College Admissions Questions (1 Viewer)

[Galileo]

My youngest is also much further ahead in the “building a resume” game than her sister was

Can you flesh this "resume building" thing out for me?

It's basically showing authentic, sustained commitment to something - optimally with an academic or artistic connection but not necessary

For my kid, it was studying Arabic. He started studying in middle school through an online course offered by JHU's Center for Talented Youth, then got a scholarship to study Arabic in Morocco for a summer, then did some translations during high school (where Arabic wasn't offered) and then wrote an essay that tied together his interest in studying the language with what he wanted to do in college

It made for a coherent narrative that showed him to be a smart, committed student. In my opinion, this was much more valuable in the college admissions process than signing up for yearbook, choir, etc, to just lard up on a list of activities that didnt't really mean anything. So find something you kid really likes to do, support their involvement in it, and see if there are volunteer opportunities to then build on that involvement that reinforce the story you're trying to tell.

It is important to start early in order to be able to let that sustained, committed involvement develop. This is not to suggest we need to be putting tons of pressure on younger kids, but you do want to find something organically that is an interest/passion and build upon it.

 

[bigbottom]

My youngest is also much further ahead in the “building a resume” game than her sister was

Can you flesh this "resume building" thing out for me?

It's basically showing authentic, sustained commitment to something - optimally with an academic or artistic connection but not necessary

For my kid, it was studying Arabic. He started studying in middle school through an online course offered by JHU's Center for Talented Youth, then got a scholarship to study Arabic in Morocco for a summer, then did some translations during high school (where Arabic wasn't offered) and then wrote an essay that tied together his interest in studying the language with what he wanted to do in college

It made for a coherent narrative that showed him to be a smart, committed student. In my opinion, this was much more valuable in the college admissions process than signing up for yearbook, choir, etc, to just lard up on a list of activities that didnt't really mean anything. So find something you kid really likes to do, support their involvement in it, and see if there are volunteer opportunities to then build on that involvement that reinforce the story you're trying to tell.

It is important to start early in order to be able to let that sustained, committed involvement develop. This is not to suggest we need to be putting tons of pressure on younger kids, but you do want to find something organically that is an interest/passion and build upon it.

For my kid, it was community service. He did a ton of it through all four years of high school. Some of it was required by his school, but much of it was on his own initiative, including serving as a youth ambassador for our foundation. It told a story through his resume and personal statement.

 

[El Floppo]

find something organically

This.

I'd hope it's something your kid already loves and has passion for... Otherwise, what's the point?

 

[El Floppo]

Daughter has results back from most of her early decision applications with one more to come back this week. We're planning out our spring with planned travel to 3 out-of-state schools. Strange how it is starting to feel much more real now.

Wait you apply for more than one ED? I thought those were "binding"

Likely meant early action.

Or erectile dysfunction

 

[Brony]

Daughter has results back from most of her early decision applications with one more to come back this week. We're planning out our spring with planned travel to 3 out-of-state schools. Strange how it is starting to feel much more real now.

Wait you apply for more than one ED? I thought those were "binding"

Likely meant early action.

yes. that.

 

[zoobird]

find something organically

This.

I'd hope it's something your kid already loves and has passion for... Otherwise, what's the point?

Neither of my daughters really knew what they 'have a passion for' when we started (around end of freshman year in high school). So I gave them some ideas, found a few articles/videos for them to check out in a few areas that they were at least potentially interested in, and gave them the suggestion to pursue one of those until/unless they found something they were more interested in later on.

Neither of them are likely to continue in exactly the same direction in college, but it worked well for tying together a lot of exploration of various stuff and gave them an opportunity to learn a ton about what they like and don't like doing...and provided lots of material to talk or write about in applications.

 

[El Floppo]

find something organically

This.

I'd hope it's something your kid already loves and has passion for... Otherwise, what's the point?

Neither of my daughters really knew what they 'have a passion for' when we started (around end of freshman year in high school). So I gave them some ideas, found a few articles/videos for them to check out in a few areas that they were at least potentially interested in, and gave them the suggestion to pursue one of those until/unless they found something they were more interested in later on.

Neither of them are likely to continue in exactly the same direction in college, but it worked well for tying together a lot of exploration of various stuff and gave them an opportunity to learn a ton about what they like and don't like doing...and provided lots of material to talk or write about in applications.

That makes a ton of sense... I happily stand corrected. After I wrote it, I thought about most kids who understandably legit don't know what floats their boat yet. Because they're just kids. Love how you approached it.

 

[jabarony]

Some questions on the AP classes & exams. When my kid gets an "A" in AP History and a "3" on the end-of-year exam, are both of those results shared with future colleges? And do they matter (specifically the 3 vs 4 or 5)? And do schools allow you to get college credit for subjects with a 3 or 4? Or just a 5?
Thanks.

 

[bigbottom]

Some questions on the AP classes & exams. When my kid gets an "A" in AP History and a "3" on the end-of-year exam, are both of those results shared with future colleges? And do they matter (specifically the 3 vs 4 or 5)? And do schools allow you to get college credit for subjects with a 3 or 4? Or just a 5?
Thanks.

The grade will certainly be shared with colleges to which your child is applying. As for scores, I believe you can pick and choose which scores to submit, however if a school sees that your child is taking an AP class, and not submitted a score, they will assume your child scored a 3 or lower I would think. As for college credit, it depends on the school and the major. Some schools will give credit for a 3, while others will not. It’s also major dependent. Some schools won’t let you test out of intro level courses in your child’s major, because they think it’s important that you have this foundation, regardless of AP credit.

 

[belljr]

Some questions on the AP classes & exams. When my kid gets an "A" in AP History and a "3" on the end-of-year exam, are both of those results shared with future colleges? And do they matter (specifically the 3 vs 4 or 5)? And do schools allow you to get college credit for subjects with a 3 or 4? Or just a 5?
Thanks.

The grade will certainly be shared with colleges to which your child is applying. As for scores, I believe you can pick and choose which scores to submit, however if a school sees that your child is taking an AP class, and not submitted a score, they will assume your child scored a 3 or lower I would think. As for college credit, it depends on the school and the major. Some schools will give credit for a 3, while others will not. It’s also major dependent. Some schools won’t let you test out of intro level courses in your child’s major, because they think it’s important that you have this foundation, regardless of AP credit.

I'm not sure if that is true - maybe - my daughter took a few AP classes but didnt take any AP tests..... Hindsight probably should have but it is what it is now. She just wanted to ease inot school with material she was familiar with. Different methods by different people I guess

 

[bigbottom]

Some questions on the AP classes & exams. When my kid gets an "A" in AP History and a "3" on the end-of-year exam, are both of those results shared with future colleges? And do they matter (specifically the 3 vs 4 or 5)? And do schools allow you to get college credit for subjects with a 3 or 4? Or just a 5?
Thanks.

The grade will certainly be shared with colleges to which your child is applying. As for scores, I believe you can pick and choose which scores to submit, however if a school sees that your child is taking an AP class, and not submitted a score, they will assume your child scored a 3 or lower I would think. As for college credit, it depends on the school and the major. Some schools will give credit for a 3, while others will not. It’s also major dependent. Some schools won’t let you test out of intro level courses in your child’s major, because they think it’s important that you have this foundation, regardless of AP credit.

I'm not sure if that is true - maybe - my daughter took a few AP classes but didnt take any AP tests..... Hindsight probably should have but it is what it is now. She just wanted to ease inot school with material she was familiar with. Different methods by different people I guess

Yes, I could definitely be off base. My son was applying over four years ago, and standardized testing has certainly been deemphasized since then.

Edit: actually, now that I think about it, I’m not 100% sure whether my son submitted his AP test scores with his application. I think he did, but it’s possible he did not.

 

[zoobird]

Pretty sure you choose which to submit. What I've heard is that most colleges do not give much consideration to AP scores as part of the admissions process. Not sure how accurate that is (and it seems insane to me - it's literally a test of how well students can learn college material and normalizes for all the differences in grading between schools and specific teachers). That said, I've also heard that colleges care a lot about how many APs kids take, and they definitely give extra credit to APs when calculating weighted GPAs.

At most colleges, each department has different rules about what grade on the AP test they'll give class credit for, and at most schools the rules are fairly complex (with the specific AP test making a difference).

A good general rule is probably to submit the test score if it meets the requirements for getting credit at a college (or if it's a 5, submit regardless of whether they offer credit). Otherwise, I probably wouldn't submit.

 

[Galileo]

Pretty sure you choose which to submit.

This.

 

[belljr]

Pretty sure you choose which to submit. What I've heard is that most colleges do not give much consideration to AP scores as part of the admissions process. Not sure how accurate that is (and it seems insane to me - it's literally a test of how well students can learn college material and normalizes for all the differences in grading between schools and specific teachers). That said, I've also heard that colleges care a lot about how many APs kids take, and they definitely give extra credit to APs when calculating weighted GPAs.

At most colleges, each department has different rules about what grade on the AP test they'll give class credit for, and at most schools the rules are fairly complex (with the specific AP test making a difference).

A good general rule is probably to submit the test score if it meets the requirements for getting credit at a college (or if it's a 5, submit regardless of whether they offer credit). Otherwise, I probably wouldn't submit.

Yeah I was confusing AP and ACT. AP my daughter took them - but didnt try for college credit.

ACT is used for admissions.

HOWEVER, college will 100% look at the AP classes you took in evaluating your transcript

 

[bigbottom]

Pretty sure you choose which to submit. What I've heard is that most colleges do not give much consideration to AP scores as part of the admissions process. Not sure how accurate that is (and it seems insane to me - it's literally a test of how well students can learn college material and normalizes for all the differences in grading between schools and specific teachers).

I tend to agree with you. Particularly given grade inflation that exists in some pockets.

 

[jabarony]

Some questions on the AP classes & exams. When my kid gets an "A" in AP History and a "3" on the end-of-year exam, are both of those results shared with future colleges? And do they matter (specifically the 3 vs 4 or 5)? And do schools allow you to get college credit for subjects with a 3 or 4? Or just a 5?
Thanks.

Ok thanks all. When I asked, I assumed the replies would be "it depends on the school". Thanks for confirming though. And I did learn that the scores are not automatically submitted, so that is good to know. And would you guys have your kids submit just some of the test results? Say if they got three "5"s out of seven tests. Would that look bad where they school would assume the other four tests were "3"s or worse?

 

[New Binky the Doormat]

our daughter is headed to Abruzzo, Italy for her 2nd semester sophomore year tomorrow. Any suggestions for her various off-hours/weekend touring?

 

[bigbottom]

our daughter is headed to Abruzzo, Italy for her 2nd semester sophomore year tomorrow. Any suggestions for her various off-hours/weekend touring?

Rome!

 

[Galileo]

Some questions on the AP classes & exams. When my kid gets an "A" in AP History and a "3" on the end-of-year exam, are both of those results shared with future colleges? And do they matter (specifically the 3 vs 4 or 5)? And do schools allow you to get college credit for subjects with a 3 or 4? Or just a 5?
Thanks.

Ok thanks all. When I asked, I assumed the replies would be "it depends on the school". Thanks for confirming though. And I did learn that the scores are not automatically submitted, so that is good to know. And would you guys have your kids submit just some of the test results? Say if they got three "5"s out of seven tests. Would that look bad where they school would assume the other four tests were "3"s or worse?

If you send an AP score report to a college, they get all of the scores, good or bad. There is a process by which you can request to withhold a particular score from a college. I believe you have to fill out a request form (should be accessible through students My AP account) and there is a $10 fee charged by the College Board for each score you wish to withhold.

ETA...you can also cancel a score. This can be done without charge, but it is irreversible. Withholding allows you to change your mind and decide later to release the score to a college. The problem is that you must cancel/withhold a score before June 15th of the year you take the exam. You won't even know your score yet.

 

[TennesseeJed]

Some questions on the AP classes & exams. When my kid gets an "A" in AP History and a "3" on the end-of-year exam, are both of those results shared with future colleges? And do they matter (specifically the 3 vs 4 or 5)? And do schools allow you to get college credit for subjects with a 3 or 4? Or just a 5?
Thanks.

Kind of depends - on the high school and the college.

AP test scores are not required as part of the application process. You can include them, but you don't have to, and I think they have a pretty low weight at most universities.

Having said that, our daughter's HS - includes all AP test scores on the official transcript from the school. Students can request that all scores be left off, but in my daughter's program the counselor advised keeping them on - even low scores.

As for college credit - it will vary by school - but they all have a list on their website - which classes, and whether they will take a 4 or 5. (I don't think I saw any that took a 3, but I never looked too closely at the lists.)

 

[El Floppo]

our daughter is headed to Abruzzo, Italy for her 2nd semester sophomore year tomorrow. Any suggestions for her various off-hours/weekend touring?

@gianmarco

 

[TennesseeJed]

our daughter is headed to Abruzzo, Italy for her 2nd semester sophomore year tomorrow. Any suggestions for her various off-hours/weekend touring?

@gianmarco

Thought he was married.

 

[The Z Machine]

So find something you kid really likes to do

My son likes video games and playing soccer. My daughter likes hanging out with her friends and being nasty to her brother (and family).

Just gotta figure out how to turn those into passions!

 

[Galileo]

So find something you kid really likes to do

My son likes video games and playing soccer. My daughter likes hanging out with her friends and being nasty to her brother (and family).

Just gotta figure out how to turn those into passions!

I don't know his age, but over the years encourage your son to...

• Start a video game club at school
• Spearhead the start of an esports team
• Form an intramural esports league at school
• Organize a video game tournament for charity
• Create a YouTube channel teaching others how to play his favorite games
• Learn coding skills and design his own original games
• Organize, or volunteer at, a soccer clinic for younger kids
• Become a referee for youth soccer in the community
• Coach (or volunteer as an assistant coach since he is not an adult) a community youth team

Daughter may be a little tougher...

 

[TennesseeJed]

Purdue decisions came out tonight - Daughter Accepted into College of Engineering and the Honors College.

Accepted into University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign College of Engineering - I don't know the details, but she was accepted with Neural Engineering as her major - which was something that was unique to Illinois among the schools she looked at - she has been listing biomedical-engineering as her preferred major.

Depending on how Vandy goes - we will be looking to take a trip to see Purdue and Illinois this spring.

 

[pmedina]

Purdue decisions came out tonight - Daughter Accepted into College of Engineering and the Honors College.

Accepted into University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign College of Engineering - I don't know the details, but she was accepted with Neural Engineering as her major - which was something that was unique to Illinois among the schools she looked at - she has been listing biomedical-engineering as her preferred major.

Depending on how Vandy goes - we will be looking to take a trip to see Purdue and Illinois this spring.

Visited both. Let me know if you have questions!

 

[TennesseeJed]

Just a reminder of how random some of these admission decisions can be - yesterday, one of my daughter's classmates was rejected by Illinois for mechanical engineering, and accepted into Georgia Tech, for mechanical engineering.

They were thrilled with the GATech acceptance, but it just shows that you never know what one admission officer sees or does not see on any given day.

 

[The Z Machine]

Just a reminder of how random some of these admission decisions can be - yesterday, one of my daughter's classmates was rejected by Illinois for mechanical engineering, and accepted into Georgia Tech, for mechanical engineering.

They were thrilled with the GATech acceptance, but it just shows that you never know what one admission officer sees or does not see on any given day.

Those schools are peer or near peer though in ME, or at least they were back in the early 2000s. I know lots of money has been flowing to Tech in the last few decades though and the troubles of the US automakers and manufacturing in the upper Midwest hasn't helped Illinois I bet.

 

[TennesseeJed]

Just a reminder of how random some of these admission decisions can be - yesterday, one of my daughter's classmates was rejected by Illinois for mechanical engineering, and accepted into Georgia Tech, for mechanical engineering.

They were thrilled with the GATech acceptance, but it just shows that you never know what one admission officer sees or does not see on any given day.

Those schools are peer or near peer though in ME, or at least they were back in the early 2000s. I know lots of money has been flowing to Tech in the last few decades though and the troubles of the US automakers and manufacturing in the upper Midwest hasn't helped Illinois I bet.

That was kind of my point - in-artfully put - that if you got into one, you would reasonably expect to get into the other - just that one admission officer leaned one way, and the other leaned the other way.

Somewhat random - but obviously some schools look at different factors.

 

[TennesseeJed]

whelp - the college application process came to a stunning close for us tonight - Vanderbilt said Yes!

Daughter is beyond excited - she had been prepping herself all day for a rejection - so it all just came bursting out when she got in!

 

[bigbottom]

whelp - the college application process came to a stunning close for us tonight - Vanderbilt said Yes!

Daughter is beyond excited - she had been prepping herself all day for a rejection - so it all just came bursting out when she got in!

AWESOME!!! Congrats!!!

 

[Dinsy Ejotuz]

My kid lost his damn mind trying to game the system. I could write a book. We never put any pressure on him about it at all (he blames us for not pushing him harder), but he went crazy with it.

So far in at UMD and V Tech. All the "shoot your shot" schools come later.

 

[El Floppo]

Love hearing these acceptances... Congrats on the kick *** kids, friends!

 

[TennesseeJed]

I am not saying colleges are over-priced - but, before financial aid was applied: "Total Estimated Cost of Attendance (for 24/25): $98,170"



I do think college pricing is a bit of a scam - where they jack the prices way up, just to make themselves look good with a decent financial aid package to make it feel like you got something.

 

[SteelCurtain]

I am not saying colleges are over-priced - but, before financial aid was applied: "Total Estimated Cost of Attendance (for 24/25): $98,170"



I do think college pricing is a bit of a scam - where they jack the prices way up, just to make themselves look good with a decent financial aid package to make it feel like you got something.

What school was this with a $98,170 COA?

 

[zoobird]

I am not saying colleges are over-priced - but, before financial aid was applied: "Total Estimated Cost of Attendance (for 24/25): $98,170"



I do think college pricing is a bit of a scam - where they jack the prices way up, just to make themselves look good with a decent financial aid package to make it feel like you got something.

What school was this with a $98,170 COA?

I assume that's Vanderbilt, based on his other posts.

 

[TennesseeJed]

I am not saying colleges are over-priced - but, before financial aid was applied: "Total Estimated Cost of Attendance (for 24/25): $98,170"



I do think college pricing is a bit of a scam - where they jack the prices way up, just to make themselves look good with a decent financial aid package to make it feel like you got something.

What school was this with a $98,170 COA?

Vanderbilt

 

[TennesseeJed]

To be fair - the COA includes 1-time fees for:

Laptop - $1700
1st Year Fee - $1018
Transcript Fee - $100

So, for other years it will only be $95,352


(Again, she got enough merit and other financial aid to make the actual out of pocket costs reasonable. And we had a ball park figure of the net amount before we allowed her to do the binding Early Decision. I am confident that if you are paying the full amount - you can afford it. Any household under $150K is tuition free ($65,000) - so its not that the end cost is unreasonable - its just a very shocking sticker price - and I think its partly designed so they can look "expensive" while at the same time swooping in with a good financial aid package to make you feel good about the process...)

 

[NutterButter]

From the vanderbilt site: "Modest annual increases can be expected." I love how they use the word modest. I guess when you're close to 100k per year, what's another 5k.

 

[El Floppo]

Yale is bringing back the SAT.

This is inevitable for the rest.

Eta... I assume this will drop the medisn score a bit? Since it won't only be kids acing the tests submitting them.

 

[SteelCurtain]

To be fair - the COA includes 1-time fees for:

Laptop - $1700
1st Year Fee - $1018
Transcript Fee - $100

So, for other years it will only be $95,352


(Again, she got enough merit and other financial aid to make the actual out of pocket costs reasonable. And we had a ball park figure of the net amount before we allowed her to do the binding Early Decision. I am confident that if you are paying the full amount - you can afford it. Any household under $150K is tuition free ($65,000) - so its not that the end cost is unreasonable - its just a very shocking sticker price - and I think its partly designed so they can look "expensive" while at the same time swooping in with a good financial aid package to make you feel good about the process...)

Typically, COA also included non-billable living costs (books, travel costs, personal expenses -- pizza money, etc.)

I'm not saying Vanderbilt isn't crazy expensive but the billable costs are probably closer to $90K as opposed to $95K.

 

[bigbottom]

UT Austin brings back SAT after scoreless kids underperform.

UT Austin brings back the SAT after scoreless kids underperform

The college is the latest in a spate of schools reinstating SAT and ACT test requirements.

reason.com

 

[El Floppo]

UT Austin brings back SAT after scoreless kids underperform.

UT Austin brings back the SAT after scoreless kids underperform

The college is the latest in a spate of schools reinstating SAT and ACT test requirements.

reason.com

I think I saw one of the other ivies did too... Brown maybe?

 

[El Floppo]

My kids at a fancy NYC private school, and the college guidance support and level of expectations and exmissions is insane. Seems like a big, unfair advantage relative to the public school system.

But on the flip side, we were asking his counselor about some great schools as options... Vanderbilt, Oberlin... Those kind of schools. Apparently the relationship is such that unless you these kids choose one of them ED, they don't have a chance to get in regardless of scores and grades. Those schools are used to his HS treating them like safety schools and they want none of it. We checked the data, and kids with almost perfect grades and SATs we're all denied. So there's that.

 

[Oracle]

UT Austin brings back SAT after scoreless kids underperform.

UT Austin brings back the SAT after scoreless kids underperform

The college is the latest in a spate of schools reinstating SAT and ACT test requirements.

reason.com

I think I saw one of the other ivies did too... Brown maybe?

MIT and Georgetown did as well.

 

[TennesseeJed]

UT Austin brings back SAT after scoreless kids underperform.

UT Austin brings back the SAT after scoreless kids underperform

The college is the latest in a spate of schools reinstating SAT and ACT test requirements.

reason.com

I think this was somewhat predictable. I don't think the standardized scores, on their own, are too informative. But, with grade inflation being what it is, and every high school being a bit different in that regard, the standardized test scores help put things into context.

 

[zoobird]

UT Austin brings back SAT after scoreless kids underperform.

UT Austin brings back the SAT after scoreless kids underperform

The college is the latest in a spate of schools reinstating SAT and ACT test requirements.

reason.com

I think this was somewhat predictable. I don't think the standardized scores, on their own, are too informative. But, with grade inflation being what it is, and every high school being a bit different in that regard, the standardized test scores help put things into context.

I agree to some extent. The issue is that while SAT/ACT aren't a perfect predictor, they're the only objective measure that's currently used.

If one was trying to devise a set of admissions criteria that would best predict success in college, and cost was no issue, I think the top two factors would be AP test scores and interviews, with all the stuff they use now (SAT, high school grades, essays) factored in, but not as heavily.

 

[TennesseeJed]

UT Austin brings back SAT after scoreless kids underperform.

UT Austin brings back the SAT after scoreless kids underperform

The college is the latest in a spate of schools reinstating SAT and ACT test requirements.

reason.com

I think this was somewhat predictable. I don't think the standardized scores, on their own, are too informative. But, with grade inflation being what it is, and every high school being a bit different in that regard, the standardized test scores help put things into context.

I agree to some extent. The issue is that while SAT/ACT aren't a perfect predictor, they're the only objective measure that's currently used.

If one was trying to devise a set of admissions criteria that would best predict success in college, and cost was no issue, I think the top two factors would be AP test scores and interviews, with all the stuff they use now (SAT, high school grades, essays) factored in, but not as heavily.

A couple of practical challenges:

1. AP class availability varies wildly by school. And, even then, its still something that can be "gamed" the same way standardized test scores can - wealthy kids with tutors will score better.

2. There is no practical way to have any standardized interviewing metric - let alone finding the time to have a meaningful interview with the number of applicants top schools get. For example Vanderbilt gets 45,000+ applications. If you give them all 30 minutes - that adds up to 916 days of interviews. The reality is - the application itself, is the interview - and students should treat it as such.


And, as I said above, the test scores by themselves may not be a great indicator - but they do provide some context to other academic indicators - so the combination is more helpful, than each individually.

 

[zoobird]

UT Austin brings back SAT after scoreless kids underperform.

UT Austin brings back the SAT after scoreless kids underperform

The college is the latest in a spate of schools reinstating SAT and ACT test requirements.

reason.com

I think this was somewhat predictable. I don't think the standardized scores, on their own, are too informative. But, with grade inflation being what it is, and every high school being a bit different in that regard, the standardized test scores help put things into context.

I agree to some extent. The issue is that while SAT/ACT aren't a perfect predictor, they're the only objective measure that's currently used.

If one was trying to devise a set of admissions criteria that would best predict success in college, and cost was no issue, I think the top two factors would be AP test scores and interviews, with all the stuff they use now (SAT, high school grades, essays) factored in, but not as heavily.

A couple of practical challenges:

1. AP class availability varies wildly by school. And, even then, its still something that can be "gamed" the same way standardized test scores can - wealthy kids with tutors will score better.

2. There is no practical way to have any standardized interviewing metric - let alone finding the time to have a meaningful interview with the number of applicants top schools get. For example Vanderbilt gets 45,000+ applications. If you give them all 30 minutes - that adds up to 916 days of interviews. The reality is - the application itself, is the interview - and students should treat it as such.


And, as I said above, the test scores by themselves may not be a great indicator - but they do provide some context to other academic indicators - so the combination is more helpful, than each individually.

Totally agree about the practical limitations and the fact that this will still favor wealthier kids with stronger support networks.

That said, if you're going to have subjective criteria, at least an interview can't be faked...while essays can easily be written or heavily edited by someone other than the applicant. The current emphasis on essays is as thought job applicants were evaluated based on their cover letter rather than interviews.

 

[NewlyRetired]

That said, if you're going to have subjective criteria, at least an interview can't be faked...while essays can easily be written or heavily edited by someone other than the applicant. The current emphasis on essays is as thought job applicants were evaluated based on their cover letter rather than interviews.

I wonder if the various AI engines are adding to the essay manipulation....

When my daughter went through this process back before AI, the admin people always seemed consistent in saying they had a high confidence in knowing when a kid did not write their own essay. I was never confident in their ability to do this though and felt it was more of a warning to hopefully dissuade kids from cheating.