During this summer of 2011 we took a tour of many of the Ivy League Colleges as well as several other private liberal arts colleges. We visited - in order - Cornell, Harvard, Brandeis, Brown, Yale, Vassar, Bard, and Oberlin. We also took a stroll through Wellesley, but didn't go to an information session or take a tour because it was a Sunday evening.
We wanted our 14 year old daughter, Mollie, to have a sense of these schools as she enters high school and we thought that looking at colleges now might help make the process much more relaxed when the time comes to make important decisions. We also visited family and friends in the Boston area and that made for a really nice trip. Last spring we also visited Princeton and Columbia when we visited family in the New York City area, and we took a weekend trip to visit Oberlin and Kenyon here in Ohio as well.
After visiting all these colleges we are beginning to get a sense of certain patterns and certain concepts that almost all of the admissions officers say. Those generalizations are what I want to include in this section of the blog.
What do selective colleges look for in an applicant?
HIGH SCHOOL GRADES
The admissions officers in all the colleges we looked at said that the most important piece of information is the high school academic record. They want to see not only a strong GPA (Grade Point Average), but they also want to see that a student has taken advantage of what their high school has to offer and has taken Honors and AP classes that are available to them.
All the schools said that they look at "context" - in other words, the type of high school a student goes to. If a high school only offers 3 AP classes, a student who attends this school will not be compared unfavorably to a student who attends a high school that offers 30 AP classes. Admissions officers operate in different regions of the country and it is their job to become familiar with the different types of high schools and what they have to offer.
Every admissions presentation also made it clear that they want to see an upward trend in the student's transcript. They expect that a student's grades and the rigor of a student's classes will increase rather than decrease. If they see a downward trend in grades as the student goes through high school they get concerned.
SAT AND ACT SCORES
In the highly selective schools everything counts and I've included the middle 50% of scores in the blog postings for all of the schools we have visited. However, most of the admissions officers downplayed these tests in their presentations, although they did tell us the average scores.
The good news is that most of the schools said they will take the highest scores in each area to give students the benefit of the doubt, so it is a good idea to take these tests several times.
Students in 7th and 8th grade can take the SAT and the ACT through several talent search programs around the country. Mollie took them through the Northwestern University Midwest Academic Talent Search (NUMATS) and it was a very good experience for her. Several of my students have done the same thing and the feedback I have gotten is that it was a real confidence booster to do this.
Schools are definitely not just looking for perfect scores and made it clear that, although the scores are a factor in acceptance, they try to look at the whole person.
EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
The trend seems to be that selective colleges are looking for students who have developed an interest in several activities or clubs and have stuck with those things throughout high school. This is more interesting to a college than a student who is involved in many, many activities, but has not really developed leadership or skill in any one area. The admissions officer at Brown said something like, "If you tell us that you are involved in 20 clubs or activities, not only does it look like you are padding your resume - you ARE padding your resume."
We heard a number of people talk about being interested in what students are passionate about and how they spend their time outside of the school day - even beyond school extracurricular activities. One example was given of a student who babysat for her neighbors to help them out and was downplaying the way in which she had spent her time. The admissions officer was actually very interested in what she had done and it turned out that she had really been of service to these neighbors. The point was that all activities are important in that they indicate a student's character and quality.
ESSAYS
Some of the admissions officers said that the essay is important in getting to know the student, some said that grades are the most important thing they look at, and some said the essay is the most important part of the application because it gives the college the clearest understanding of the student as an individual.
Whatever the case, all of them said that students should write about what they know in words they know, and that they want to hear the student's voice. The essay is a window into the student's life and they want to be able to see through that window clearly. They said that they like to read essays that bring them into the student's world, that make them feel that they can see what the student is feeling and perceiving.
The admissions officer at Vassar said that it is OK if a student hasn't changed the world yet because most 17 year olds haven't. She said the best things to write about are the simple things and she gave an example of a student who wrote about the things that are in her bedroom and how those things were a reflection of her as a person. She also said it is important to indicate the ability for self-reflection. Some students write beautiful essays about a person who has impacted them, but the essays are all about the other person and not about the applicant. The admissions officer said something like, "It would be nice if we could admit the person to Vassar who was written about in the essay, but that is not the person who is submitting the application!"
Everyone also said that it is important to edit and proofread!! The admissions officer at Brown said to be very careful, if you are going to apply to Brown, that your essay does not say, "I really want to go to Yale." A point well made!
OTHER FACTORS
There is so much to learn about this and I realized that I need to find some books that are written by people who have worked in Admissions because not everything can be said in these information sessions. Right now I'm reading a book called, "Admission Matters: What Students and Parents Need to Know About Getting Into College" by Sally Springer and Marion Franck. It has a lot of very frank and helpful information in it. I just went to our local library and checked this one out - but I'm sure there are a plethora of books about this topic on the market. It is a very hot topic right now!!
One last thing I want to say is that I developed a strong opinion on this college tour that it is really important for students to be true to themselves and to pursue things they are genuinely interested in and passionate about. They shouldn't try to calculate only what elite colleges are looking for because what these schools seem to be looking for are genuine people who will make the most of their experiences at their colleges. I think that admissions officers are pretty well trained to sniff out students who simply add experiences to their lives because their parents have paid for them to attend expensive camps or take expensive trips. The woman who gave the presentation at Yale said that they want students who will give back to the community. They are not only looking for students who have strong opinions, but they want students who will also listen to the opinions of others. So, it seems like it is important for students to develop from the inside out - to cultivate curiosity, integrity, commitment, compassion and determination. If they do these things, keep their grades up, prepare for the standardized tests, carefully complete applications and turn them in on time they will find success in whatever they do.
P.S. Almost every tour guide made some reference to Harry Potter! Residence Halls, dining areas, Yale's lawn for Quidditch...
Vassar is located in the Hudson Valley an hour and 45 minute train ride from New York City. It has 24oo students, 25% of whom are from New York, 80% of whom double major, and 40% of whom study away at some point during the college career. Vassar was an all girls college, but is now co-ed with approximately 45% men (I can't remember the exact number, but it was more than I expected it to be). The average class size is about 17 with advanced classes being about 10 students. There are not distribution or general education requirements - which seems to be a general trend in these kinds of schools. 
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