<p>in the end, it is a group of admissions personnel who sit down at a table and try to determine, out of the thousands of applications who they “think” will be most successful at their institution.</p>
<p>No, they actually have well thought out criteria that they are looking for, and base their decisions on risk analysis. They have statistics that tell them from past experience what the risk cutoffs are, and what the predictors of success are. Are they right all the time? No but it is a far more complex process than the writer above suggests. The nomination and diversity requirement s add another layer of complexity to the process . </p>
<p>He talked about the academy boards using stamps and looking at files for about 5 minutes and then stamping it with green or red ink.</p>
<p>Remember, each file is read by an admissions officer before it even gets to the Admissions Board. In addition each candidate will usually have had a MALO or MAAR go over his/her file and had a one on one interview (with a written interview report). To add another layer, the nomination staff will have also evaluated the candidate. Compared to most institutions Academy applicants have had their files thoroughly analyzed.</p>