Why College Admissions is Personal

I subscribe to Paper.li newsletter to keep updated on trends in college admissions. In this week's edition, I noticed an article written by someone I attended the University of Chicago with, Phoebe Maltz Bovy. The article was titled, " The False Promise of 'Holistic' College Admissions." 

Bovy argues that college admissions officers unfairly judge students' character based on a few pieces of information -- standardized test scores, transcripts, essays, activity lists, and recommendations. I agree that using "holistic" is probably not the best term since the average admissions officer spends very little time reading a candidate's application before making an initial decision. Less to do with the assertion that colleges make false promises, what resonated with me about Bovy's article is the question it prompted: is college admissions too personal? If there's not enough time to get to know students on a personal level, with college applications reaching record highs,  then why are students being asked to divulge their most secret moments, many that have never been shared with anyone? Why are admissions officers Google searching students? 

The answer is two-fold. One is that college admissions officers are people. Reading through thousands of applications gets overwhelming. By the numbers, students look the same. Stories, presented in essays, recommendations, and the interview, add depth to the application. And the stories that excite admissions officers the most are ones that are unique of course, showing triumph, fear, overcoming obstacles, passion -- stories that show the differences in character and value a student brings to campus.

And second, it is a recognized fact that the act of attending college can be life-changing; and for many, it's a personal decision that impacts life prospects. College is where memories are created, lifelong friends are met and students grow into their own person. For years I taught high school students in the south Bronx, many of whom had never had anyone in their family attend college. The ones who went onto college and graduated, have emerged out of poverty, with jobs, a connected network, and real proof that college equals the playing field. 

For good reason, college admissions is personal. In college applications, admissions officers expect students to go deep, showing how they standout from the next candidate. The college application is an opportunity for students to tell the narrative behind the scores, and to talk about how their presence would make the campus a better place.