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A Roundtable Discussion with Students Who Attended "The College Search" Workshop (8/4)

What do you feel like you got out of this workshop?

Darren. It really illuminated the process of admissions. I think before I came here it was shrouded in mystery.

Atheel. I agree. Even though people are going into their senior year, they don't know exactly what they're supposed to do to get started.

Darren. Exactly. You don't how the university is going to be looking at your application. Is it just one person looking at it? Or is it a whole board looking at one application, deciding, voting? They brought peace of mind to the process.

And, as I understand it, you role-played being an admissions team from a university? And the school you were admitting for -- Webster University -- it's a fictional school?

Julie. Right. We were them. In a limited amount of time, we had to evaluate each applicant.

Darren. For the exercise, they gave us kind of the 'hidden agenda' of what the university was really looking for. You know, whether they're looking to expand their history program or crew program. Or, they always do well in hockey so they need to continue that.

What did you learn from being on the other end of things?

Atheel. Basically, just what Darren said. How each university has an agenda but you can never know what it is -- like, what program they're trying to improve. So that's why they told us the most important thing is to portray who you really are. Don't fix your application according to what you think the university might want because you might not be happy if you end up getting in. That's the most important thing we learned -- not to play with our applications, just be ourselves.

Darren. If anything, it really debunked a lot of myths we had about the application process.

Atheel. Yeah. Like you don't have to talk about something so complicated in your essay or come across like this person that's so risk-taking.

Julie. I know especially at my high school SAT scores are a big deal. And some of the kids with the best grades don't do as well [on the standardized tests] as some of the kids that don't work as hard in school. The process just kind of showed us that on applications, character really stands out.

Atheel. Yeah, grades are -- not more important but just as important. It shows that over four years, it says more about your character than one test score. We also talked about how you don't have to be well-rounded. Sometimes, if you succeed in a certain sport, that shows that you're motivated and dedicated to one certain thing. You don't have to be this perfect person who does everything.

Darren. Yeah, exactly. You don't have to be a perfect, straight-A student to get into even some of the most selective universities, but you do have to have something that distinguishes you from others, that makes you stand out. Like, when I was considering candidates, I wasn't looking for anything in particular, but I would look at what was there and evaluate that.

Did you all talk at all about the importance of the personal essay? Either from the perspective of the student or of the admissions team?

Julie. We learned that the personal statement gives you an insight into the character of a person. It gives you insight into their interests or something that they're passionate about.

Darren. I think the essays are really important because, to a university, they get thousands of applications and, short of an interview, they don't know who you really are besides a number on the SAT or a grade point average. So that is your chance to really show who you are to the university and show if you would be a good addition to their campus. You have to bring something to the table.

What do you think is the most important thing you'll take away from the workshop?

Atheel. Basically, the most important thing is, everyone thinks that you should choose a university that you want to get into and then see what that university is looking for. I don't think so. I just basically learned that, be yourself for the four years of high school, do what you like to do. If you're passionate about sports, great; if not, that's fine, do something else. And then find a university that fits you, instead of trying to fit the university.

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About the Workshop Leaders

Richard Steele (left) has a long and distinguished career in college and university admissions. Dick was the Dean/Director of Admissions at Bowdoin College, Duke University, Carleton College, and the University of Vermont. He has taught a course on college admissions at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He is a graduate of Harvard College and earned his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Logan Powell is Director of Undergraduate Admission at Princeton University after serving as Senior Associate Dean of Admission at Bowdoin and spending five years as a member of Harvard’s admissions staff. Logan is a graduate of Bowdoin and earned his M.Ed. at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education.