All too often a HS student gets rejected from a school and thinks, "What is it about me they didn't like?" This feeling only intensifies when other students from the same school get in, or get in at other comparable programs. The analysis begins with no possible positive end. So before you beat your head against a wall, consider these factors that help a college shape their student body. In most cases, a school taking a pass on you has actually nothing to do with you.
The Goal Colleges are striving to create a freshman class that they feel will enhance their student body, support the current programs on campus, and add a margin of diversity. We often think of diversity as race/ethnicity, and to some extent most schools will look to increase or maintain the number of Asian, Hispanic, African-American, etc. students, but it goes beyond that. The following are a set of "hooks" or factors that a school make consider and it sits behind closed doors and crafts its incoming freshman class. Geographic Diversity A school on the West coast with few applicants from the East coast may select students from under represented areas. A school may also want to increase their international numbers. However, if the school already has a large proportion of Chinese students, it may help to be from Jordan. Age Most college freshman are around 18 years old. But there are students enrolling well into their adult years. This adds diversity and life experience to a class conversation. Athletes/Special Talents Some schools place an emphasis on their athletics teams and may grant coaches ways to highlight student-athletes they would prefer during the application phase. The same is true of elite instrumentalists, actors, vocalists, programmers, or pretty much anything other talent the university can develop. Legacies Is it fair that a student gets special consideration because their father, mother, or grandparent went to school a particular institution? Maybe not to the first-generation college student fighting for a place, but it can matter to schools and their donors. Not all schools will give extra weight to a student with a parent that attended, but many will give consideration to the application, especially if that school works heavily with alumni donations. Donors Does this mean you can buy a spot to college? Before you bug mom and dad to whip out the old checkbook, understand what is at stake. All schools appreciate donations, and private schools may even work the hardest for these dollars; after all, they are not funded like the public schools are. But as much as a donation is nice, it is only going to help and the most prestigious places when it is significant (think 7 figures). And the promise of a donation (the parents may donate if the son gets in)? Means nothing to the schools I have talked to. Since most of us don't have a surname on the library of an Ivy league campus, this one isn't that much of a factor. While none of the above factors make you a shoe-in for a spot at a highly selective college, it can help, IF the college is looking for that particular characteristic in that student body. If you are an all-state quarterback you are applying for 700 spots at a school that gets 7500 applications. But you might only be competing for a place in the school against 5 other all-state QBs. That is, if the school needs a QB. If they already have an All-American freshman, your "leg up" won't matter. There is an incredible debate about the illegality of using special factors in admissions. Read more here. In most cases, you do not control these special factors. Where your are from, where your parents went to school, and how old you are are simply beyond your realm of influence. For most applicants, it is best to put aside this thinking and focus on the components of the application you can control.
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AuthorOlder blog posts were for the UCLA Ext course "Using the Internet for College Counseling" Archives
February 2023
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