DVDs, auditions)
• Bring out any individual recognitions

9
Other Factors in the Process

• Need blind admissions
• Legacy status
• Early decision early action
• Clean up your electronic footprint

10
Tidbits

• on William Mary
• on Dartmouth
• Things that (constantly) surprise us as
  recruiters interviewers

11
Personality Attributes of WM

• Dedicated to excellence
• A community of scholars
• Not as pretentious as an Ivy League school
• A student body very involved in campus activities
• 300 years of tradition and a lot of school spirit
• Professors are involved with students both
  academically and socially
• Excellent relationship between the students,
  administration and faculty
• Students have a voice in everything that happens
  on campus
• Great sense of community on campus
• Class size is small so that all students can
  actively participate in the education process
• Not a big party schoolstudents make their own
  fun on campus

12
Dartmouth College

• The only college in the Ivy League (and the only
  school with college spirit!)
• Rural New Hampshire (imagine Hinsdale with trees
  100 miles in every direction)
• 4,200 undergrads (and 1,200 grad students)
• A true liberal arts school focused on
  undergraduate education
• A good fit for well-rounded, academically
  talented students with a love of the outdoors