collegeessay

There has been an explosion of handwringing among educators and academics, and cheers from students about the strides and easy accessibility of Artificial Intelligence that will probably change the entire nature of how we educate. What can we expect? How do we adapt?  Can anything good come out of this? This is just the first in a series of examinations of this incredibly important topic that will certainly affect every aspect of education at least from middle school through higher education. On this episode it’s just me and AI. We even had fun playing The 5-Minute Game Show! Well, at least I did. I can’t speak for my friendly AI.

I want to especially thank Tuvia Frankel for clueing me in to the importance of dealing with this issue right away, and for writing the fauxmercial!

Resources and Links:

Various great essays on AI by Stephen March in The Atlantic

The End of High-School English by Daniel Herman in The Atlantic

The Brilliance and Weirdness of ChatGPT by Kevin Roose in The New York Times

There has been an explosion of handwringing among educators and academics, and cheers from students about the strides and easy accessibility of Artificial Intelligence that will probably change the entire nature of how we educate. What can we expect? How do we adapt?  Can anything good come out of this? This is just the first in a series of examinations of this incredibly important topic that will certainly affect every aspect of education at least from middle school through higher education. On this episode it’s just me and AI. We even had fun playing The 5-Minute Game Show! Well, at least I did. I can’t speak for my friendly AI.

I want to especially thank Tuvia Frankel for clueing me in to the importance of dealing with this issue right away, and for writing the fauxmercial!

Resources and Links:

Various great essays on AI by Stephen March in The Atlantic

The End of High-School English by Daniel Herman in The Atlantic

The Brilliance and Weirdness of ChatGPT by Kevin Roose in The New York Times

My guest this time is Tom Campbell — who at the time of this recording was Assistant Dean Of Admissions at Pomona College. Tom was formerly the Assistant Director Of Admissions at College of the Holy Cross, his alma mater, and also serves as a Group Leader, Essay Specialist and Faculty Member at the very awesome College Horizons.

This is another episode in our series that goes behind the scenes of an admissions office to let you know what happens when you click submit on your application—where does it go? Who reads it? What are they thinking? How do they make decisions?

In part one, we cover:

• What happens after you hit submit through when you receive your decision?
• How did the Test Optional policy impact admission decisions this year—and how are colleges like Pomona able to create a class without standardized tests?
• How was application reading different from past years?
• Essays: What do you look for in a great personal statement? How much do essays matter? Can they ever hurt your chances?
• Demonstrated interest: How does it really work? What does Pomona track? What do other schools track?

Play-by-Play

• [2:00] Meet Tom
• [3:57] What we’re going to cover
• [4:48] What is Tom’s job like right now, in April 2020?
• [7:40] What is yield?
• [9:00] What happens between students clicking submit to receiving a letter of acceptance (Pomona’s entire process)
• [19:20] What is test-optional, and how does Pomona use test scores?
• [25:39] How does Pomona put together a class? What are its institutional priorities? (Also more on testing)
• [35:15] How were things different this year because of COVID-19?
• [43:10] Tom names some common essay topics
• [45:44] What does Tom look for in a personal statement? How much do essays matter?
• [49:26] Q&A - How does a student's ability to pay tuition affect their chances at Pomona?
• [50:35] Case study - in terms of institutional priorities, what did this student do well?
• [56:22] How tough is it for full-need international students to be accepted?
• [57:40] What does Tom have to say to students who think they must get accepted to a top university or else they’ve failed?
• [59:58] How much does major choice matter when applying?

This episode I'm with with Kati Sweaney, Senior Assistant Dean of Admission at Reed College. It's the first in a series of interviews with current and former college admissions officers where we go behind the scenes to let you know how things work. 

In this episode we get into: 

• The life of an admission officer, including what their travel season is like
• Do’s and don’ts for that initial email to an admissions office
• What is demonstrated interest?
• Why it matters for colleges to predict who attends their school
• Some other ways students can demonstrate interest
• Additional info sections that made a difference
• How fast do admissions officers read the application?
• How many essays has Kati read?
• Kati’s do’s and don'ts for the application essays

Resources:

• College Essay Guy Interview Guide
• Guide to Demonstrated Interest
• Ira Glass on Storytelling

Play-by-play:

[2:00] How Kati got into admissions

[3:42] What kind of person is drawn to working in admissions?

[5:30] What is travel season for admissions reps?

[10:05] Why do college reps travel to so many high schools?

[13:55] A little bit about college fairs

[16:13] Examples of how students stood out at college fairs

[19:50] Some do’s and don’ts for the initial email to admissions offices

[22:44] What is demonstrated interest?

[26:37] Why it matters for colleges to predict who attends their school

[29:27] Some other ways students can demonstrate interest

[32:00] Additional info sections that made a difference

[34:50] How fast do admissions officers read the application?

[39:17] How many essays has Kati read?

[40:40] Kati’s do’s and don'ts for the application essays

[43:50] Why those tiny details are so important in an essay

[45:25] A few college essays that stood out (after reading 25,000 essays)

[54:16] Kati’s advice for parents

[56:54] What Kati hopes students will keep in mind throughout this process

This episode was initially recorded in the fall of 2019, so you may notice some pre-pandemic language used. 

Tom Campbell is back for another episode in our series that goes behind the scenes of an admissions office to let you know what happens when you click submit on your application—where does it go? Who reads it? What are they thinking? How do they make decisions?

At the time of this recording, Tom Campbell was Assistant Dean Of Admissions at Pomona College. Tom was formerly the Assistant Director Of Admissions at College of the Holy Cross, his alma mater, and also serves as a Group Leader, Essay Specialist and Faculty Member at the very awesome College Horizons.

In part 2, we cover a ton of listener questions that we didn’t get to during the first episode (and some questions folks didn’t ask) and dig deeper on all things admissions at Pomona.

We covered:

• What is demonstrated interest?
• Does Pomona track demonstrated interest?
• Why is it important for colleges to know how likely a student is to enroll (aka college yield)?
• Do’s and don’ts for students at a college fair
• What can folks learn about Pomona based on their supplemental essay prompts? How does Pomona decide which prompts to use?
• Does it matter which Common App personal statement prompt you choose?
• Should students stick closely to the prompt for the supplemental essays?
• Does it matter which major a student chooses when applying?
• What are some “red flags” Tom remembers that got students immediately rejected?

Resources:

• Crash Course on Writing Pomona’s Supplemental Essays
• What is Demonstrated Interest? A Practical How-To Guide
• How to Create a Great College List
• How to Write the “Why this College” Essay

Play-by-play:

• [4:20] What is demonstrated interest?
• [6:30] Does Pomona track demonstrated interest?
• [9:20] Why is it important for colleges to know how likely a student is to enroll (aka college yield)?
• [11:10] What is “yield”?
• [13:50] What student data does Pomona track compared to other highly selective schools?
• [15:37] How much do interviews matter at Pomona?
• [20:46] Why it’s important to ask questions to admissions officers directly
• [22:20] Do’s and don’ts for students at a college fair
• [27:10] What can folks learn about Pomona based on their supplemental essay prompts? How does Pomona decide which prompts to use?
• [39:00] In Tom’s opinion, what makes a memorable personal statement?
• [44:00] Does it matter which Common App personal statement prompt you choose?
• [45:45] Do students have a better or worse chance of getting in if they choose the “topic of your choice?” prompt?
• [46:40] Should students stick closely to the prompt for the supplemental essays?
• [50:20] Does it matter which major a student chooses when applying?
• [53:55] Tom reacts to a sample email from a student asking about major choice
• [60:45] What are some “red flags” Tom remembers that got students immediately rejected?
• [1:03:50] Are there ever situations where a student had amazing grades/test scores/essays, and yet they were rejected?
• [1:07:20] Ultimately, how much can students and families control in the admissions process?

Discovering your potential and purpose in life is a key element to thriving, rather than surviving—especially for students transitioning from high school to college, which is a career- and life-defining stage in their lives. This is something that today’s guests, Greg and Beth Langston, discovered while preparing their kids for college application in a system that paid little attention to the crucial role of self-discovery.

We talked about the college admission process and the dreaded college application essay. Listen in as Beth and Greg give some killer tips you and your student will want to hear!

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Keith Miller is a high school English teacher and college essay tutor. In this episode he shares some very valuable tips helpful to anyone about to embark on the college application journey.