Reply to Reflections from 2025 HYPSM admit(s)

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I am a professor and the idea of strategic position is so nauseating to me that I feel like writing a letter to our admissions office to let them know about what I read in this forum and others.

To be clear, I am not attacking the OP. She did what she felt she had to do to benefit her child. However, favoring students with unusual niche interests is clearly not the best way to find the most authentic students. Maybe this approach was more authentic 10 years ago before college admissions officers and parents pushed it en masse, but clearly this is no longer the way. [/quote]

I always wonder how professors view their admissions offices and admission priorities.

Our child was told that activism was the essential key to admission to selective colleges. He followed a different path and somehow ended up at HYSPM.

He has met many classmates who were primarily involved in activism and impact-oriented activities. Sadly, he has seen those classmates struggle with the material to the confusion of their professors. I wonder if professors understand what the admissions offices are doing.[/quote]

Professors admit graduate students, and since we work directly with the students we admit, we get obvious feedback on our selection methods. We see some students succeed, and others falter. Admissions officers don't have this benefit, because they will never teach the students they select.  
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This is why it surprises me that admission officers don’t get feedback/input from professors in making admissions priorities. The professors know who succeeds. Don’t admissions offices care about students’ success? [/quote]

I agree, we need to improve the process. The main hurdle is that we don't admit students by major here in the US. In many other countries, the kids apply into specific programs that each have specific admissions tests, and academics interview the most promising candidates directly. The downside, though, is that kids would have to know what they want to major in when they apply to university.

I'd have to guess that admissions staff care about students' success, but they're so busy reading tens of thousands of applications that they don't have time to follow up on the thousands who do get admitted. And unless they are actually in the classroom with the students themselves, they won't be able to know who is contributes meaningfully to class discussions, who are the most engaged and enthusiastic members of labs, etc. I would like a system where we can flag the standout students in some way, so that the admissions office can get some useful info about their process.

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