Plenty of Factors, No Magic Formula
Contrary to news reports and grapevine chatter, getting into a highly selective college doesn't mean you have to be a male from Montana with perfect SAT scores and an A average who is first chair in the orchestra, captain of the cross country team, student council president and designer of a Web site for the local soup kitchen where you volunteer 20 hours a week. Oh, and don't forget last summer's trip to Honduras to help rebuild homes damaged by a tropical storm.
Not to make light of the high school superstar — after all, it's amazing what some 17-year-olds have already done with their lives — but with all the talk about well-rounded high school valedictorians being rejected by highly selective colleges and universities, just what does it take to get in? And more specifically, what's the combination that opens the door to Hamilton?
There's no magic formula, especially in the world of highly selective college admission where each student's application is reviewed individually, but there are key factors upon which a student should focus.
"Our top priority is the transcript," says Hamilton Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Monica Inzer, who last year was named one of the "Ten Admission Deans Who Are Shaping Their Field" by The Chronicle of Higher Education. "We want to see students who have taken the most challenging courses available to them, and we want to see that they've done well within that rigorous curriculum."
When reviewing candidates' credentials, the Committee on Admission puts each applicant's curriculum in context for his or her school. For example, a student who takes only two or three AP classes at a high school that offers 10 probably will be viewed less favorably than a student who takes all of the three available AP courses at another school. Generally, students interested in Hamilton should have mostly A's and perhaps a few B's on their high school transcript. A dip in performance, especially in the senior year, will be a red flag, and the Committee on Admission will review teacher and guidance counselor recommendations to see if there were personal issues that may have distracted the student.
Hamilton still maintains a standardized testing requirement, but applicants can choose from a menu of test options. Approximately 70 percent of Hamilton's admitted students fulfill the requirement with the traditional SAT Critical Reasoning Test. Inzer says the College still requires standardized tests because they have some predictive value of success at Hamilton. Additionally, since there are great inconsistencies in high school curricula and grading practices, the tests are helpful in providing context for applicants' academic records.
"But by making the SAT one option among several that students can use to fulfill Hamilton's testing requirement," Inzer says, "we hope we are reducing the number of families that invest emotional energy and financial resources into test preparation and coaching." She notes that concerns about test bias for some populations was another reason Hamilton decided to adopt more options within its standardized testing requirement.
The College also places a strong emphasis on each student's writing skills, which are measured by a required personal statement, a supplemental essay about Hamilton and a graded high school paper. "The essay is the student's only chance to have a voice at the table in the Admission Committee," Inzer says. "It can be the tipping point for students on the fence." (See the Summer 2008 Alumni Review to read personal essays from eight members of the Class of 2012.)
In addition, Hamilton looks for students who are passionate about something and will make a contribution to the campus community in some way. Director of Admission Lora Schilder calls it "the promise of contribution." For that reason, applicants who have explored a personal interest in great depth, whether it is music, science, writing, sports, volunteerism or theatre, can help themselves stand out in the admission process. Contrary to conventional wisdom, all other factors being equal, most highly selective colleges today are looking to enroll a well-rounded class as opposed to a well-rounded student, so applicants demonstrating depth and sincere interest in a specific area may be more attractive to selective colleges than the applicant who pursues many interests more superficially.
One way students reveal their passion is through the personal interview. Although it is not required, the interview is strongly recommended because it helps the Admission Office determine if the candidate might be a good fit for the Hamilton community. Additionally, it signals to applicants the sense of community and frequent one-on-one social and intellectual interaction that takes place on the Hamilton campus.
"We want students who will contribute to this community," Schilder says. "We want to learn about their passions and whether they're likely to get involved in campus life when they arrive. That's why we still put a lot of stock in the interview and encourage it as much as possible. It also helps us make the most well-informed decision because we get to know the students beyond the papers they submit."
Associate Dean Cameron Feist '04 coordinates the program that recruits and trains the Hamilton seniors who conduct most of the interviews. "Hamilton is one of the most selective schools in the country, but we still focus on the personalization in the process," he says. "We really care about each student and how he or she will perform on campus. The interview provides us with more context for their application." Some families don't want to be interviewed by current students, but Feist says that misses an important point. "Current students who conduct interviews have a special kind of investment in this place. [Applicants] tend to really open up to our students, because they are more comfortable with someone their age. This is a group of students who really care about Hamilton."
The same can be said of the 450 alumni who volunteer as part of the Hamilton Alumni Recruitment Team program to represent Hamilton at college fairs and interview prospective students unable to make it to campus. Inzer says an alumnus' passion for Hamilton, reflected in personal examples and anecdotes about a favorite professor, helps bring life to the images and stories that appear in the College's viewbook and on its Web site.
A visit to campus, whether an interview is conducted or not, is also a way for the prospective student to demonstrate sincere interest in Hamilton and can be an important factor when the Committee on Admission is considering whether a candidate is a good fit with the College. Committee members realize that students from far away or those who don't have easy access to transportation can't always get to campus. In such cases, they look for other indicators of interest from the candidate, such as requesting an off-campus interview, attending a regional college admission fair or similar event, or meeting with an admission officer at a local high school.
Throughout the process, members of the College's Office of Admission and Financial Aid highlight themes and priorities that reflect Hamilton's core values, because doing so helps prospective students decide if Hamilton is in fact the best college for them. For example, the encouragement of a personal interview is meant to signal that Hamilton treats students individually and seeks to know them personally — a reflection of what happens on campus when students enroll.
Similarly, the College's viewbook and Web site, two of the major sources of information for prospective students, feature personal glimpses into the College written by students and other members of the community. The intent is to showcase a college where students find their voice through writing and other forms of expression.
Other key themes reflected in College literature, in one-on-one discussions during interviews and at college fairs staffed by alumni volunteers and admission deans include Hamilton's open curriculum — what Dean of Faculty Joseph Urgo calls "education for self-direction" — the emphasis on undergraduate research throughout the curriculum, the success of Hamilton graduates, a commitment to diversity in all its forms and, especially, a faithfulness to keeping a Hamilton education affordable.
"There's a great deal of satisfaction in knowing that you're changing people's lives," says Jay Bonham '93. "It sounds clichéd, but we're helping students enroll in a college that we know is going to change them."
