Things That Might Surprise You in the College Admissions Process

1. Things That Might Surprise You in the College Admissions Process Dave Crooks & Coleman Tuggle Alumni Interviewers

2. Getting Into College is Like Getting a Job… • Attend college fairs • Formal college visits with interviews • College weekends for seniors • Contact admissions reps • Visit department chairs on campus • Get to know alumni, recent and old

3. Consultants • The role of a coach is to encourage, advise, and help the player reach their full potential • The coach doesn’t play the game! • Consultants who assist and encourage the student to do the best job he/she can in preparing an application serve a useful purpose • Consultants who prepare a “canned” application based on a short interview with the student are doing the student a disservice

4. Match the Personalities of the Student and the College • Know who you are: your strengths, weaknesses, learning style, social environment, risk appetite, etc. • Visiting campuses is a must! • Your sense of a strong match with the college should come through in all your communications • Use Naviance

5. College Essays & Interviews • The essay needs to be about you and by you • Make your personality shine through in your essay and your interview: why are you who you are? • The school wants to know: Who is this person and how will admitting them benefit this college? • Do interviews matter? • Show up for an interview neat, prepared and ready for a conversation • Practice interview!

6. The Admissions Process • Life in the admissions office • Weighing GPA, board scores and activities • Show commitment over time and leadership in a limited number of activities • Get a “real” recommendation from a teacher, not a “form letter” • Convey your interests and passions! • Demonstrate what you can add to the school

7. How Many Applications? • Quality, not quantity • Realistically determine your “stretch”, “probable” and “safe” schools and apply to 2-3 of each MAX! • Visit the schools you apply to • Do a great job on each application, don’t just pump them out • Colleges know when you’re genuinely interested

8. Diversity & Special Talents • Ethnicity helps if you are from an under-represented group • Colleges seek geographical diversity (if you’ve lived different places, bring that out) • Being a recruited athlete is a HUGE advantage • If you have artistic or musical talent, make sure the school is aware of it (DVDs, auditions) • Bring out any individual recognitions

9. Other Factors in the Process • “Need blind” admissions • Legacy status • Early decision & early action • Clean up your electronic footprint

10. Tidbits… • …on William & Mary • …on Dartmouth • Things that (constantly) surprise us as recruiters & interviewers

11. Personality Attributes of W&M • Dedicated to excellence • A community of scholars • Not as pretentious as an Ivy League school • A student body very involved in campus activities • 300 years of tradition and a lot of school spirit • Professors are involved with students both academically and socially • Excellent relationship between the students, administration and faculty • Students have a voice in everything that happens on campus • Great sense of community on campus • Class size is small so that all students can actively participate in the education process • Not a big party school…students make their own fun on campus

12. Dartmouth College • The only college in the Ivy League (and the only school with college spirit!) • Rural New Hampshire (imagine Hinsdale with trees 100 miles in every direction) • 4,200 undergrads (and 1,200 grad students) • A true liberal arts school focused on undergraduate education • A good fit for well-rounded, academically talented students with a love of the outdoors