Effect of Region on Admission

[Bartleby007]

<p>

@Bartleby007: networking is the rule of the game whether one is applying to college or trying to get a job. There’s nothing wrong with trying to “influence the admissions decision” by putting yourself out there as long as you don’t wander into morally questionable territory.

SBR: Networking? That’s a pretty funny word to use. When I hear the term “networking,” I usually think of developing relationships with one’s peers/colleagues in a business context…not a high school student getting face time with a college admissions rep. There’s such a clear discrepancy in power/authority that “networking” in this instance would be more like one-way brown-nosing.</p>

[muckdogs07]

<p>While the AO likely has some discretion in the process, I suspect the new first read policy is based in large measure on statistics for unhooked applicants and not on whether an AO remembers you from a HS visit or some other contact.</p>

[tennisforall]

<p>The change in the Regional Administrator being the first read and able to reject IMO has no impact on who gets accepted. You have 29,000 applicants. If as they have stated 33% are rejected at the first read there are still 19,000 qualfied applicants for 3,400 positions. The next 33% except for the rare exception have no chance. The decisions are centered on the top 33% of which more then half still get rejected. Unless you are in the top third it doesn’t matter IMO what interaction you have had with a college admissions rep. And then only as another type of tiebreaker.</p>

[SBR]

<p>@Bartleby007: semantics, call it what you want, if it works what is being suggested is definitely not the worst thing you could possibly be doing. Besides, the alternative would probably be nothing at all. </p>

<p>@muckdogs: I never said anything about this being a statistically significant way to influence admissions. In fact, I think I made it pretty clear that this having any effect at all on admissions is rare. But isn’t that the whole point of this thread? The small things that don’t usually affect admissions?</p>

<p>@tennisforall: what you are saying is probably true, but this would be of benefit once in a blue moon if you were in the top third wouldn’t it even if it only benefited 10k people out of 30K. I never implied that this will benefit everyone or that this is something intended for everyone to do. In fact, I know that even as I suggest this only a small minority of applicants will try to do what I suggested. As the article pointed out, the whole point of the rating system is to magnify small differences between applicants. It would be logical to assume that this may apply to the evaluation process overall and when you get to that stage where everyone is a valedictorian/salutatorian, who know what can ultimately tip the scale?</p>

[Bartleby007]

<p>@SBR: Expending energy/time/$$$ to get face time with a regional admissions officer in order to gain a negligible advantage (at best – more realistically, no advantage at all) ain’t worth it in my opinion. We’ll just have to agree to disagree.</p>

<p>As for what the OP and other readers decide to do, I think we’ve laid out enough info for them to make up their own minds on how to proceed.</p>