Last year at this time I wrote about this being the “most wonderful time of the year” with holiday celebrations and the excitement surrounding the college admission process. And while the good feelings are certainly in the air again this year, we sometimes forget how stressful this process can be for families as students race to their mailboxes each day hoping to find good news. Our entire staff certainly wishes all the seniors a season full of “big envelopes” in the mail.
Have you ever wondered what goes into our admission decisions? The process begins in the fall, with our Early Action deadline of November 1. We received over 4,500 Early Action applications, which will probably account for about 40 percent of our applicant pool this year. We have 16 professional staff members who review applications from their assigned territories, giving them anywhere from 100 to 600 files to read in about a month’s time. Each staff member takes meticulous notes as they review transcripts, recommendations, essays and activity sheets. As they read files, they are taking notes on grades earned in core classes, GPA trends, curriculum, essays, activities and general observations about a student’s match for our campus community. Truthfully, the students who apply to DU are remarkable, boasting strong grades and test scores, impressive curriculums and schedules outside of school that would make Santa seem lazy! When do these students sleep?
The difficult work begins in what we call “Great Debate,” a marathon meeting taking place over three full days. All 16 members of the file reading team, plus our Vice Chancellor and Assistant Vice Chancellor (me!), place our collective energy and focus on reviewing the students we “marked for discussion” during the file reading process. Files are marked for a variety of reasons, and usually include one or more of the following: low grades in core courses, downward GPA trends, weak curriculums, low test scores and discipline infractions.
Our staff is simply amazing in the professional manner in which they advocate for their students. The details they remember from reading the essays and recommendations, as well as personal recollections of meeting students at their schools, fairs or interviews is impressive to say the least. They believe in our applicants and continue to challenge each other to find reasons to admit students. Sometimes the discussions get heated, as we vigorously defend students and compare cases to decisions made in the preceding hours. One of our veteran staff members, when it was her turn to discuss applicants from her territories, proclaimed that she was not emotionally attached to any of her students this year and that her discussions would focus on “facts” only. That sentiment lasted about five minutes as she came close to tears while advocating for her first file.
And sometimes our discussions are flat-out funny! Our staff tends to reach deeply within themselves to justify admitting a student. One of our counselors shared that we simply could not deny a student from such a prestigious high school, a school where Paul Anka’s daughters had attended years ago. If you are like most of our staff, this reference was lost on the much younger audience. Who exactly is Paul Anka?? I considered serenading the staff to “Put Your Head on My Shoulder,” but I refrained in fear that they might deny me!
While we don’t always get every decision “right,” I am confident that our process is fair and consistent, and we are very proud of the admission offers that will be mailed this Friday. As we approach a new year, I am grateful for our staff and the many students who apply to the University of Denver. And I speak for all of the staff when I say that we are excited to meet our new students next fall!
Todd Rinehart, Assistant Vice Chancellor of Enrollment and Director of Admisson
