The Elephant Parable, 2012 edition

  David Graves      March 23rd, 2012

Every year after decisions, there are a wave of unhappy comments about specific decisions and comparisons to other applicants, and so several years ago I decided to write a post about the importance of knowing everything about a situation before judging it. I thought that with decisions being released next week, it would be good […]

Read More

Interesting Items from the 2012 File Reading

  David Graves      March 9th, 2012

We are still deep into reading freshman files, but here are a few interesting items about some of our applicants that we have learned from their files: Second place winner in a national texting tournament (over 500,000 participants), and was a part of a texting documentary National Bowling Champion (for age group) Numerous mascots for […]

Read More

Quiet Time

  David Graves      January 23rd, 2012

It is now quiet time in our office, a practice that we have done for about 6 years. The main desk will still be taking calls and answering emails, but the admissions counselors will be focused on freshman file reading, and thus will not be able to take calls or visit with students/families that visit […]

Read More

Recommendation Letters

  David Graves      December 1st, 2011

We receive a number of questions at this time of year about teacher recommendations, so here is my (limited) advice on the subject. First, when figuring out who you should ask to write a letter of recommendation, try to find a teacher who knows you well, and has taught you within the last 1-2 years. […]

Read More

Let’s say you have two applicants…

  David Graves      April 14th, 2011

During the course of a year, every admissions office is bombarded with a number of similar questions, with one being the most prevalent and challenging, and it always starts with “Let’s say you have two applicants …”. There are six of the most difficult words to work with for any admissions counselor! GPA’s, test scores, […]

Read More

Great Essays!

  David Graves      March 29th, 2011

Yesterday, a recently admitted student and her parents visited the Admissions Office, and they asked to speak to me. It turned out that she was one of the students that I had mentioned in a previous post concerning the strength of her essays (see the Random Thoughts post from January 26, 2011), and they wanted […]

Read More

The Elephant Parable, 2011 version

  David Graves      March 24th, 2011

After decisions last year, there were a wave of unhappy comments about specific decisions and comparisons to other applicants, and I decided to write a post about the importance of knowing everything about a situation before judging it. I thought that with decisions being released tomorrow, it would be good to re-post this message a […]

Read More

2011 File Reading

  David Graves      February 24th, 2011

  While this is our “Quiet Time” in the office, with our counselors tied to their desks (figuratively, not literally), I thought you might appreciate a little insight into some interesting things we are seeing in the applicants we are reviewing: One applicant is studying for a year in Germany as a part of the […]

Read More

Quiet Time for Admissions

  David Graves      January 24th, 2011

It is now quiet time in our office, a practice that we have done for about 5 years. We will still be taking calls and answering emails, but the admissions counselors will be focused on freshman file reading, and thus will not be able to take calls or visit with students/families that visit our office. […]

Read More

The Next Steps!

  David Graves      January 19th, 2011

Now that the Freshman application deadline is in the past, and as all of the supporting documents roll in, here are a few of the things that will be going on in the Admissions Office over the next few months. We have 8+ bins of mail waiting to be opened, sorted, scanned, and dropped into […]

Read More