Anyone here read the The Gatekeepers? Fascinating behind the scenes look at the admissions process

[Anonymous]

Try listening to the "Getting In" podcast with Julie Lithcott Haines.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Try listening to the "Getting In" podcast with Julie Lithcott Haines.

+1 This provided a really good perspective on the whole process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:U VA is absolutely a big state school - and that is not a bad thing, just a fact.

UVA's undergrad enrollment on the main campus is about 16,000. Ohio State has 60,000 undergrads (as many as UVA in each class) and lots of schools -- Arizona State, University of Florida, University of Texas, Michigan State, Indiana, Texas A&M, to name a few -- have about 50,000. Those are BIG state schools.

None of these schools has an undergraduate enorollment higher than 41,000.

Ohio State Unuversity 41,000. Arizona State University 38,000. University of Florida is 30,000. University of Texas 36,000. Michigan State 35,000. Indiana University 31,000. Texas A&M 43,000.

Thanks for correcting PP's fake news. Also worth noting the big public colleges -- from UVA to OSU -- all feel indistinguishable. So if PP's argument is that UVA doesn't feel like a big state school, that's wrong, too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:U VA is absolutely a big state school - and that is not a bad thing, just a fact.

UVA's undergrad enrollment on the main campus is about 16,000. Ohio State has 60,000 undergrads (as many as UVA in each class) and lots of schools -- Arizona State, University of Florida, University of Texas, Michigan State, Indiana, Texas A&M, to name a few -- have about 50,000. Those are BIG state schools.

None of these schools has an undergraduate enorollment higher than 41,000.

Ohio State Unuversity 41,000. Arizona State University 38,000. University of Florida is 30,000. University of Texas 36,000. Michigan State 35,000. Indiana University 31,000. Texas A&M 43,000.

Thanks for correcting PP's fake news. Also worth noting the big public colleges -- from UVA to OSU -- all feel indistinguishable. So if PP's argument is that UVA doesn't feel like a big state school, that's wrong, too.

I disagree. There is a huge difference between life at at a school of 30,000+ and a school of 16,000. OSU is a city unto itself.

Move your kid into a dorm that has the word "Tower" instead of "Hall" in the name and you might understand.

[Anonymous]

So I just looked up this book The Gatekeepers. Published in 2003 based on spending 1999-2000 with the admissions people.

You know that's an 18 year old experience now - nearly 2 decades out of date, right?

Have there been any updates or more recent insights? Things have changed a GREAT deal since then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So I just looked up this book The Gatekeepers. Published in 2003 based on spending 1999-2000 with the admissions people.

You know that's an 18 year old experience now - nearly 2 decades out of date, right?

Have there been any updates or more recent insights? Things have changed a GREAT deal since then.

Have you read the book? Though admissions to the top colleges has gotten even more competitive since it was written, the book is enlightening b/c it delves into the sausage making, black box (forgive my mixed metaphors) of competitive college admissions. I worked in admissions for two years at another New England SLAC right after I graduated college in 2014 and find The Gatekeepers very much relevant and an entertaining read. Yes, applications are no longer mailed rather submitted online and the absolute numbers of applications has increased b/c of the Common App but the actual PROCESS of selecting a class hasn't changed very much. It is well worth a read for parents or high school students about to embark on this process.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So I just looked up this book The Gatekeepers. Published in 2003 based on spending 1999-2000 with the admissions people.

You know that's an 18 year old experience now - nearly 2 decades out of date, right?

Have there been any updates or more recent insights? Things have changed a GREAT deal since then.

Have you read the book? Though admissions to the top colleges has gotten even more competitive since it was written, the book is enlightening b/c it delves into the sausage making, black box (forgive my mixed metaphors) of competitive college admissions. I worked in admissions for two years at another New England SLAC right after I graduated college in 2014 and find The Gatekeepers very much relevant and an entertaining read. Yes, applications are no longer mailed rather submitted online and the absolute numbers of applications has increased b/c of the Common App but the actual PROCESS of selecting a class hasn't changed very much. It is well worth a read for parents or high school students about to embark on this process.

Okay, this is very helpful, thank you. I will read it. I wasn't going to because I was concerned it was out of date and out of touch, but you've convinced me otherwise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Try listening to the "Getting In" podcast with Julie Lithcott Haines.

I just found this on iTunes. Its free and pretty useful.

[Anonymous]

Have you read the book? Though admissions to the top colleges has gotten even more competitive since it was written, the book is enlightening b/c it delves into the sausage making, black box (forgive my mixed metaphors) of competitive college admissions. I worked in admissions for two years at another New England SLAC right after I graduated college in 2014 and find The Gatekeepers very much relevant and an entertaining read. Yes, applications are no longer mailed rather submitted online and the absolute numbers of applications has increased b/c of the Common App but the actual PROCESS of selecting a class hasn't changed very much. It is well worth a read for parents or high school students about to embark on this process.

You graduated college in 2014? Why are you on a forum for parents of HS and college students? Or was that a typo?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Have you read the book? Though admissions to the top colleges has gotten even more competitive since it was written, the book is enlightening b/c it delves into the sausage making, black box (forgive my mixed metaphors) of competitive college admissions. I worked in admissions for two years at another New England SLAC right after I graduated college in 2014 and find The Gatekeepers very much relevant and an entertaining read. Yes, applications are no longer mailed rather submitted online and the absolute numbers of applications has increased b/c of the Common App but the actual PROCESS of selecting a class hasn't changed very much. It is well worth a read for parents or high school students about to embark on this process.

You graduated college in 2014? Why are you on a forum for parents of HS and college students? Or was that a typo?

Why shouldn't she / he be on this forum. The poster has certainly provided about 100% more helpful information than you have. Maybe they work in admissions. Please, crawl back under your rock.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Have you read the book? Though admissions to the top colleges has gotten even more competitive since it was written, the book is enlightening b/c it delves into the sausage making, black box (forgive my mixed metaphors) of competitive college admissions. I worked in admissions for two years at another New England SLAC right after I graduated college in 2014 and find The Gatekeepers very much relevant and an entertaining read. Yes, applications are no longer mailed rather submitted online and the absolute numbers of applications has increased b/c of the Common App but the actual PROCESS of selecting a class hasn't changed very much. It is well worth a read for parents or high school students about to embark on this process.

You graduated college in 2014? Why are you on a forum for parents of HS and college students? Or was that a typo?

Why shouldn't she / he be on this forum. The poster has certainly provided about 100% more helpful information than you have. Maybe they work in admissions. Please, crawl back under your rock.

Thank you! I'm the PP being referred to and yes I just by happenstance discovered these boards after someone at work recommended the Real Estate discussion as potentially being helpful for my housing search. There is alot of misinformation being posted in the College and University boards in my opinion, and I'm just trying to be helpful since I have a bit of first hand knowledge. I'm also currently helping shepherd my little sister through the college admissions process. I loved working in admissions and likely would have stayed if it paid a little better. Jeez, the snark on these boards...

To OP's original question--if parents of high schoolers are looking for a helpful primer on getting through the admissions process, I'd also recommend Admission Matters by Sally Springer and Jon Reider. I don't agree with everything they say, but they do a more than decent job of explaining the current landscape of college admissions without the hyperbole and providing readers with some very helpful guidance.

[Anonymous]

Is this the book that focused on one of the weirdo hippy dippy LACs? It was boring.

[Anonymous]

Didn't read it. Tired of the college admissions industrial complex.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So I just looked up this book The Gatekeepers. Published in 2003 based on spending 1999-2000 with the admissions people.

You know that's an 18 year old experience now - nearly 2 decades out of date, right?

Have there been any updates or more recent insights? Things have changed a GREAT deal since then.

Can you be specific?

Other than students applying to more colleges each (thanks primarily due to common app) and higher standardized test scores (thanks to test prep becoming the norm) I don't think much has changed at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So I just looked up this book The Gatekeepers. Published in 2003 based on spending 1999-2000 with the admissions people.

You know that's an 18 year old experience now - nearly 2 decades out of date, right?

Have there been any updates or more recent insights? Things have changed a GREAT deal since then.

Can you be specific?

Other than students applying to more colleges each (thanks primarily due to common app) and higher standardized test scores (thanks to test prep becoming the norm) I don't think much has changed at all.

The year the book was written, Wesleyan had 6,955 applicants and accepted 27% of them.
Last year, Wesleyan had 12,453 applicants and accepted 16% of them.

The landscape is entirely different.