This week, The Choice has invited Janet Lavin Rapelye, the dean of admission at Princeton University, to stop by our virtual Guidance Office and answer your questions about college admissions. Ms. Rapelye, who received a bachelor's degree from Williams College and a master's degree from Stanford University, has 30 years' experience in college admissions.
For this week's installment of The Choice on India Ink, we present some of her answers that may prove relevant for international students.
Some questions and answers below have been edited for length and style. - Tanya Abrams
Reviewing College Applications
Do applications go through a series of rounds (filtering)? If an application is strong, is it reviewed by multiple readers?
- Do
Princeton's process for reviewing undergraduate applications is extremely detailed and comprehensive.
As I've noted in an earlier post, when we say that the process is holistic, we mean it is designed to discover all the potential qualities of our applicants, qualities that we know cannot be assessed by evaluating just academic grades or standardized scores, although these are important components of an application.
Last year, Princeton received more than 26,000 applications. We thoroughly read every application twice before rendering a decision; some applications received three and four reviews. Almost 2,100 students received letters of admission. The entire process ensures the integrity and confidentiality of each application. Here's how it work s at Princeton:
When a student's file contains all the required materials, an admission officer begins a thorough first reading of the student's application. The staff member reads the file cover to cover, including teacher and guidance counselor recommendations, the student's essays, transcript, standardized test scores and any other supporting materials. The grades and the rigor of the student's course of study, as well as the extracurricular activities and summer experiences, are taken into consideration. In some cases, faculty members are engaged to review supplementary materials that the students submit.
After the admission officer summarizes the candidate's academic performance, achievements, talents and personal qualities, the file is read completely again by a senior admission officer who is knowledgeable about the high school and the region.
The application is then sent to a committee that includes admission officers, the director of the admission office and me.
Every candidate goes through the committee process, and the files with the most promise are discussed in the committee. It takes many weeks of very long days, evenings and weekends to conclude the work. In the committee meetings, the summaries prepared by the first and second readers are often read out loud and discussed. After deliberating, the committee votes on whether to admit, deny or, in the case of early admission, defer a student. During the regular admission cycle, we also vote to place students on the wait list.
As you might imagine, at each step there are moments for conversation and further discovery. We are always looking for reasons to admit students. The admission process is more of an art than a science, and we have developed it in a way that we believe assures all students the opportunity to present their best case.
Every year we receive applications from thousands more qualified candidates than we can accept. The consolation for us is that we know these are extraordinarily gifted students who will be excellent college students wherever they decide to go.
SAT Scores and the Importance of Standardized Tests
To what extent are SAT scores scrutinized? Is there a defined cutoff for the composite SAT score, or is it more about individual module? For example, would a composite score of 2130 that included a 780 math, 710 writing, and 640 critical reading scores be regarded in the same light as a 2130 composite score that included 700 math, 700 writing and 730 critical reading scores?
- Raj
Can you get into Princeton with a 1730 on the SAT?
- Joe Smith
Despite their biases, inaccuracies, limited ability to measure achievement or ability, and other flaws, why does such a world renown and highly accredited institution like Princeton University require applicants to take standardized tests? Is admission possible without it?
- Andre
To answer these questions , it is important to understand how admissions officers read an application. At Princeton, every application is given a holistic review. Because we look at the totality of your experience, there is no formula to the process.
We look first at the transcript that is sent by your secondary school, and we evaluate the rigor of your program and the grades you have received. If you are in our applicant pool, we expect that you have taken the most demanding academic program offered at your school. You will be challenged when you get to our campus, and we want to be sure you are well prepared to handle our college courses.
We are looking not just at your potential, but at your performance. If you had a slow start to your studies in high school, we hope to see academic improvement.
We then review the recommendation letters that are sent by your teachers and guidance counselor. We read your essay and assess your extracurricular activities, how you have spent your sum mers, if you have had a job or were engaged in community service, what you may have done outside of school, and any other supporting material.
Admission officers understand that standardized tests measure quantitative ability, critical reading, an understanding of some subject areas, and writing skills. Combined with your grades, they only partially predict first-year performance in college. They do not predict, however, other values we hold in high esteem at the college level, such as motivation, creativity, independent thought, intellectual curiosity and perseverance.
When we shape our class, we look for students who will continually challenge themselves and contribute to a lively exchange of knowledge and ideas in the classroom. We seek students whose interests are varied and who have a record of accomplishment in athletics or the arts. We look for qualities that will help them become leaders in their fields and in their communities.
If one test could me asure all these things, our jobs would be easy. Standardized test scores help us evaluate a student's likelihood of succeeding at Princeton, but by themselves are not accurate predictors. For all these reasons, we have no cutoffs in test scores, nor do we have cutoffs in grade point averages or class rank. We consider all of these measures within the context of each applicant's school and situation.
Although our most promising candidates tend to earn strong grades and have comparatively high scores on standardized tests, we look at other parts of the application, including essays, to learn more about the kind of student you are and how you approach learning.
The Essay
You hear admission officers and counselors talk about how important the essay is and how it shows that you are not just a test score. The importance, however, is still not clear. What exactly does an admission officer think as he goes about an applicant's essay? What does he look for? What w orks in the applicant's favor?
- Emiliano Lopez
Your ability to write well is critical to our decision because your writing reflects your thinking. No matter what question is asked on a college application, admission officers are looking to see how well you convey your ideas and express yourself in writing. It is our window to your world.
Your command of the English language, whether or not you are a native speaker, is important because you will be asked to write extensively when you get to our campuses.
The best applications come from students who have spent time writing their essays, editing their work, and refining their message.
It is important to answer the question that is asked by a specific school, and not just to “recycle†one essay. This is not the time to take an academic paper you have written for a high school course and edit it for the application essay. This is your moment to be authentic.
Let me suggest that you take th is opportunity to sit down and write about a topic you care about and know well. If you are stuck, you might begin with this question from the Common Application: “Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence.â€
Each of you has someone in your life who has played a role in your development, someone to whom you are grateful, and someone you could describe well. That person may be an adult, a child or a peer. Write a draft that you can put aside for a few days or weeks and edit later. Even if this is not the final essay you send to a college, it will get you started, and working from a draft is much easier than staring at a blank page with a blinking cursor.
Please resist the Web sites that give you access to college essays. This needs to be your own work. Your integrity in this process is paramount.
Finding the Right College Fit
How would you suggest a student determine the culture of a school and whet her or not it would be a good fit? Suggestions for both on-campus visits or schools that one cannot visit would be appreciated. I think this is a very hard decision for many 17-year-olds.
- Older and hopefully wiser
Determining culture and fit is indeed difficult for a high school student looking at colleges. If you are a parent, you want to do your best to support your son or daughter throughout this process.
On paper, a school might seem to meet all the right criteria: selectivity, number and choice of majors, resources, quality of faculty, student-faculty ratio, size, location, climate and extracurricular offerings, among others. Until your student has actually had a chance to visit, however, it is difficult to answer the all-important question, “Will I like it here?â€
I have always been a strong proponent of the campus visit. Parents often marvel at how quickly a student can formulate a response to that question after a visit. For some student s, the reaction is visceral and immediate.
The visit is most valuable because it gives prospective students an opportunity to talk to undergraduates, meet with faculty or even sit in on a class.
Students, when you arrive at the school, it is important to let the college or university know you are on campus by signing in at the admission office, even if you are taking just the tour. As you are leaving the campus, jot down your impressions so you can remember the highlights of your visit.
If you are visiting a college or university that offers interviews on campus, take them up on their offer.
Be sure to read about the school before your trip so you can ask good questions in the interview, such as how students choose majors at that institution, or are freshmen allowed to participate in a particular program of interest in the first year.
We know, however, that a school visit is not always possible. Many schools are making investments in a variety o f visit proxies, everything from videos and virtual tours to online chats and blogs hosted by students, professors and administrators.
College Web sites can also be a valuable resource. Most are packed with information that can supplement the printed materials schools generate. We host off-campus information sessions around the country and the globe. These sessions give parents and students a chance to discuss whatever they wish with our admission officers.
College fairs at high schools and other nearby locations are useful resources, too.
Finally, person-to-person research should not be overlooked as an important research tool. Your college counselor may be the most important resource for you. Alumni and current students also can help parents and students determine if a school might be the right choice.
What Does It Take to Get In?
My husband and I both went to Ivy League schools and are keenly aware and appreciative of the remarkable educat ional and social opportunities they offer. We have not encouraged our own children to strive for the Ivy League, largely because it appears that perfection is now required for admission. In the old days, intelligence, success in high school courses and engagement in some interesting extracurriculars could get you there. Am I wrong? I hope you say that I am. I would like to think that smart, curious and engaged 17-year-olds with the occasional B have a shot at the outstanding educational opportunities that Princeton offers.
- Curious
In many of the questions and comments submitted to The Choice this week, I noticed that students and parents are seeking “guarantees†in the admission process. The reality is there are none.
If students are applying only to highly selective schools, they will encounter steep competition. Spreading a wide net in terms of the selectivity of the colleges where they apply will greatly enhance the number of admission choices the y will have in April.
I am often asked why the admission process is so much more competitive now than it was 10, 20 or 30 years ago at our school. The qualities of being smart, curious and engaged as cited in the question above are still very much in demand. As I've mentioned several times in this forum, Princeton considers every applicant as an individual and takes into account many factors before making an admission decision.
Also, this country and the world have changed in the last few decades; demographic trends in the high school population play a major role in the way many admission offices do their work.
Consider United States high school graduation numbers as analyzed by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education report Knocking at the College Door. Since 1992, the projected number of high school graduates has grown by approximately one million students, from 2.2 million to 3.2 million graduates. The latest data collected by Wiche sugges ts that the number peaked in 2007-8 at about 3.3 million graduates and dipped slightly afterward. These same projections show that the next peak will be reached again in 2017-18 and that by 2021-22, the number of high school graduates will exceed the 2007-8 level.
Not all these students are college bound, but with about a million more students graduating from high school now than in the early 1990s, significantly more students are in the applicant pools of colleges that have a national pool.
At the same time, we are seeing interesting trends in international applications. According to the Institute of International Education, the United States has attracted a growing number of international students at the undergraduate level over the last few years. While international students still account for a small proportion of the total enrollment in U.S. higher education, the combination of demographic factors in the United States and interest from abroad has contributed to the record levels of applications at some colleges and universities. For example, in the last decade, applications to Princeton have almost doubled to more than 26,000. In the same period, the first-year class has grown by only 11 percent. However, not every college or university has seen this rate of growth in its applicant pool, and the subsequent drop in admission rates, and yet they are excellent institutions.
In the next few years we may see a flattening of application numbers, but it is unlikely the numbers will drop to pre-2000 levels. For parents, the take-home message is to support your daughter or son in their efforts, rather than encourage them to apply to the school you wish you had attended or even the school you did attend. Be realistic about the competition and set your son or daughter up for success in the process.
Ms. Rapelye is no longer taking questions. However, if you would like to further discuss college admissions, please feel free to s hare your thoughts in the comments box below.
