Jeff Selingo Reveals "Who Gets In and Why" - ASK HIM ANYTHING!

Applying to College
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  1. Did these schools recalculate a student's GPA (or other measure of grades) according to their own formula? (Can you share anything about that formula?) Or did they take unweighted and/or weighted GPA directly from the transcript?
  2. In this fall's test-optional scenario, is GPA likely to take on greater weight than in past years even for a student who submits test scores?
  3. Is there a particular impression/stereotype of students submitting a relatively high score and relatively low GPA?
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What happens to the brilliant kid (great test scores and GPA, AP scores), but is not involved in too many Extracurricular s; perhaps they spend all their time writing programs at home. Or those that are not into community service (which schools seem to eat up). Essay would be good and would match their interest. Are they locked out of selective schools? (I have such a child that ended up at a school with a high acceptance rate and is doing very well, but we feared would never get into a more selective CS program, so we did not even try).

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Thanks. You’re right on FA – when I say they don’t pay attention, I meant they didn’t discuss it during reading.

As for embedding, I was at Emory the most of the three schools (which is reflected in the book). It also used CBE (committee-based evaluation) for the first read, which made it easier to sit with them and listen to a pair of AO’s talk back and forth rather than a single reader who you’d have to stop (like at UW). When I was on a campus, I was there for a week at a time and during different times of the season (I went for training, ED, regular, and then shaping).

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  • Recalculated. All did it differently. Emory didn't use freshman year grades, for instance. The new GPA disregards marks for physical education, lunch, driver’s education, study hall, and other noncore classes.
  • Yes. Grades and classes also led the discussion (curriculum, in particular).
  • When I read your question the first group I thought of: boys
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    2: When discussing curriculum, did the AOs have HS Profiles handy and refer to those? Or do the regional AOs know their schools well enough, whether New Trier or a Chicago Public School or a rural Nebraska school?

    3: I have heard a number of AOs (mostly at LACs) say the average GPA of admitted boys is significantly lower than girls. Did you see boys receive relatively more leeway than girls on GPA in the admission process?

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    2: They know the school well enough, but they’ll sometimes refer to the profile. But if they don’t know the school, they’ll really depend on the profile and some are terrible (format, missing information).

    3: Yes.

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    Side Note: The Wall Street Journal for Saturday & Sunday August 29 & 30, 2020 features an article on the front page of the Review section of the paper:

    Behind the Curtain of Elite College Admissions by Jeff Selingo

    This is an essay adapted from Jeff Selingo’s book “Who Gets In and Why: A Year Inside College Admissions”.

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    1. Do unhooked (no legacy etc.) ED applicants have a higher chance of admission than those applying RD? What about for applicants who are deferred?
    2. Does need-blind mean truly need-blind? Do admissions officers see if you've applied for financial aid or not, even if they don't see the exact numbers? Can they gain this information from your school, parent occupations etc?
    3. Is the Admissions process for merit scholarships similar to the overall process? Or is it more based on stats vs. ECs or vice-versa?

    Thank you for doing this Q & A! I’m excited to read your book, even though I’ve already finished the Admissions process. :smile:

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    When admissions readers are considering the level of math or foreign language that the applicant has completed for the purpose for assessing rigor of course/curriculum choices, do they account for the difference between a student who can only get to a certain level due to a middle school placement decision and a student who can go higher but stops voluntarily?

    For highly selective colleges that use the counselor’s school report (e.g. https://commonapp.my.salesforce.com/sfc/p/#d0000000eEna/a/0V000001Avzq/PBXzR0UOtu4hSdgTXHDH9Sk6bTeQ6w8l2NQblq_KoZ0 ), does an indication of anything less than “most demanding” course selection or “one of the top few I’ve ever encountered (top 1%)” for academic achievement, extracurricular accomplishments, personal qualities and character, or overall make the applicant very unlikely to be admitted (even relative to the selectivity of the college)?

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    Thank you for doing this. For a very strong student with top 1% SAT/ACT scores, solid GPA, modest amount of AP scores with 5s and a rigorous coursework starting at freshman year, what is your observed impact of being first generation (but not low-income)? Especially first gen students who lack an impressive resume of activities? Is it a hook such as legacy, recruited athlete and URM?

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    Thank you Jeff!

    Could you please elaborate on your answer to my question about second choice majors? At which types of schools would they take the time to consider keeping someone who didn’t make the cut for the first choice impacted major? Are big publics just to swamped to deal with that, even for OOS tuition?

    Also, are students from small, religious schools at a disadvantage? Required religion class and serious schedule conflicts were a big problem at our school. The school profile gives the impression that a student could take more APs but really there’s no way to fit them in, even with summer school. (Counselor will say highest rigor.)

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    Even when a college does not do “yield protection” or use “level of interest” in admission, does it typically assign each admit a yield chance based on the admit’s characteristics so that it can count that admit as a fractional student added to the provisional expected class?

    I.e. if a specific admit is expected to have a 40% chance of matriculating, they would add 0.4 student to the provisional expected class.

    For specifically need-aware (for individual applicants) colleges, does the college also do a similar expected tuition yield calculation for each admit?

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    Jeff, Is there any scores for ACT for example that one should submit ? I think most schools like to see scores 30 - 36 for ACT but if the score is below 30 is it a mistake to offer to send those scores colleges when applying If they have test optional way to submit? Thanks!

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    Take advantage of test optional this year, especially if your score is not going to help you. They will question why someone with a “low” score submitted. Shows bad judgment in their mind.

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    Can you share any comments that you overheard with respect to student essays ?

    What are these schools seeking in an applicant’s admission application essay ?

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    Hi Jeff,
    In reviewing the upcoming application pool for Early Action, will selective colleges perhaps give more weight to applicants who choose to submit SAT scores and are within/above the band of their usual accepted SAT scores? All other things being equal, if you have a candidate with same GPA and strong extras, if one submits an SAT score within the band of scores, and the other does not submit a score, would a college choose the one who submitted the SAT score?

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    With the lower GPA for boys, I had heard someone who worked in admissions say they wanted to see that they had hit their lick by the end of high school. Iow, these boys were late bloomers rather than continously lower performing. Did you see that?

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    Not sure if this is still an active thread but if so my question is regarding the impact of major choice on admissions decisions. From what data I can see on various scatergrams online (the accuracy of which is entirely different issue) it would appear that, for example, STEM majors are held to higher standards of admission then Liberal Arts, or Communications majors. Did you hear any specific discussions about whether the candidate’s major choice met an expected standard at that school for that major?

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    One more question: Did yield-protecting happen at any of the schools you were observing? If so, was it based on the admission office’s evaluation of a candidate, the school’s track record (both yield-wise and for sending students to other top schools,) or a combination of both?

    Thanks in advance!

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    Most are unfortunately mind-numbingly similar: overcoming an athletic injury, dealing with anxiety, depression, or their sexuality, or discovering themselves on a trip, with a fill-in-the-blank country such as Guatemala or Thailand.

    The essays that stick out do so not because of what the applicants write but how they write it. The essays that make an impression are often the ones admissions officers share over lunch breaks in the middle of reading season. Take, for example, the one about a girl who loves orange juice and who is worried about leaving home for college and missing family debates over pulp/no pulp.

    The best essays are honest slice-of-life stories, both entertaining and serious, that tell admissions officers something they don’t learn from another part of the application. They’re essays that aren’t trying to shoehorn seventeen years into 650 words.