By ANN MCDERMOTT December 4, 2009, 11:31 am
The New York Times
Ann McDermott is director of admissions of the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass.
My recent post on how the College of the Holy Cross evaluates an applicant’s transcript generated a lot of discussion — and prompted some important questions about how other things like essays, letters of recommendation, extracurricular activities, and SATs factor into admissions decisions.
Your comments helped broaden the conversation on what is a complicated, multidimensional process and shed light on the myriad factors involved in holistically evaluating a student’s credentials. While it would be impossible to fully explain every aspect of college admissions in a short follow-up post, I want to respond to some of the issues raised by readers.
Holistic Approach
It’s worth repeating that, while vital, the transcript is just one component of the application. In addition to a student’s academic qualifications, we do everything we can to understand the person behind the application and how they’ll thrive at Holy Cross. That’s why we have a highly individualized admissions process that takes into account teacher and counselor recommendations; interviews (the vast majority of our applicants have one and we strongly encourage them); essays; short answers; extracurricular involvement; leadership and community service (extremely common among our applicants and very much in line with our Jesuit mission).
All of this is summarized on the reading sheet — part of which is reproduced again as a graphic here — which gives us a much more comprehensive picture of the whole person. The one thing we don’t consider at Holy Cross is an applicant’s ability to pay. We have a “need blind” admissions policy, which means admissions decisions are made without regard to, or knowledge of, family income.
Context is Critical
Each aspect of an applicant’s transcript is evaluated within the context of his or her high school. The content in that graphic represents a fictional example of how a student’s transcript could look. While the example I used showed a student whose high school offered honors and A.P. courses, other high schools may offer International Baccalaureate or other programs of equal rigor.
All of this is taken into account during the evaluation process. As one reader explained very well, one of the ways we understand individual high school course offerings is through the school profile.
SAT’s
Many readers commented on the role of standardized testing in admissions — an often-debated issue that is too complex to fully address here. What I can tell you is that test scores are used differently by different institutions. Holy Cross is a “standardized test optional” institution, meaning that students are not required to submit their SAT, SAT II, or ACT scores. Our experience shows that the rigor of a student’s high school program and overall academic performance are better indicators of his or her potential than a single test or combination of tests. As a result, we place much more emphasis on day-to-day performance in the classroom.
Finally…
The college admissions process is bigger than just the numbers. It’s about getting to know the person behind the application. To do that, we consider all information an applicant gives us, from basic biographical information (family background, culture, and where an applicant grew up) to more personal challenges and triumphs. It is only by examining everything together that we can make the fairest assessment of an individual’s ability to thrive at Holy Cross.