Anonymous
Post 07/22/2025 21:19     Subject: AO reading and review process
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It’s not about public/ private divide.

Chicago, director AO reviews one single school, Stuy, which is a public.


the head of admissions at UChicago reads Stuy. Not any ol AO. My oldest went to stuy and he came to speak. At the time I think he was second from top. He's a stuy alum, I think?


Over 200 of the class of 800 apply to Chicago every year and around 25 matriculate every year, so no surprise is Nondorf only reads Stuy.
Anonymous
Post 07/22/2025 21:07     Subject: AO reading and review process
This doesn't bother me. We're in an area with a mix of private and public and from what I can see from our friends and kids friends, great kids are getting into the same great school from both private and public. Maybe none of the private schools in our area are feeder.
Anonymous
Post 07/22/2025 20:34     Subject: AO reading and review process
Did you know that the first reader at Stanford can reject an application without anyone else ever looking at it? This is why that Admittedly guy (former Stanford AO I believe) says not to REA to Stanford if you don’t have a hook. The reader your app gets could be new and so your REA app is more likely to be rejected due to inexperience. By the time RD rolls around, they have more experience.

Don’t know if this is true at other schools.
Anonymous
Post 07/22/2025 20:23     Subject: AO reading and review process
your HS is the single most important thing, well beyond grades and tests.

there are good high schools where I live who have literally never sent a kid to HYP.
Anonymous
Post 07/22/2025 20:21     Subject: AO reading and review process
Anonymous wrote:It’s not about public/ private divide.

Chicago, director AO reviews one single school, Stuy, which is a public.


the head of admissions at UChicago reads Stuy. Not any ol AO. My oldest went to stuy and he came to speak. At the time I think he was second from top. He's a stuy alum, I think?
Anonymous
Post 07/22/2025 20:18     Subject: AO reading and review process
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Learned something new today from a former AO.

For many private T20 universities, your kid's application is read by a "seasonal reader," not by your regional AO. The regional AO often does do a first read for the feeder private schools in their regions, but does not always do it for all of the public schools, given the number and time constraints. That's where the "reader" comes in. They segment the high schools like this and give the private schools to the AO. WTF.
Pissed.

Ask them point-blank about this if you go to the Coast-to-Coast College tour this fall.


Can confirm this is pretty common as I'm a seasonal reviewer myself!


How did you get the job?
Anonymous
Post 07/22/2025 19:59     Subject: AO reading and review process
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:It’s not about public/ private divide.

Chicago, director AO reviews one single school, Stuy, which is a public.


She doesn't review private schools too? I find that hard to believe.


She handles one single school. Correct.
Anonymous
Post 07/22/2025 19:57     Subject: AO reading and review process
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Learned something new today from a former AO.

For many private T20 universities, your kid's application is read by a "seasonal reader," not by your regional AO. The regional AO often does do a first read for the feeder private schools in their regions, but does not always do it for all of the public schools, given the number and time constraints. That's where the "reader" comes in. They segment the high schools like this and give the private schools to the AO. WTF.
Pissed.

Ask them point-blank about this if you go to the Coast-to-Coast College tour this fall.



You’re just learning this now? Lol


+1
get with the program OP!
Anonymous
Post 07/22/2025 19:55     Subject: AO reading and review process
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Learned something new today from a former AO.

For many private T20 universities, your kid's application is read by a "seasonal reader," not by your regional AO. The regional AO often does do a first read for the feeder private schools in their regions, but does not always do it for all of the public schools, given the number and time constraints. That's where the "reader" comes in. They segment the high schools like this and give the private schools to the AO. WTF.
Pissed.

Ask them point-blank about this if you go to the Coast-to-Coast College tour this fall.



Do this only if you want to offend, get labeled a PITA, and your kid's application goes nowhere. This is standard operating procedure at almost all colleges and universities. Even the publics like William & Mary hire seasonal contract workers at about $25 an hour. you can find the job postings on Indeed. Several readers have even posted here. Their job is to cull through the applications and rate the application in a number of areas: GPA, test scores, ECs, legacy if applicable, sports, race, URM/first-generation, and so on. Your kid's essay is not read at this point. Only after the applications are coded do they go to the regional reps. Start reading more on Admissions. There are a number of great books out there about the process. Or hire a consultant who knows the system.


Why the double standard though? Why does the regional admissions officer read the feeder school applications – all of them? How is this not inequitable?


Were you under the impression that college admissions was equitable?


No one thinks college admissions are equitable. That said, so many private schools are so vague about their “special coursework” that doesn’t align to APs or other nationally known curricula, refusing to rank students, and qualitative reporting that it might need a more regular staff AO to deal with.

Public schools have clear grading, quantitative metrics and aren’t so “we’re too cool for the test” the way some privates are.


Eh, they are all questionable in their own ways making things unclear. Many a public with heavily inflated grades, turn in anything late, exam re-dos.
Anonymous
Post 07/22/2025 19:52     Subject: AO reading and review process
Anonymous wrote:It’s not about public/ private divide.

Chicago, director AO reviews one single school, Stuy, which is a public.


When the Chicago AO came to my DC's NYC private, he said he also read DC's school.
Anonymous
Post 07/22/2025 19:47     Subject: AO reading and review process
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Learned something new today from a former AO.

For many private T20 universities, your kid's application is read by a "seasonal reader," not by your regional AO. The regional AO often does do a first read for the feeder private schools in their regions, but does not always do it for all of the public schools, given the number and time constraints. That's where the "reader" comes in. They segment the high schools like this and give the private schools to the AO. WTF.
Pissed.

Ask them point-blank about this if you go to the Coast-to-Coast College tour this fall.



Do this only if you want to offend, get labeled a PITA, and your kid's application goes nowhere. This is standard operating procedure at almost all colleges and universities. Even the publics like William & Mary hire seasonal contract workers at about $25 an hour. you can find the job postings on Indeed. Several readers have even posted here. Their job is to cull through the applications and rate the application in a number of areas: GPA, test scores, ECs, legacy if applicable, sports, race, URM/first-generation, and so on. Your kid's essay is not read at this point. Only after the applications are coded do they go to the regional reps. Start reading more on Admissions. There are a number of great books out there about the process. Or hire a consultant who knows the system.


Why the double standard though? Why does the regional admissions officer read the feeder school applications – all of them? How is this not inequitable?


Were you under the impression that college admissions was equitable?


No one thinks college admissions are equitable. That said, so many private schools are so vague about their “special coursework” that doesn’t align to APs or other nationally known curricula, refusing to rank students, and qualitative reporting that it might need a more regular staff AO to deal with.

Public schools have clear grading, quantitative metrics and aren’t so “we’re too cool for the test” the way some privates are.
Anonymous
Post 07/22/2025 19:39     Subject: AO reading and review process
Anonymous wrote:Learned something new today from a former AO.

For many private T20 universities, your kid's application is read by a "seasonal reader," not by your regional AO. The regional AO often does do a first read for the feeder private schools in their regions, but does not always do it for all of the public schools, given the number and time constraints. That's where the "reader" comes in. They segment the high schools like this and give the private schools to the AO. WTF.
Pissed.

Ask them point-blank about this if you go to the Coast-to-Coast College tour this fall.


This doesn't surprise me based on the Scoir data I am seeing on my kid's scattergrams at her private school (compared to national data). One school with a typical 9% national acceptance rate is 35% at her school.

I am not saying all T20 schools are favoring her school, just this one particular university to which her school tends to be a feeder.
Anonymous
Post 07/22/2025 19:24     Subject: AO reading and review process
Anonymous wrote:If we’re taking a top elite school, I’m more inclined to believe an AO gets all strong feeders. I don’t believe all privates though, there are some crappy privates and publics that are almost feeders.


Right. My kid went to a small, not rigorous private for kids with disabilities. No one is giving extra close reads to them.
Anonymous
Post 07/22/2025 19:13     Subject: AO reading and review process
Anonymous wrote:It’s not about public/ private divide.

Chicago, director AO reviews one single school, Stuy, which is a public.


She doesn't review private schools too? I find that hard to believe.
Anonymous
Post 07/22/2025 19:11     Subject: AO reading and review process
It’s not about public/ private divide.

Chicago, director AO reviews one single school, Stuy, which is a public.