Selective Colleges Brandon Mack Senior Assistant Director of - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Common Application and Selective Colleges

Brandon Mack Senior Assistant Director of Admission

Filling out the Common Application

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for School Forms

Common Application

BENEFITS

• Allows student to focus on content
• vs. form
• Time saver
• Central processing
• Can complete over several sessions

DISADVANTAGES

• Difficult to customize for individual

colleges

• Special circumstances and additional

information

• Easy to minimize importance of

supplemental information

• Character limits per question
• Maintaining username and password

Application Components

Academics

• Academic performance in subject areas that

complement intended major Recommendation Letters

• What do your teachers and counselors say

about you? Interviews (on and off campus) School and Community Involvement

• Community service, varsity athletes,

multiple languages, club or organization presidents, drama, speech, or debate, members of student government Application Presentation

• Command of language, words spelled

correctly, clear responses Demonstration of interest

• Campus visit, knowledge of institution

Holistic Review Process

• Intellectual curiosity and vitality
• Engagement in and contributions

to one’s community

• Broad perspectives and differing

points of view

• A variety of talents and the desire

for growth

A holistic review process that considers:

General Admission Practices

at Highly Selective Institutions

• Many more applications from viable candidates than available spaces
• Admission decisions rarely depend heavily on any one single quantitative metric,

such as rank in class, grade-point average, the SAT/ACT scores

• Qualitative factors which include rigor of course of study, letters of

recommendation, essay responses, personal background/history, nonacademic achievement, unusual perspective or world view often balance academic credentials. Other factors include creativity, motivation, leadership, ability to overcome circumstances. For specialized programs, such as music or architecture, auditions and portfolios can weigh heavily in decision.

• Ability to pay does not affect admission decision. Strong commitment to

financial aid.

Questions?