Admissions Officer Panel: Insights from the Ivy League

Webinar Transcription

2026-06-24-Admissions Officer Panel – Insights from the Ivy League

Anesha: [00:00:00] Hi everyone, and welcome to tonight’s webinar. My name is Anesha Grant. I am a senior advisor here at CollegeAdvisor, and I will be your moderator for today’s webinar. Today’s webinar is Inside the Admissions Office, a former Stanford… Oh, no, I’m sorry. Sorry, it’s “Admissions Officer Panel”, I apologize, um, “Insights from the Ivy League.”

Anesha: We will get started by having you all meet our amazing Ivy League, um, panelist. Alvin, can you just start us off by, uh, let us c- let us, let us, letting us know a little bit about you? I’m so sorry.

Alvin: Yes, yes. So hello everyone, and thanks for being here tonight. Um, my name is, of course, Alvin Carter. Um, I’m a higher education professional with over 20 years of experience spanning from college counseling to admissions, um, to student affairs.

Alvin: And so for years, my day-to-day job was literally, um, just kind of looking at who can get into top universities, serving as an assistant director, of course, of admissions for Columbia and also Tufts. I read thousands of applications, uh, fought for students in [00:01:00] committee rooms, and managed highly selective scholarship choices.

Alvin: And so I also handled specialized tracks for dual degrees within Tufts, and then also Columbia for the School of International Public Affairs. And I have experience working with the 64 campus system of SUNY, um, doing recruitment across all campuses, and then leading up into my last stint in higher education, which was, um, running the entire life cycle operations of a GSU business student, um, for the part-time MBA program.

Alvin: So I looked at everything from recruitment, admissions, career services, et cetera. Um, and so for Columbia, um, because you have to understand that we are actually looking for, um, they don’t just want kids with perfect test scores, and so they want intellectual, adventurous students who are genuinely excited to debate, of course, big ideas.

Alvin: And so when you apply, you have to kind of prove that you can create that foundational interdisciplinary nature of the core curriculum. So, um, for students that’s interested, you need to kind of show a real passion for, uh, looking at modern global challenges through literature, philosophy, science, and [00:02:00] history.

Alvin: And of course, the biggest mistake I feel people make, um, is that they forget about New York City. Uh, Columbia wants to see how you will use the city as a living laboratory, and so don’t just say you love New York City, but articulate exactly how you will bridge classroom theory with real world research, leadership, and of course, community impact.

Anesha: Thank you, Alvin. Um, Natalie, can you give us a little bit about your background?

Natalie: Uh, certainly. Uh, I’ll give you the sort of brief, short version of this. Um, I too, uh, have, uh, over two decades of experience in college admission. Uh, my name is Natalie Herring, and I am a first-generation college grad, and I have, uh, spent most of my career in enrollment management, overseeing admission, financial aid, records and registration.

Natalie: Very happy to be with all of you this evening.

Anesha: Thank you, Natalie. Pam, can you keep it going?

Pam: Hi, everyone. I’m Pam. Um, I have been in college admissions after my [00:03:00] former career as a neuroscientist ended. I’m feeling very intimidated by my colleagues today. Um, but I was a former Harvard and Stanford admissions officer, um, and I’ve done work, um, both at the undergraduate and the graduate levels.

Anesha: Thanks. Hey, I’m Stacey. Take us home.

Stacey: Sure thing. Um, so I’m Stacey Tuttle. My, um, admissions background as a former admissions officer and assistant director of admissions at the Yale School of Public Health, where I worked for the MPH program. Um, so my background in admissions is very much geared to the pre-health, um, realm, and my experience in higher ed is a decade long.

Stacey: I’ve since, like, um, entered the world of student affairs and registration. I’m currently still a registrar at Yale University, and Yale University is also my alma mater. So I come at this from a number of perspectives, and I’m really excited to be here today.

Anesha: Awesome. Thank y’all for, um, introducing yourself.

Anesha: Before you let, before I let you jump into your presentations, we’re gonna do a quick little [00:04:00] poll. So for those who are out there in the audience with us, please let us know what grade level you are in. Um, if you’re a parent or a teacher, you can go ahead and select other. Uh, for students, this is the grade you will be in come the fall, so if you’re still in school on the East Coast, I’m sorry, but this will be the grade that you are in next year.

Anesha: Um, so let us know. And as we’re waiting, um, I wonder if folks can weigh in on what was your, what was one kind of favorite thing about your institution or one of the institutions that you worked at?

Natalie: Uh, and I think for me, um, starting my career, um, at Dartmouth College, it really was the size of the institution.

Natalie: Mm-hmm. Um, the smallest of the Ivies, and really feeling like, um, I had this phenomenal network of peers, uh, that still exists. It’s a wonderful group of people to grow old with. And so giving me that network and giving me access to them was a gift.

Anesha: Awesome. Anybody else?

Stacey: If I could, uh, piggyback off of that, I [00:05:00] think what you will hear a lot from all of us is that our institutions are really tremendous communities.

Stacey: Mm-hmm. And so I have… I started my undergraduate career at Yale, and I never left, for a very good reason. Um, and I, I agree that, you know, the program I worked for was also very small. Um, I got to know my students very personally from start to end. Um, and it was just a really beau- beautiful journey to be able to connect with people on that level and in a really meaningful way.

Stacey: Um, and I- I’m, I’m looking around, I think my colleagues would ag- agree with that. Mm-hmm.

Anesha: All right. Well, we hope to learn when… I know you bo- you all will share a little bit more about the communities that you were in and come from, and other guidance regarding these institutions. I’ll go ahead and close our poll so we can move into the presentation a bit faster.

Anesha: Uh, we have about 50, 60 folks in the room with us today. Uh, we have one eighth-grader who is being thoughtful and ambitious very early on. Uh, we have three ninth-graders, four 10th-graders, um, a handful of [00:06:00] 11th-graders, a, a few more 12th-graders, and then about eight parents or teachers, and then I’m sure some other folks who did not do our survey.

Anesha: But, uh, we have a mixed bag in the roo- in the room. Um, so speaking to all audiences, including one middle schooler. Um, so I’ll stop talking. I will hand it over to Alvin, and then I’ll be back a little bit later when we move into our questions. Thanks, everybody

Alvin: Can you guys hear me?

Anesha: Yes, we can hear you now.

Alvin: Okay, great. So I covered a lot of this in the beginning, but I’d, uh, just to kind of reiterate, you know, with my experience here, um, as an admissions officer. I was an assistant director at Columbia University and Tufts University. Um, very unique experiences where I played, uh, heavy hands in recruitment and also, uh, with reading and evaluating applications, [00:07:00] looking for scholarships, or identifying students for scholarships, um, and then also transitioning myself to graduate level studies, which provided a lot of insight in terms of how to prepare gra- you know, you know, students in college for graduate level studies, which ultimately a lot of students are looking towards depending on your career traject- trajectory, right?

Alvin: You may need a doctoral degree, you n- may need a, a JD. Um, and so I had experience doing that. And so one of the great things that I enjoyed both at working at Columbia and Tufts is that students have the opportunity, of course, to, um, cross… You know, take cl- classes, whether it be through, um, cross-registration, this big multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary approach, where students can absolutely take classes at other professional schools within Columbia, um, and at Tufts, and so this is an attribute and a feature that students enjoy the most, um, and of course the students that I work with enjoy.

Alvin: Um, of course I worked for the, as I stated before, I worked for the SUNY system with… I looked over the [00:08:00] entire 64 campus system as far as recruitment, um, and disseminating information to all New York City schools and being in charge of geographic locations such as Chicago, um, as far as recruitment as well.

Alvin: Um, and then my last in higher ed was pretty much working at GSU, uh, where I worked for the part-time MBA program, um, leading two teams to win the National MBA Conference in 2015 and 2016. It was a taste of student affairs, um, and admissions at its best. Um, and so it’s also geared me with the tools that I need to kind of help students out when they’re kind of navigating which careers that they’re looking at.

Alvin: All right, and so we spoke a little bit about, um, Columbia and what Columbia is looking for. And so above all, uh, students that are intellectual curio- that have that intellectual curiosity and vitality and that are adventurous in terms of their learning abilities, um, is something that Columbia prides itself in.

Alvin: And of course, their unique core curriculum. So I would highly recommend for any student that’s interested in learning about Columbia, that [00:09:00] you start with the core curriculum. Um, when you even think of the core curriculum, you think of the foundational, uh, you know, ways in which colleges have implemented general education requirements, and Columbia has actually been the first, um, and the pioneer in that with its first general education requirements for colleges.

Alvin: And so it delves a lot into, um, civilizations, literature, music, um, and they want these students to experience all of these things before graduating. So if you have a love for literature, a love for global learning, a love for being an agent of change, Columbia would be the perfect school for you. Um, and so I’ll end there

Natalie: So once again, I’m Natalie, and, um, my background sort of began at my undergraduate alma mater, uh, which was Dartmouth College. And, uh, I wanted to sort of flesh out a little bit about what you see on, uh, [00:10:00] your screen there. Um, I started out as a Black student recruitment coordinator and, uh, ended up becoming the director of minority recruitment.

Natalie: Uh, I’ve also held titles such as the associate director of admission, and I’ve served as a dean for enrollment management at a kindergarten through post-grad, uh, independent school in Westchester County, New York. So I’ve sort of been on both sides, um, of the desk, so to speak. Uh, I also have some experience in public universities and state systems, in particular in my home state of Illinois, uh, Maryland, and California, and I also have additional admissions experience in Catholic and women’s colleges.

Natalie: Uh, in the most recent part of my career, as I mentioned before, uh, I have been, uh, sort of an associate or an assistant VP for enrollment management, overseeing other areas, um, outside of admission. Uh, I began my work with [00:11:00] CollegeAdvisor in twenty twenty-one and have been working with them regularly since, uh, twenty twenty-four.

Natalie: Uh, this first bullet, this it starts with you, I’m gonna sort of break that down into, um, uh, six points. Um, Alvin used the magic word, which is mind. Uh, Ivies are very much concerned with the life of the mind, your mind. Uh, and so I want to encourage you to know your own mind and begin to plan out how you will articulate the distinguishing characteristics of you and your mind in compelling ways that will help our institutions want to make you a part of our incoming classes.

Natalie: The second point I want to make here is to lean into and fully embrace your intellectual curiosity. Um, you guys are high [00:12:00] achievers, very interested in a lot of different things, and that is phenomenal. Uh, so own that completely. You know, what are you curious about inside of school, outside of school, with others, on your own?

Natalie: These topics can be serious. Some of these topics can be fun. Um, how are you developing that life of the mind? What interests you in your neighborhood, in your region, in the world? Can you begin to make some connections amongst these areas? Do you see any themes emerging? This will be very important as you begin to sort of write for yourself in college essays and personal statements.

Natalie: Point three, be able to express what you’re good at, uh, how you manage to be good at it, and what you learned about yourself in the process. Uh, this is always a, a bit of a hard, uh, lesson to learn when you are in the college [00:13:00] search process. Our parents teach us to be very humble, to be very modest, and we pride ourselves on being kind people, but the college search process is no time to be shy.

Natalie: So I want you to own your accomplishments, and I want you to celebrate them and be proud of them. Understand and be able to articulate the meaning behind your accomplishments, as well as give context for any honors or awards or selections. The fourth point I wanna make here is understand what you are passionate about.

Natalie: Sometimes we have students come to us and they say, “I wanna have a passion project,” or, “I wanna do some research,” and that’s the end of the sentence. That can’t be the end of the sentence. Um, tell me a little bit about what you are passionate about and why. What do you want to research? What do you want to know something about?

Natalie: It’s always better to have a little notion, to have a little inkling, a seedling that you can grow, [00:14:00] as opposed to just starting out with something new point five here, all about academics. What have you learned? How have you learned that? In what new ways can our institutions help you learn? What subjects are your jam?

Natalie: What subjects are more challenging? Why? What did you learn from overcoming those challenges? And outside of areas that you might major in, what are some of the subjects that you’re interested in? Last point here: what do you care about and why? And how can our institutions and all of their resources and all of their services help you to do something about what you care about?

Natalie: Make sure you understand each institution for its singular, unique self. The second bullet up here, uh, is about putting together your own list of colleges. Make sure you visit. The visit is the most important [00:15:00] thing. Kick the tires. Um, but understand everything that the college has to offer you. Research centers, um, faculty, special initiatives, study abroad, study away, service learning.

Natalie: Uh, understand campus life. Be a part of it. Go to events. Go to shows. Um, find out about the maker space, the practice area, the trails to run on. Whatever it is, make sure that this can be a great fit for you. That’s why you want to do this research. You’re also shopping, uh, so make sure that you find the perfect place for you.

Natalie: When you do this kind of research, it’s going to help inform the college writing that you will do in your essays and your personal statements, and it’s gonna make you seem like you have done some real work, and that’s important. Also, make sure you broaden your search outside of the Ivies. We’re talking about highly selective institutions with, you know, sort of, um, single-digit [00:16:00] points, uh, of, uh, admission.

Natalie: So make sure that you’ve got favorable, target, reach, and aspirational schools. Third point here: put everything on your calendar. Life may get crazy. The college search is like having a whole other class or a whole other job. Uh, and so I want you to get used to putting things on your calendar, right? Even fun, even sleep, even exercise.

Natalie: Test prep, study, whatever it is that you are doing, make sure that you make time for it. Um, fourth bullet here is all about saving a little bit. So high school and colleges are marathons, not sprints, and so study hall and lunch, these are good things to have on your calendar, and you can even leverage some of that time for college search.

Natalie: So I work with some students who do not take a lunch. Uh, as a fluffy girl, I really don’t understand it. But I do want [00:17:00] everyone to sort of commit to taking care, uh, of themselves, uh, because college is gonna be the first time that you are responsible for taking care of you all on your own. Uh, last bullet: make sure that you can get out of your head and some of the self-talk around the college search process by asking folks questions and asking the people that you trust.

Natalie: Um, there’s a lot of self-talk. There’s also a lot of other talk, right? So every time class is dismissed and you’re in the hallway, somebody’s gonna have some genius concept that’s gonna blow your mind and rattle around in your brain. So just make sure you can get out of your head a little bit and talk to those people that you trust, uh, the best.

Natalie: Uh, and with that, I will turn it over to my colleague. Thank you

Pam: Thank you so much, Natalie. I’m Pam. I am a former admissions officer at Stanford and Harvard. I also began my admissions career at [00:18:00] my alma mater, which is Harvard. Um, I worked at the undergraduate admissions office actually as part of my financial aid, um, package, um, starting from freshman year. Uh, and that was– And then I continued, um, professionally after college.

Pam: So that was very fun and exciting for me. Um, and then I went on to Stanford to get my PhD and to do my postdoctoral work, as well as become a clinical faculty member, um, in psychiatry and neuroscience, which is how I began working with high schoolers. Because as a postdoc, I was, um, teaching as part of Stanford Pre-Collegiate Studies and, um, High School Summer College, which is where I selected students to be, um, part of the program.

Pam: So these are summer programs that Stanford runs. And then after that, which is when I started working with high schoolers, um, I did undergraduate admissions and then medical school admissions, um, because I also applied to medical school at Stanford. Um, and I was also assistant director of a [00:19:00] program that Stanford has.

Pam: Um, it’s a consortium where we train, um, psychologists to become clinical psychologists. So this, um, program there where I help to evaluate graduate applicants to Stanford AU So I spent a lot of time, um, very joyfully during the application process, um, helping students to decide between both Harvard and Stanford and where they should attend.

Pam: So this is not so much during the where should I apply, because I think a lot of students apply to both. Um, but when we’re talking about, okay, so now that you’ve got these amazing options in hand, where should you go? Um, and I always tell them, you know, the two schools in terms of the selection process as well as the experience couldn’t be more different.

Pam: I think the vibe is actually really not very similar at all. Um, Harvard really values intellectual ambition. There’s a question in their application that’s all about, um, what would you do with your Harvard education? [00:20:00] And students often write really generic answers, um, like, oh, I want to be… not that it’s generic to be, say, an environmental engineer, but you don’t go to Harvard just to become a h- environmental engineer.

Pam: You probably go there because you’re going to go, I don’t know, be the UN climate chief or something, um, similar like that. So they really want to hear about this intellectual ambition, like that’s a big deal for them. Um, because they care very much about what’s your influence in the future, um, and what kind of impact are you going to be making?

Pam: Can we see that you are going to be a leader going forward? Um, we don’t just want students to come and do well because a lot of students will come and do well, um, at the school. They will go on to get good grades and test well. That’s not what they care about. Um, they really wanna see this excellence, that you are the best of the best, um, and that you are going to be doing something to become or have the potential to be a world leader.

Pam: Stanford, on the other hand, um, really bucks that trend. I mean, I live in Silicon Valley, and I think the whole spirit of Silicon Valley is very, is very [00:21:00] cozy, um, relationship between Stanford and, and the Valley. Um, because they care ve- very much about people who are just gonna break all the rules and, um, build something new.

Pam: And, and so they’re very much looking for these builders who are very innovative, um, they’re really action-oriented, um, they’re willing to challenge the institution. So in the application and when you’re seeking or thinking about whether to attend, they really don’t want you to just tick a- like check all the boxes, do all the right things.

Pam: That’s actually not what they care about at all. They care very much about these quirky, irreverent students, um, who don’t mind. Um, I’m not saying you should be rude, but it’s okay to, um, say things that are, um, a little bit out of the norm because that’s the entire spirit of Silicon Valley. So I always say, and this is, you know, very much, I guess, simplifying things, but Harvard often admits students who are going to lead the world’s most important institutions.

Pam: But Stanford cares very much about, well, let’s just [00:22:00] create entirely new ones, um, because maybe the current ones don’t work so well. Um, so with that, I’ll hand it over to Stacey.

Stacey: Thank you so much. So, um, I will wrap it up here. Uh, uh, it’s all a tough act to follow across the board, but I’ll try to add some more flavor here, while also maybe reinforcing some of these great lessons that my colleagues have provided today.

Stacey: So my background, let me tell you a little bit about my journey. Um, and part of the reason why I’ve, I’ve gotten involved with CollegeAdvisor, um, is because my personal journey as a first generation college student was challenging. You know, I, I didn’t have anybody advising me, um, giving me the insight that I needed into what I should be doing.

Stacey: Um, some great advice here is, you know, you do need downtime, you do need balance, and I think there’s a lot of students out there who aren’t being told that in a way where they’re really trusting that advice. Um, and so it’s great to have people like [00:23:00] us who are advising you and you feel like, okay, we’re coming from a perspective, um, a first-hand perspective, an admissions perspective that, that feels a little bit more legitimate than, say, a parent saying, you know, “You need a study hall,” right?

Stacey: Um, so I’m really passionate about making sure students are well informed, um, about how to apply to college, um, especially those who are maybe of low income, minimal resource backgrounds, um, who maybe don’t have any insight beyond just a Google search. So, um, that was my sort of experience. I applied to, to Yale.

Stacey: Yale was my top choice. Um, I was really excited and fortunate to get in, um, and I’ve been there ever since. So my admissions experience actually started at Yale Summer Session when I was a student. Um, I admitted students into the Summer Session, um, school at Yale at the time. I helped do that as an undergraduate student, and that was my first flavor of higher ed, and I was super excited about it.

Stacey: I was also really passionate about public health, so I did end up doing some consulting [00:24:00] work and then getting my Master’s of Public Health, um, before joining the Yale School of Public Health as their Assistant Director of Admissions, where I got the majority of my admissions insight. And we were a smaller, um, professional school.

Stacey: It still is a small professional school, but it’s definitely evolved since, uh, a decade ago when I started there, um, and it was a few key admissions staff working on everything from soup to nuts. So I was involved with recruitment on the road, presenting, going to fairs, talking to students, but also managing our application, reading applications in every department, talking to faculty, coordinating with the committees who were reviewing these applications, sending decisions, communicating with students, talking to them during admitted student days.

Stacey: You know, these were the things that were so exciting and part of my everyday life. Um, and then I ended up moving forward, um, in higher education, working more in student affairs, and like I was saying earlier, I’m now, um, one of the university registrars. So I, I really love the campus. I really love the community at Yale, and I’m really grateful to my [00:25:00] experience at the Yale School of Public Health.

Stacey: It was such a wonderful place to be. Um, one of my key experiences at the time was implementing our first ever enrollment management platform, um, and this is something that you may hear about maybe in passing with admissions offices, but really this is just a fancy way to say that we had a system that helped us track our engagement with students, communicate with students, and improve the overall, you know, admissions experience of, uh, the students involved, in addition to giving us really valuable insight and data into the interests that the student has and the engagement they have with our school.

Stacey: And so you might see flavors of this or hear flavors of this across institutions. So I was on the ground floor implementing a system like that. Now, it’s pretty standardized across institutions to see something in this way– uh, in some way, shape, or form, um, but I, I was really proud of that work that I did at the time.

Stacey: So in s- the advice I have here is more generalized based on my admission experience, of course, but also my [00:26:00] personal, um, experience applying to school and what I wish somebody told me in retrospect, right? So first and foremost, um, I would say focus on presenting yourself honestly, always. It is so very obvious to an admissions officer when they’re reading an application and either this was not written in your voice, it’s somewhat generic or generalized, or this is not

Stacey: Maybe it was written by you, but you are not really being true to yourself and your passion. So maybe you’re trying to fit a square into a round hole, and that’s just not working, um, given the application you put forth. So th- this leads me to my next pieces of advice, um, which include following what ignites your passion, um, while writing your application because it will make your application stronger.

Stacey: And I know some students worry, I, uh, one of my colleagues alluded earlier to, like, looking left and right and [00:27:00] wanting to be just like the person to your left or feeling like you’re not doing everything that the person to your right is doing, and that is not going to help you. That is absolutely not going to help you in this scenario.

Stacey: You should focus on, okay, what is the picture I’m trying to paint for the admissions officer? What is the p- what are the puzzle pieces at, at play right now, and how do I paint the picture so the admissions officer can put those puzzle pieces together on their own? And often do that in a very short period of time that they have to review my admissions application, right?

Stacey: You don’t want them guessing and trying to figure out, what did you mean here? Why are you applying to this program? Make it very clear to them, this is where I’ve come from. Excuse me. This is where I am now, and this is why I’m applying to your institution and where I hope to go. Um, so your application will absolutely be stronger if you focus on those things that are true to you and who you are, your skills, your interests, your values, your passions.

Stacey: Do your research. This has been reiterated by my colleagues as well. [00:28:00] Um, understand not just what a school is looking for in their students, but also understand what you’re looking for in a school. This is often what I call a matchmaking process, right? It’s not just important that you are admitted to one of these maybe top 20 Ivy League schools.

Stacey: Um, if you get there and you realize, “Oh, maybe they don’t have a cappella groups for me,” or, “Maybe they don’t have the engineering discipline that I’m hoping to study,” or, “Maybe they don’t … Maybe they have this one major, but I actually don’t think I wanna study that anymore. I think I wanna do this, and this, this school doesn’t offer that.”

Stacey: Really think about why you’re going to this institution beyond the name brand. Think to yourself, “Okay, what am I hoping to achieve in these four years, and will this institution help me to do that? Do they have career, the career services resources? Do they have the student groups? Do they have the academic departments that I need to pursue?

Stacey: Do they have the research centers to support what I want to do?” [00:29:00] So definitely do that research. Um, take those tours. Speak with current students, alumni, admissions officers. I know it’s hard to travel to some of these institutions. Do virtual tours, and, you know, look at the forums. Look at what people are saying about their times at these institutions.

Stacey: Um, and you’re, you’ll be able to narrow down a, a reasonable college list that actually aligns with your values and who you are and what you’re looking for. Ask for help. Um, I think there are a lot of students out there who believe, “I can do this on my own. I’m gonna go … I’m, I’m a great student. I can go ahead and submit my app.”

Stacey: No, ask for help. Ask for a second pair of eyes. It does not hurt. It does hurt to ask for four, five, six, seven pairs of eyes. That, I think, ends up diluting your voice in the, the grand scheme of things and probably will end up making you a little bit crazy in the end. Um, but it does benefit you to have at least another pair of eyes on your application.

Stacey: And as an applicant, I think this is actually [00:30:00] a nice piece of advice to round out, I think, all of our presentations. Try not to obsess over the science of the admissions process. So I think students are often like, “Okay, um, if I have A, B, and C in place because this person did that on their application, or this is what I saw online that this person did, then I’m definitely gonna get in,” or, “I need a perfect score here and then also all these AP classes, and then I need to do all of these extra curi-…”

Stacey: No. What you need to focus on is, i- are, i- is creating an application and applicant profile that aligns with your passions, your abilities. You don’t need to have 1,000 extracurriculars. You don’t need to have all of the AP courses. Um, that is not going to make or break an application. Uh, what is happening in the background for some of th- these institutions is they’re seeing, I don’t know, uh, you know, 90% qualified applicants, right, in, in their applicant pool.

Stacey: And th- the admissions officers have a very, very [00:31:00] difficult job of deciding who they are going to admit and h- allow to come into their community this coming year. And some of the factors that drive those decisions are not within your control. It could be that they have so many engineering applications that year, and they can only accept X amount of applications.

Stacey: Um, whereas in the prior year, maybe they were able to admit more because the department had more space. Um, maybe the university has demographic goals or geographic goals as to, like, how many students they can admit in each area. So even though you may be a perfectly qualified candidate and be an excellent student and have a wonderful profile, it’s possible to not get into your top choice school, not because you are not qualified, but, you know, that’s just the subjective nature of the admissions process.

Stacey: And statistically, it’s not possible for every qualified student to get into these top institutions. So definitely, um, focus on that fit, that s- that matchmaking process that I was talking about, where you’re picking schools that are [00:32:00] aligning with what you need, and not just those top 20 Ivy League schools, and your application experience will be much more positive as a result.

Anesha: Okay. Thank you all, uh, for sharing your perspectives and giving such a lovely presentation. We are going to now open up for the live Q&A. The way that it will work, I will read through the questions that you all submit in the Q&A tab, share them in the public chat so that others can see them, and then read them aloud for our panelists to give you an answer.

Anesha: If your Q&A tab isn’t letting you submit questions, just double-check that you’ve joined the webinar through the custom link in your email and not through the CollegeAdvisor webinar landing page. You might have to log out and log back in in order to submit your question. But also please note that the webinar is being recorded, and you can view it at a later time.

Anesha: Um, folks asked a couple of times if the webinar is being, uh, recorded. Yes, it is. Um, it will be available on the website that’s at the top of the chat box, um, tomorrow, and then you can also grab the slides under the Handouts tab. Um, all right, so for our presenters, before we kick off into [00:33:00] the Q&A, I feel like for most questions, it’ll be okay if we hear from two of you.

Anesha: Just because if we try to hear from all four of you for every question, we might not make it through too many. So, um, whoever comes off mic fastest, unless I know you have an area of expertise in the specific question, and then one follow-up if that’s okay with everybody. Um, okay, so the first question I’m going to get started, um, which is a popular question when admissions officers are on: Do admissions officers read the entire application, or do they only focus on highlights?

Alvin: I’ll jump in. Uh, Columbia University absolutely reads all applications. I think it’s important to become familiar with how the admissions offices, um, read applications. And so for Columbia, I can speak of, we have regional recruiters and regional counselors that will read the applications for those that are in that region.

Alvin: Um, and so they’re also very familiar with the high school profile. Um, so they’re also very familiar with the student and how students can take [00:34:00] advantage of opportunities at the high school. Um, and then it goes to a second read, uh, from there. Um, and so all parts of the application is thoroughly read, um, before rendering a decision

Anesha: Anybody else have more nuance into the reading process that you wanna share?

Stacey: No? No, it’s pretty similar across- It is … institutions, I, I think. Um, there may be a little bit more nuance depending on the school and the program, but that’s pretty much the model.

Anesha: Okay. Um, our next question is also pretty common, to whoever wants to tackle it. How much weight do SAT or ACT scores carry in highly selective admissions today?

Natalie: Look at us all at once

Anesha: Now, easy question. Yeah,

Natalie: so- I

Stacey: just don’t ask. Yeah, go ahead.

Natalie: Um, you know, it’s not something that is going to sort of make or break you because, um, the admissions office is really looking at you [00:35:00] holistically, which I think is a really good thing, um, to try to get this sort of three-dimensional view of you.

Natalie: Now, you don’t want to go into that process blind. I think we all encourage you to do your research and understand what kind of scores are typically being submitted, especially in the middle 50%, um, so that you are not out of the game in any way. But you also need to concentrate on rigor, um, grades, uh, you, the power of your writing, uh, the way that you tell a compelling, authentic, organic, real story about you, um, the way that you position yourself as an individual, uh, with this intellectual ambition and curiosity and, uh, of course, the way that you understand how each of these institutions, um, can help you take the next step [00:36:00] sort of personally, academically, social, emotionally, so on and so forth.

Stacey: Yeah, and, uh, if I could add to that a little bit. Yes. Um, I totally agree. I, I think most institutions… I shouldn’t say most. A lot of institutions are, um, looking at the application from a holistic perspective, and the s- the test score is just one component of the whole review. So you’ll often see it weighed as a factor in the final decision, and depending on the score, it could be pretty impactful, right?

Stacey: So if you’re applying to be, uh, I don’t know, um, a math major, and your quantitative score on that test is low, that’s going to impact the decision. So y- you can see how it’s not just the test score in isolation making the applicate, making or breaking the application. It’s a holistic review of the application.

Stacey: Another example I could give is, um, we used to have a department, Social and Behavioral Sciences, and a student with a lower quantitative score may end up being [00:37:00] admitted to that program because the quantitative score was less important in that review process than, say, in the biostatistics program. So j- just, um, know that it’s one component, and it is strongly considered, but it’s not going to be the, the be-all, end-all most of the time.

Anesha: Thank you. Um, another easy question that I know everyone is itching to answer, but I’ll ask it anyway since it is, um, popular. Someone asked, I guess essentially, what is the state and influence of legacy admissions right now?

Natalie: Okie dokie. Um, so I’ll, I’ll start. I, I’m that kid that raises their hand, so clearly you can see that in my behavior, um, this, this evening. Um, legacy is sort of, uh, one component of something that I would call an institutional [00:38:00] priority. And sometimes schools have different institutional priorities. Uh, and some of those priorities could be, um, you know, um, athletics, the band, facilities, financial aid resources, trying to serve as many deserving young people as, as possible.

Natalie: So the, uh, focus or emphasis on legacy admissions, uh, can ebb and flow. Uh, in perhaps the good old days, bad old days, or simply the old days, uh, that was something that was very sort of, uh, prominent. And then I think as you see, uh, more and more young people rise to the challenge that these institutions throw down, uh, it becomes, um, much more important to look at students as individuals.

Natalie: Um, that said, there may still need to be some [00:39:00] legacy components to pay attention to. Um, a lot of our schools have a lot of, uh, wonderful traditions and things that have to sort of be, um, acknowledged, adhered to, celebrated. Uh, and that can include some legacy admission, but there are other institutional pri- priorities like historically underrepresented groups, um, you know, geography, et cetera, um, talents, perspectives, backgrounds.

Natalie: So it’s … Legacy has become, has taken its place as one of those components as opposed to sort of being on a platform by its own.

Anesha: Thank you so much for, for braving that, uh, Natalie. I appreciate it. Um, this next question is about personal statements, so really anybody could take it. Um, how… Someone asked, “How can I assess my personal statement?

Anesha: Uh, how can I assess if my personal statement and other essays are conveying what I want, uh, what them to say about me?” Someone also, um, asked earlier, like, [00:40:00] “How, how do I know I’m presenting my authentic self in an essay?” So, um, any tips, uh, for students on how to make sure that they are conveying themselves effectively in their essays?

Stacey: If I can jump in with a tool that I typically advise my students to use. I’m, I’m a really, um, vis- I’m a visual learner, so what I often do with my students is I say, “Let’s take your resume and let’s make it into an Excel sheet.” I know, so, so exciting. Everybody wants to make an Excel sheet. Not. Um, but I would say put your activities or, or honors or awards or things of value to you, even beyond your resume, in the rows, and then in the columns, highlight things for yourself.

Stacey: Like, what is one strength that you gained from that experience? One is one, one is one weakness you learned about yourself from that experience. What is, um, the key takeaway from that experience in the grand scheme of your story? Um, and really highlight those components for yourself across the columns.

Stacey: [00:41:00] And what that does i- is allows you to understand, okay, in a concise way, this is how I’m capturing my prior experiences. How does that fit in with my future, um, goals? And maybe you even have a column that is a goal column, like, how does this relate to my future goals? How does this relate to my future academic interests?

Stacey: Um, and based on that information, look to your personal statement and the prompts at hand and ask yourself, “Okay, based on what I know about myself, what do I want to highlight here for the admissions officer?” Perhaps even further, what do I wanna, um, highlight in this essay that isn’t elsewhere, right?

Stacey: Like, what, what are the… Or what needs to be reinforced based on what they’re seeing elsewhere? And having that breakdown of your, your experiences that are important to you, to me it is often a really helpful exercise. Um, something I also challenge my students to do, because you’ll also see [00:42:00] supplemental essays along the way, is if you are answering an additional essay beyond the personal statement and you’re seeing some components of your story that you’ve sort of put together about yourself not highlighted, can you fit that into these supplements in some way so you can highlight that for the admissions officer as well?

Stacey: So that’s a, that’s one tool, that’s one approach, um, but there’s a lot of different ways to tackle it.

Alvin: Um, interrupt

Anesha: you? Yeah, go for it I,

Alvin: oh. Sorry, you go ahead. Okay

Anesha: No, no, I was asking if you wanted to speak, so please

Alvin: speak. No, no problem. No, I was gonna say one, one of the things you have to understand is that these admissions offices are reading thousands and thousands of essays.

Alvin: Um, and so your personality has to shine through the most. Um, in addition to your personality, this is a self-reflective piece, and so students get caught up sometimes in one line of storytelling, and you have to be able to, uh, showcase yourself in a way where you’re providing anecdotes and experiences to kind of validate some of these experiences.

Alvin: [00:43:00] But I think some of the points or the bigger message that kinda gets missed, um, when I usually was reading applications was, where does the student see them taking this insight into their future? Whether it be on not a specific college campus, whether it be on their college experience or during their career, um, trajectory.

Alvin: Kind of like that self-reflection, what you found out about yourself, that understanding of yourself, how is it, how does it play a role in your life now and, and how is that going to play a role in the future as well? Um, so it’s, it’s the most critical piece of the application, um, and so something that you absolute, absolutely should take your time with.

Alvin: And an exercise I usually give my students is something really simple, right? Um, kind of ask your parents to describe you in three words, or ask your friends to describe you in three words, just to kind of see what personality traits shine the most. Um, oftentimes students may feel like they are a certain way, but they may not come across.

Alvin: And so being able to kinda have people in your inner circle that know you best kind of bring that, um, vibrancy out, you’ll be, you’ll be able to speak to it more authentically [00:44:00]

Anesha: Pam, it looked like you were gonna say something. You leaned in a little bit. I might be reading body language.

Pam: I can say something.

Pam: I was actually gonna say something about the legacy admissions, but I won’t. Um, actually for the personal statement, I always say that, um, and maybe my colleagues disagree, but it’s we’re like little detectives when we’re going through a file. We’re trying to piece you all together and figure out what’s the story here, what is this student all about.

Pam: Um, you know, if, if I have to get up and present about a student, I have to figure out what’s the, what’s the through line. So I always think of the personal statement as the… It should make sense, meaning give us what’s the motivation for everything. Like, why, why did you do all these things in the activities list?

Pam: What’s the underlying, um, puzzle piece that brings it all together? So I always think about the personal statement as like, “Okay, here’s the underlying logic,” like, “Ah, that’s what this kid is all about.” Sometimes we get it from a letter of recommendation when somebody writes it on your behalf, but I would say it’s probably best if it comes from you, um, so that we can kind of put it [00:45:00] all together and figure out, “Oh, this is how I’m gonna present,” like this is the, you know, the few words or the, the kind of big headline that I’m going to be saying about you when I present to my colleagues, um, in committee, “Oh, this is so-and-so, and here’s why they’re doing all of this.”

Pam: Um, and I always think of the personal statement’s a really good place to kind of give us that underlying logic, but you guys can disagree if you, if you want.

Stacey: No, that’s spot on.

Anesha: All right, so I’m gonna take this moment of agreement to pause the Q&A now for just a minute to highlight some student success stories that we are very proud of.

Anesha: This first one is Sahar. Sahar is an a h- is a highly organized high school junior who wasn’t sure she needed guidance when she connected with CollegeAdvisor. She realized, however, that we could help her stay on track without micromanaging her, and liked that CollegeAdvisor had a wide range of packages for her family to choose from.

Anesha: With comprehensive support, including multiple rounds of revisions on all of her supplemental essays, Sahar was accepted to almost all of the schools on her college list, including [00:46:00] her top choice, which was Yale. She was originally concerned she wouldn’t be able to enroll to the– due to the financial aid package she was offered, but she met with one of CollegeAdvisor’s financial aid advisors who provided guidance on appealing the package.

Anesha: Yale lowered her cost of tuition, and she was thrilled to commit to Yale after that. Um, so shout out to Yale and their financial flexibility. Um, another student, Abby, reached out because she was an aspiring first generation college student. Her immigrant parents did not have experience applying to colleges in the US.

Anesha: She wasn’t receiving much support from her teachers or school counselors, so she felt very alone in the process. She was thinking ahead and connected with CollegeAdvisor as a sophomore, um, and she ended up applying early decision to Cornell. She– where she was accepted and received a full financial aid package.

Anesha: So these are just two examples of the over 10,000 clients that CollegeAdvisor has guided through the application process. Uh, our team of over 300 admissions officers and admissions experts are ready to help you and your family navigate the college admissions process through one-on-one advising, [00:47:00] um, sessions and essay editing.

Anesha: To learn more, you can get started with CollegeAdvisor by scanning the QR code that’s on the screen to sign up for a free 60-minute strategy session with an admissions specialist on our team. During this meeting, you’ll receive a preliminary assessment of your academic profile, along with some initial recommendations you can, uh, on what you can do to stand out.

Anesha: Um, als- at the end, you’ll also learn more about CollegeAdvisor’s premium packages, where we pair you with an expert who can support you in building your college list, editing your essays, and much more. CollegeAdvisor is here for the whole process. All right, we will leave, uh, our QR code up there and, um, one thing that was mentioned during the, during the spiel that I just gave was early admissions, and someone did ask, um, what did they ask?

Anesha: Do you recommend applying early? A very straightforward question anyone can tackle.

Alvin: I would recommend applying early if you are very certain and sure of the schools that you are considering. Um, a lot of families believe that applying [00:48:00] early, you may get a substantial amount of financial aid, and that may not be the case. And so understanding that early decision is a binding agreement is also understanding that you’re willing to take on the financial responsibilities of attending the school.

Alvin: Um, and so understanding the nuances between all of those, right? And not to make it more complex or give you guys more things to look into, but in addition to early decision, there’s, there’s early action, there’s restrictive early action, there’s early decision two. So there’s many different deadlines, many different ways.

Alvin: Uh, for Columbia, we have roughly about 60, 61,000 applications. Uh, maybe 5,000 of those are early applications. Um, and so we get a good number of students from early applications, of course. And so you’ll, you’ll read through either the Common Data Set or just doing research with schools that there are many schools that are, um, taking a large amount of their students through early applications, um, for enrollment purposes and of course, students promising to attend.

Alvin: Um, but I think it’s a [00:49:00] personal decision

Anesha: No thoughts? Okay. That’s totally fine. We can give you a question that was an easy question. Um, when making an application, should we declare the major or program we’re applying for? A- and, and if so, is it common to customize the application, um, to the major selection base, um, and also based on the college’s, um, selection, availability of majors?

Anesha: So should I declare a major? And if so, should I change it pending what’s available at each college?

Alvin: Well, for starters- Um- Oh. Sorry. You

Stacey: go. No, go ahead. Go ahead. No. No, no, no. Go ahead. I’ll, I’ll add on.

Alvin: I was gonna say, for starters, when, when we say declare majors, we gotta be c- clear, right? There’s pre-professional degrees where you’re coming in with a set major, and then for the other majors, whether it be through the liberal arts and sciences, you’re professing what your major will be, of course, but you have to accrue a certain amount of credits to declare it.

Alvin: I will say this. Many college applications will allow you to choose a first option, section, second option, and even third [00:50:00] option. You absolutely wanna make sure that whatever option that you’re choosing, that your profile really speaks to those things as far as things that you’re passionate about.

Alvin: Schools also love juxtaposition students, students that really appreciate interdisciplinary, um, uh, approaches, like I’ve stated earlier. And so you can be a student that’s interested in pre-law but then also interested in music because you wanna study music law. You can be someone interested in pre-med but also interested in pre-law as well because you wanna be a lawyer, work maybe in p- in some type of public health, right?

Alvin: And so there are a lot of different things that you could do, um, as far as your career trajectory. Um, but understanding and defining what that means in as far as how you’re gonna explore it at that school, it’s gonna be important, and you need to be confident in that. Um, so it’s not a time to, to play the safe game of let’s just play undecided or, um, I’m just gonna throw in a, a extra major ’cause it may be easier for me to get into.

Stacey: I would also add, um, if you are going to consider changing your major [00:51:00] or dra- I guess I should say even further, drastically changing your major choice across the schools you’re applying to, that could really set you up for a scenario where your applications are not as strong across the board. You might even make a mistake where you’re talking about one major on one application and a totally different major on another.

Stacey: Um, granted, not every major that you’re interested in is gonna look the same across institutions, so inevitably you may be applying for, um, sociology here, but maybe it’s health sciences there. Whatever that looks like at the institutions you’re applying to. But again, the onus is on you to research those schools, make sure you understand what those majors choices mean, and articulate that connection in your application.

Stacey: Um, I will also say if you do choose undecided, and some students do, um, the onus is on you to articulate why you are choosing undecided at this time. And then my final, um, note of caution, I [00:52:00] would say, is if you do select a major, um, I would research for each of your institutions whether or not it’s possible to switch between the majors.

Stacey: Like, Alvin was saying that there’s first, second, third choices at times, but if you’re accepted into your first choice, can you change to your second choice after the first year? What does that look like? Um, because if you’re locked into a particular major and you find out, “Oh, I really don’t wanna do this anymore,” that could really change your experience once you’re on campus

Anesha: Any additions to that? Okay. All right. Um, someone asked, “Can a higher standardized test score compensate for a lower GPA? How are those two components weighted against each other?”

Stacey: I could, uh, lead a little bit on this. So, um, again, hol- if you’re looking at the application as a whole, and most institutions are performing a thorough read of the application, um, [00:53:00] there’s usually some kind of academic assessment. There’s some kind of, uh, component to the review process, perhaps a particular rating in an academic category that a- uh, accounts for all of these academic moving pieces on your application.

Stacey: And that could, and very likely does, include your GPA, if you have one, and your test score. And personally, in my own reads, those two things absolutely would balance each other. In my r- say, if I was assigning an academic rating to an application and I saw that the GPA was lower, but the test score was higher in certain fields, that could give me more confidence in the student’s ability to handle the coursework and engage intellectually on my campus.

Stacey: So absolutely, I do think a higher test score could help balance that, but having, you know, a lower GPA could, could mean that your application is weaker in comparison to another applicant who has a stronger GPA

Anesha: Natalie, I saw [00:54:00] you start to say something, so go ahead and say whatever it

Natalie: might have been Absolutely. It’s my issue in life, I’m always starting to say something. I think that, um, uh, Dr. Pam is right. You know, we are detectives, and so I think, uh, one of the things that we’d like to know is sort of maybe why, um, the GPA is low.

Natalie: And I think we would want to look at, uh, the course of study, uh, and see sort of what those classes are, what some of the issues might be. Um, but, uh, I think it is good if you have an opportunity to showcase where your talent is. And for some students, those standardized tests are exactly that opportunity.

Natalie: And so, um, I think it’s really good advice to familiarize yourself with those exams, uh, and just begin to know what is going to be asked of you so that you can be your calmest and be your best when it comes time to take those tests[00:55:00]

Anesha: Thank you. Um, someone asked a bit earlier… Oh, um, and you all mentioned, uh, I think someone mentioned let teachers recom- teacher recommendations. So how do admissions officers weigh teacher recommendations, or what makes one stand out?

Alvin: I would say, um, teacher recommendations are highly valued because they kinda provide that objective window into, like, the classroom behavior.

Alvin: And so a recommendation stands out when it, it avoids, of course, generic phrases, right? We don’t wanna know that a student’s just doing good in class, but instead can the teacher provide specific anecdotes or demonstrate intellectual vitality, right? And so when you are talking about a seminar that you debated in, um, you know, we wanna know how the teacher can really speak to how John, let’s say for example, has contributed to the classroom, um, how he’s brought outside documentation or challenges to the, to b- beat the status quo.

Alvin: And so Columbia does require two letters, um, from teachers of core academic disciplines. [00:56:00] Um, and it actually just provides an extra layer of validation, um, especially for a student that might be on the cusp or a student that is on the verge of a wait list. We’ll take a, you know, we’ll look at those extra things

Natalie: I think for students just in terms of advice, you know, make sure that you are, um, almost re-introducing yourself to the teachers that you are going to ask, uh, for recommendations. So, you know, let them have a resume. Tell them a little bit about the school that you are applying to. Uh, remind them if you have to about how fantastic you are in their, in their class, and how much you enjoy it and why, um, so that they can write this, uh, very colorful, um, sort of, uh, recommendation that helps to sort of paint, uh, sort of inside this file to bring you to life

Alvin: And I would also just add in just before I forget, um, for those that will be asking [00:57:00] teachers, it is best to probably present them with a brag sheet or a resume or something that they can actually contribute and show you more in a three-dimensional way, just in case they may not know, um, of what you are, what you involve yourself in outside of classroom

Natalie: Anesha, I think you’re muted.

Anesha: Mm-hmm. Sorry. Thank you. You’re fine. Um, I was gonna follow up and say the same essential thing that Alvin just said, which is follow up with your teachers and provide them more data, um, and information about you in, during the ask. Um, okay, so moving forward, um, my next question for you all that I haven’t asked yet Oh, um, so, uh, back to the question of majors, someone asked, “Should students tailor their application narrative to align with their intended academic interest?”

Anesha: Like, do, do- does the personal statement have to align with their academic interest?

Natalie: I think students [00:58:00] should first and foremost just familiarize themselves with the application process and the questions. Oftentimes, um, I think it was Stacey that mentioned the supplemental, um, uh, essays, and there’s often a question about major or why you’re interested in this particular, um, area.

Natalie: So you may be, um, answering a question, uh, that’s for the Common App sort of personal statement. You may be asking, answering a question for school-specific, uh, and there may be different school-specific questions. So, um, in terms of tailoring, you are certainly putting together, uh, this entire sort of candidate profile where the pieces sort of fit.

Natalie: But I think you also want to make sure that you are answering the question that’s asked

Stacey: I would add to that I, I to- totally agree. I would add to that, that, um, oftentimes the personal [00:59:00] statement isn’t necessarily like a summary of your application. It isn’t necessarily you regurgitating your resume.

Stacey: Definitely should not be a regurgitation of resume. We already have your resume. Um, what often anchors a personal statement is this, um, kind of aha moment, right? A turning point in your life, a really self-reflective period that you’re trying to highlight and that draws out a key quality you have, which then maybe is directly re- related to your academic pursuits or what you’re interested in doing in the future.

Stacey: But it doesn’t necessarily have to be a one-to-one. Um, it definitely should be correlated with your overall story. Um, so when I, I talk to students about this, I often encourage them to think about like, okay, you’re sitting around a campfire, you’re telling your story to people and, uh, as a kind of like the highlight reel of your life.

Stacey: Think about those highlights. Which of those do you wanna pull into this personal statement, um, as [01:00:00] if you’re telling someone a story about yourself and, and what makes you who you are today?

Pam: Um, so actually, I, sorry. I was just gonna say, echoing all of that, um, I think that the personal statement itself doesn’t need to talk about your major, but it would be, um… Uh, I think it would cast a lot of doubt on the file if all of your activities are pointing in one direction, and then your essays, including your personal statement, are talking about another interest.

Pam: Um, then we get confused, and that’s what leads to a deferral, or waitlist, or a denial because we’re not sure what’s going on. Um, I, I can’t speak for the other schools, but let’s say at Stanford we do read looking at the majors, and we’re looking for excellence, it’s called the points of excellence, within those majors.

Pam: So if you’re talking about something else in your personal statement like music, but then you declare a different major, that would be, um… You would have to tell us why you’re [01:01:00] doing that. Um, but I would say that otherwise it, if you’re talking about something else, and, uh, everything else… Think about the evidence, right?

Pam: Like again, we’re detectives, and if the evidence is pointing in a different direction, I think that would cast a lot of doubt.

Anesha: All right. We’re gonna leave it on the admissions officers are searching for evidence of who you are and what you’re interested in in your college admissions application. Um, thank you all for joining.

Anesha: Thank you, Alvin. Thank you, Natalie. Thank you, Pam. Thank you, Stacy. Um, thank you all for joining us. We hope that you were able to get most of your admissions questions answered. Um, if you were not, we definitely have a library of other, uh, webinars available that will probably answer some of those questions, and we hope that you’ll join us for our future webinars.

Anesha: But until next time, take care, and have a great evening, everybody. Thanks.

Stacey: Thank you.