How Does Someone in College Admissions Read Your Application?

The person who reviews your application in a college admissions office might be a dedicated admissions officer, a faculty member, a student or a part-time application reader. When they read your college essays, they do so in the context of your overall application–a process called “holistic admissions.” With holistic admissions, colleges aim to evaluate the complete profile of a student, without giving disproportionate weight to any one aspect of their application.

Below, see how an admissions officer might consider the following parts of your application.

Academics

College is, first and foremost, a place for learning. Admissions officers want to make sure that students have the academic background to be successful, and so they typically start by looking at a student’s transcript. As they’re reviewing, they consider the following:

Achievement | How successful has this student been in the classroom? 

Challenge | Has the student challenged themselves in the context of their high school? If there were AP and honors classes offered, did they take them?

Breadth | Was the student pushing themselves across the entire academic curriculum? Generally, colleges like to see that students are taking classes in the “big 5” of math, science, social science, English, and foreign language.

Trends | Did the student improve each year in the classroom or did their grades decline?

This review process is done in the context of your high school. Every high school has something called a “school profile” which your guidance counselor will submit to colleges with your application. The school profile gives the admissions officer information about your high school curriculum and the types of opportunities offered at your high school. This helps the admissions officer understand whether you have made the most of those opportunities.

Test scores are also considered under the broad umbrella of “academics.” While many schools have adopted test-optional policies, they will still look at test scores should you choose to include them.

Takeaway for students | There is no time like the present to focus on schoolwork. Eleventh and twelfth grade are particularly important as they give students the opportunity to show a positive “upward trend” in their grades. If there was anything outside of your control that impacted your grades (such as an illness or a difficult family situation), you can explain that in the Additional Information section of the Common App. 

Essays

For admissions officers, the essays provide an authentic glimpse into who the applicant is. It’s one of the few opportunities where the admissions officer gets to hear directly from the student. The best essays are based on the student's unique life experience and point of view. Essays don’t have to be about fancy programs or impressive opportunities. Often, students write great essays about important everyday things. Strong essays reveal the student’s authentic voice and unique world perspective through storytelling.

Takeaway for students | Essays are an important part of your college application. Make sure that you start your essays early and give yourself plenty of time to revise and proofread!

Extracurriculars

In addition to academics, colleges are also interested in seeing how students have contributed to their communities. As the college admissions committee is reading your application, they’re trying to imagine you on their campus and how you will get involved outside of the classroom. Keep in mind that there is no magic formula to this; you don’t necessarily need an extensive list filled with 10+ extracurriculars. Rather, colleges want to see how active you’ve been and how you’ve made a difference in your high school or local community, which gives them a sense of how you can be counted on to make a difference on their campus. 

Takeaway for students | Whether you are working a part-time job, taking care of your siblings, volunteering, playing sports, making art, or involved in something else, how you spend your time outside the classroom is important. 

Recommendations

Letters of recommendation, which are typically written by teachers and college counselors, help admissions officers learn about what you are like in the classroom. Recommendations can carry a lot of weight, so it’s important to choose your recommenders wisely. Typically, students opt to get recommendations from teachers they’ve had most recently–in either eleventh or twelfth grade.

Takeaway for students | Think about the teachers who know you really well, not necessarily the ones who gave you the best grades. The best recommendations will tell the admissions officer a story about what students are like in the classroom. 

Context

After looking at the other parts of a student’s application, an admissions reader will typically go back to the beginning of the application to get a deeper understanding of the student’s personal, family and school context. This is why all applications will ask you about the different places you have lived, where your parents work, the educational backgrounds of your parents and siblings, the languages spoken in your home, and what race or ethnicity you identify as.

For instance, will you be the first in your family to go to college or do both of your parents have advanced degrees? Is English the primary language spoken in your home or is it something else? 

Takeaway for students | Context helps admissions officers make sense of you as both a person and a student. Additionally, college admissions officers work to build a class of students, so they are interested in all the ways you will contribute to the community. They are looking for students with different academic and extracurricular interests as well as different life experiences, so make sure to show them who you are. 

What happens after the review?

After reading the application, the admissions officer will write up a summary of the file and include a recommendation for the applicant. Depending on the college, a second admissions reader may also evaluate the application. Admissions decisions are typically released from December until March.

For personalized guidance on crafting compelling college essays, connect with our experienced coaching team. You can also create a free Revision Learning software account. Your journey to success begins with telling your unique story!