Reply to Yale breaks own record with # of applications for 2016

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Things that make applicants stand out: direction, focus, humor, follow-through, unpackaged experiences, initiative, thoughtfulness.  I thought X, so I did Y.  Intellectual drive/energy.  Well-reasoned but unconventional choices.

Basically, you've got a whole bunch of kids doing the needful.  And defining the needful in similar ways (e.g. a sport, an art, challenging coursework, volunteering, summer enrichment, an internship, experience abroad).  As you can deduce from this list, most of the kids I've interviewed are upper middle class.  Some are more articulate, some have done these things better than others. A few (surprisingly few, actually) can give you specific reasons re why they are a good match for this school/program/fellowship. But on some level, they all look alike.

The compelling applications are ones where the kid has a project/mission/purpose/sensibility that's powerful and different.  They aren't just going to college because it's the next step toward adulthood and you need to do well to get into grad school to get a good job.  There's something they really want to learn or do or experience and they know what it is and why they think this is where they'll find it.[/quote

So, do you believe that in an interview you are actually capturing some deep characteristic of the kid or just variations in the rate of development? Any evidence for your belief?  What is the evidence from Psychology or Organisational Behavior on the predictive power of interviews? The reason I ask is that recently we met a kid whom we hadn't seen for a year or so who is now on his gap year. He had traveled a bit and had had several temporary jobs/internships. The difference was striking --- last time he was a bit of a space cadet and now exhibits a whole bunch of the behaviors you reference.

I understand why schools do these interviews and why soft skills matter --- I just have no confidence that in practice a single interview can do much except rule out obvious mismatches.[/quote]

There are huge margins of error in the college application process, which is why most studies show that the college you go to doesn't matter, but the underlying character traits that may or may not have be read accurately in the application process do. Honestly, 10+ years down the road, anyone who puts too much emphasis on the fact they attended an elite college strikes me as someone who hasn't accomplished much since then. But the process itself is an opportunity for kids to introspect and should be a growing experience.[/quote]

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