College Admission Quotes

“What are you looking for when you read students’ essays? • What are some of the things you hate to see in an application? • Is demonstrated interest a factor in your admission decision? • Are admission decisions need-blind? • What kind of student does well here? What kind of student doesn’t do well here? • Did you attend this college? What has changed since you’ve been here? • What changes do you see taking place on campus in the next five years? • What are recent alumni doing? • What do you think your school is best known for? • How would you describe the typical student here? • How does the school help freshmen adjust to college? • How is academic advising handled? • Are there on-campus jobs available for students? • How are roommates assigned? • What is the Internet situation? Is the entire campus wireless? Do you support Macs or PCs? • How do meal plans work? • How much of a role does the surrounding community play in students’ daily life?”
― Robin Mamlet, College Admission: From Application to Acceptance, Step by Step

“Best advice? Go to the college’s website or contact the college admission office directly. Sites such as Parchment.com are data-driven matchmaking services that purport to predict admission. Students input test scores, GPA, and other info, and these sites generate target lists of schools.”
― Robin Mamlet, College Admission: From Application to Acceptance, Step by Step

“How to Handle Emails from Colleges If you get an email from a college that you think you might be interested in, be sure to actually open it. Don’t simply move it into a folder, read it in a preview pane, or delete it. Colleges can tell whether you actually open their emails. At schools that consider “demonstrated interest,” they will take your opening the email as a sign of interest, and failing to open it as a sign of no interest.”
― Robin Mamlet, College Admission: From Application to Acceptance, Step by Step

“Also, informal hobbies or household duties count—babysitting, tinkering with computers, repairing cars, skateboarding, reading a lot, teaching yourself guitar. These activities are of interest to colleges!”
― Robin Mamlet, College Admission: From Application to Acceptance, Step by Step

“Model UN, filmmaking, lacrosse, choir, quilting, math club—it doesn’t actually matter what activities you choose to pursue. What colleges care about is the why and how of what you do.”
― Robin Mamlet, College Admission: From Application to Acceptance, Step by Step

“Are my junior-year grades the most important part of the transcript? Colleges want to see strong course work with good grades all the way through. But beyond that, the most important grades on a transcript are always your most recent grades. For example, if a student is applying under an early decision program in November of senior year, the most important grades are second-semester junior-year grades (and many times the college will also call your school for a progress report on how your senior year is going). For students applying under the regular admission schedule, the most important grades are those from the first semester of senior year. “What have you done for me lately?” is the relevant question for admission officers.”
― Robin Mamlet, College Admission: From Application to Acceptance, Step by Step

“the School Report (SR) and the high school profile. The SR includes information about curriculum, the number of students attending four-year colleges, and GPA, as well as a counselor evaluation that rates the rigor of a student’s course work and academic achievement. Some schools also provide the college with a profile that describes the curriculum, faculty, student body characteristics such as size and ethnicity, class rank, GPA ranges, awards, and even grade distributions for the class in every offered subject.”
― Robin Mamlet, College Admission: From Application to Acceptance, Step by Step

“students should be aware that the graduation requirements of their high school may differ from the academic course requirements of the colleges where they are applying.”
― Robin Mamlet, College Admission: From Application to Acceptance, Step by Step

“high schools across the country may vary enormously and we try to take account of this by recommending that students complete the most challenging courses available to them at their particular school. When we talk about challenge and rigor, the signal we’re sending is that while college is a transformative, often life-changing experience, it requires serious preparation. We believe that students are in the best position to maximize their experience at our institution when they complete challenging and rigorous classes that are offered at their high school. Students don’t do themselves any favors by trying to pump up their GPA by completing a non-college-prep curriculum. Avoiding courses that prepare one for college is not an effective strategy”
― Robin Mamlet, College Admission: From Application to Acceptance, Step by Step

“What kind of colleges do you think I’d do well at and why? • I don’t know where to begin. Can you help me take the right steps toward coming up with a college list? • What courses should I be taking if I’m interested in attending College X? • Can you put me in touch with graduates from our high school attending College Y? • Can you go over my transcript with me so I can see where I stand? • What can I tell you about myself that will help you give me input and feedback on my college list? • Can you help me design a list of criteria to help me research schools? • What is the best way for me to communicate with you in the future? An appointment, email, drop in, phone?”
― Robin Mamlet, College Admission: From Application to Acceptance, Step by Step