HOW COLLEGES MAKE DECISIONS
Believe it or not, colleges don't just draw names out of a hat. There are often complex, messy, and even subjective factors that go into picking who gets in and who doesn't. Here, we'd like to explore some of the criteria that colleges consider when building a class.
BUILDING A CLASS
A college admissions office's primary task is to create an incoming class of students for the next year. Who occupies space in that class is subject to a number of--often competing--institutional priorities. These can be academic (selecting strong students), artistic (ensuring there are enough bassoons in the school orchestra), athletic (making competitive teams), demographic (including racial, gender, sexual, economic, geographic, and other kinds of diversity), and much else.
All of this means there often isn't any one reason that a student receives the decision that they do. While colleges tend to prioritize academic measures--after all, they are trying to select students--the other factors may counterbalance straightforward assessment of academic performance. This is because there is a lot of aspects of "merit" that grades and numerical measures do not assess, and a process that relies only on these could not build the kind of class most colleges are looking for. It's important to state that this does not mean that colleges are "lowering the bar" if they include considerations besides grades in making decisions. There are many different kinds of merit, and most colleges want to acknowledge these different types of merit in their process.
TYPES OF APPLICATION REVIEW
NON-HOLISTIC
For various reasons, some colleges do not practice holistic review and instead rely almost entirely on numbers. If you meet a minimum GPA and test score requirement, then assuming there are no major concerns about conduct or criminal history, admission is guaranteed. These colleges tend to be less selective than those that practice holistic review.
HOLISTIC
Holistic review involves assessing both quantitative and qualitative factors in an application. In general, the more selective a college is, the more likely they are to evaluate applicants holistically, and the more likely the qualitative parts of the application will matter.
Holistic review usually assesses the following components of an application:
Transcripts
Rigor of curriculum
NOT the same thing as the number of AP/Advanced classes
The level of challenge is examined more closely in the subject(s) a student intends to pursue after high school
Grades
NOT the same thing as GPA
Colleges care much more about the specific grades you earned and the courses in which you earned them.
Context matters!
GPA is, at best, a measure of how a student fits into the rest of their class. (Note: Greenhills does not rank students by GPA.) There are as many ways of calculating GPA as there are high schools.
Standardized test scores
Not as important in holistic review as the transcript
Test scores are always considered in context
Type of school a student attends, how many times they’ve taken it, when they were able to take it, etc.
Colleges do not have a preference for the SAT over the ACT or vice-versa
Many colleges are currently test-optional
Extracurricular activities
An extracurricular activity is anything you do outside of class, not just school clubs and organizations
Colleges look for:
Breadth and depth
Impact and leadership
Intention and sincerity
How the student will make their presence felt on campus
Essays
The one place in the application that a student has to display their voice directly
Tell stories that give a sense of who the applicant is (personal statement) or provide further information about interest in a college (supplemental essays)
At the end of the day, an opportunity to provide greater context
Letters of Recommendation
Letters are extremely important for the context behind a student’s accomplishments
What are the stories behind the grades?
What qualities can’t be shown on a transcript?
What kind of student and classroom member are you?
Three types: counselor, teacher, and supplemental
DO NOT ask your teachers for letters yet!