Reply to How Do Selective Colleges Hire Their Admissions Officers?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
Are they subject-matter experts, and if not, how accurately can they evaluate applicants for STEM programs — especially when it comes to understanding academic rigor and grading standards?
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Definitely NOT subject-matter experts and definitely unable to evaluate research ECs. I say this as an engineering professor. I can barely understand the research papers colleagues in my department published if they were outside my area. High-level overview, yes, but nitty gritty details, no. Even if their paper is bad or wrong, they can make it sound really great with their writing because I wouldn't be able to tell. Now imagine an AO who has to know all areas of biology, chemistry, physics, mechanical engineering, civil engineering, computer science, math, etc. They don't even remotely exist.

With that said, the typical AOs know all the available AP courses because there are only so many of them and this is their job. They know which ones are fluff. They know multivariable calculus is supposed to happen after AP Calculus BC. They know linear algebra is another advanced math but is less tied to Calculus BC. If they are assigned to your region, they know the rigor at private/public high schools there.

But they are not god, you can easily throw them off with a little technical jargon in your EC description, making your research sounds more impressive than it really is. It's sad but this is what it has come down to in the college application arm race.[/quote]

Thank you.

I’ve been observing the college admissions landscape for my own children, and as a hiring manager myself, I can say with confidence that the tech industry is still largely merit-based. I hope that colleges, especially the selective ones, take a truly serious approach to identifying the right students. Otherwise, degrees and higher education risk losing their value in the hiring pipeline.[/quote]

Prestigious degrees are only prestigious as long as they are still a strong signalling device.

So many schools have diluted their brand in an effort to give unqualified URM candidates the benefit of the prestige signal that their degree gives to employers but eventually the inconsistency in merit and ability of graduates from these schools leads to reduced prestige signal for ALL URM graduates from these schools.  The test optional COVID era was particularly detrimental to the perceived prestige signal and the halo effect is largely reduced as we see selective employers broaden their talent search and apply more filters in the hiring process.  You can no longer hire an undergrad from Cal and assume they meet the historical standards.[/quote]

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