Earlier this summer, 13 College Possible students visited the campuses of Carleton College and St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. Along with the standard tour and lunch on campus, students and their AmeriCorps coach chaperones participated in an admissions-based case study activity. Admissions staff from both schools presented students with three examples of college applications and asked students to waitlist, accept, or reject each application. The process was both interesting and illuminating.
“It was interesting to see the entire application process and see what the entire thing looks like,” said Molly Schwartz, a then-AmeriCorps coach and current College Possible Advising Specialist. “Students don’t get to see their whole application because the Common App shows a limited amount of information. I don’t always have the opportunity to review everything about a student’s application with them and it was really nice to have admissions people there to add context to the process.” Students compared an application with a lot of background and extracurricular activities to an application that was sparse in explanation and community involvement. The activity was a concrete example of the importance of providing context and detail in a college application.
After the students ranked the example applications, the admissions staff from each institution discussed with the group how they would’ve made the decision for acceptance. The staff highlighted the sections of each application where more detail may have changed their final decision and reviewed the sections where the context provided was appreciated. “The students had an appreciation of being involved in more activities and how that improves how you look in your application,” said Delena Zakarias, a second-year AmeriCorps coach. “It showed them it was a good thing to be involved in a community.” She also appreciated how the activity shed light on how the admissions process really works.
College Possible Minnesota strives to provide students with different college campus experiences, ranging from a “Big 10” university to rural liberal arts colleges. Students have a higher chance of success in higher education when they attend schools where they feel like they belong and are part of the campus community. Once a student decides what campus they want to be a part of, their AmeriCorps coach helps them build a college application that showcases why they would be an asset to that community. The students that attended the St. Olaf College and Carleton College visits got to experience the importance of a complete college application and what happens to it after they hit submit.
Want to learn more about campus visits? Check out these stories about Metro Visit Days or visits to Gustavus Adolphus College and Minnesota State University, Mankato.
