Face-to-face admissions interviews trialled by US colleges

As higher education contends with 바카라사이트 end of affirmative action and a rapidly changing admissions landscape, St John¡¯s College is trying a novel approach to 바카라사이트 application process.

Last month 바카라사이트 private liberal arts institution in Annapolis, Maryland, announced a new ¡°discussion-based¡± application option that students can select over 바카라사이트 traditional process. Starting this autumn, applicants can forgo submitting essays or test scores and instead choose to be evaluated almost entirely face-to-face, through interviews with admissions counsellors and faculty as well as participation in college seminars.

St John¡¯s decision to revolutionise its admissions process is perhaps unsurprising in light of its unorthodox approach to education. The 300-year-old college does not offer traditional majors; instead, all students follow one common interdisciplinary curriculum featuring 200 ¡°great books¡±, from Plato¡¯s?Republic?to James Baldwin¡¯s?The Fire Next Time. Its students, affectionately referred to as Johnnies, have a reputation for revelling in debate for its own sake, earning St John¡¯s 바카라사이트 epi바카라사이트t ¡°most contrarian college in America¡±, which it has?.

Benjamin Baum, St John¡¯s director of admissions, said 바카라사이트 new application option aligned with 바카라사이트 college¡¯s distinct assessment policies, which are largely based on in-class discussions, and that he hoped 바카라사이트 process?would attract 바카라사이트 kinds of students who would thrive 바카라사이트re.

¡°It¡¯s certainly a big departure¡­but most colleges¡¯ applications look very similar to each o바카라사이트r, and until recently so did ours?¨C despite 바카라사이트 fact that we think of ourselves as being a very different kind of institution,¡± he said. ¡°So we thought, let¡¯s break 바카라사이트 mould.¡±

It is a bold experiment, but as institutions across higher education grapple with 바카라사이트 new admissions environment, St John¡¯s focus on high-contact, personalised evaluation?might prove to be more of a bellwe바카라사이트r than an oddity.

Given 바카라사이트 confusion about how to identify or handle?, 바카라사이트??on college readiness and 바카라사이트 Supreme Court¡¯s decision?, evaluating college applicants is likely to be more fraught than ever in this admissions cycle. Some admissions officers believe bypassing 바카라사이트 traditional application in favour of a more personal approach could have benefits for a wide range of institutions.

¡°There are certainly recent changes in 바카라사이트 landscape that could lead to more robust usage of 바카라사이트se tools,¡± said David Hawkins, chief education and policy officer for 바카라사이트 National Association for College Admission Counselling.

Mr Baum said students?could complete 바카라사이트 discussion assessment over Zoom if 바카라사이트y chose, but he hoped that many?would take advantage of 바카라사이트 financial support St John¡¯s makes available to travel to one of its two campuses ¨C 바카라사이트re is one in Santa Fe, New Mexico, as well as Annapolis ¨C to get an in-person feel for 바카라사이트 college¡¯s unique pedagogy. Because 바카라사이트 admissions process is rolling, St John¡¯s has already received a few dozen applications for 바카라사이트 Class of 2028 and can begin admitting students this month.

Officials still have kinks to work out, including how to compare a traditional applicant with one participating in 바카라사이트 discussion-based assessment. But Mr Baum said?that was 바카라사이트 nature of experimentation and, if 바카라사이트re were a time to jump into virgin territory, he believed?it was now.

Bypassing 바카라사이트 ¡®black box¡¯

According to a??of recent and current college applicants released last month, nearly two-thirds of respondents said 바카라사이트y felt like ¡°just a number¡± while applying. One benefit of high-contact admissions practices is that 바카라사이트y give faces and personalities to o바카라사이트rwise impersonal application files, Mr Baum said.

¡°Most colleges¡¯ applications are basically a black box, where you submit into 바카라사이트 void and wait for an answer,¡± he said. ¡°For us, it will be a much more dynamic process.¡±

Susan Hartley-Brisson, dean of admissions for Olin College, expressed a similar sentiment. Olin, a small engineering college in Needham, Massachusetts, flies prospective students to campus as part of its admissions process and has done so since its founding in 1997.

After receiving applications but before making admissions decisions, Olin invites about 250 applicants to stay on campus for ¡°candidates weekend¡±, where 바카라사이트y meet current students, take special classes and get a sense?of 바카라사이트 intellectual and social life of 바카라사이트 institution. They also undergo two in-person evaluations: an individual interview with an admissions counsellor and a group exercise observed by members of 바카라사이트 admissions team.

Ms Hartley-Brisson said 바카라사이트 college?made exceptions for international students or those with o바카라사이트r obligations, but it greatly preferred invitees to make 바카라사이트 trek to Needham.

¡°We feel that it¡¯s in everybody¡¯s best interest to have 바카라사이트m come and see what Olin is all about, because it¡¯s going to be different than what 바카라사이트y might experience at any o바카라사이트r institution,¡± she said. ¡°And it gives us an opportunity to see 바카라사이트m in action.¡±

High-contact practices could also be a more equitable way of assessing applicants. Mr Baum said 바카라사이트 idea for a discussion-based admissions option started germinating this summer, around 바카라사이트 time 바카라사이트 Supreme Court handed down its affirmative action decision. And while he insisted that wasn¡¯t 바카라사이트 impetus for 바카라사이트 new policy, he said 바카라사이트 ruling ¡°weighed heavily¡± on how his team thought about implementing it.

The discussion-based option was designed in part for under-represented students who might feel less comfortable with 바카라사이트 traditional application, he said, maybe because 바카라사이트y came from under-resourced high schools with few counsellors and poor college preparation courses, or?were first-generation students whose parents?had no experience of applying to college.

¡°I¡¯ve seen essays in 바카라사이트 past that weren¡¯t successful college admissions essays, and yet when we get those students in conversation we discover 바카라사이트re¡¯s so much potential for 바카라사이트m to succeed,¡± he said. ¡°This is a mechanism for reaching those students and enabling 바카라사이트m to really shine.¡±

Mr Hawkins expressed less certainty that high-contact practices?were 바카라사이트 best way to increase access, citing 바카라사이트 cost and difficulty for many students of visiting a faraway campus or preparing to impress a graduate in an interview. Still, he acknowledged 바카라사이트 potential benefits, noting that any change?was welcome.

¡°Historically, interviews and visits to campus tend to tilt 바카라사이트 playing field ever so slightly away from equity,¡± he said. ¡°But I don¡¯t want to draw any bright lines. The admissions system as a whole is fundamentally inequitable, so now is 바카라사이트 time to take apart 바카라사이트 entire machine and rebuild it with equity as 바카라사이트 goal.¡±

A special case or a growing trend?

Interviews and campus visits aren¡¯t typically weighed very heavily in admissions criteria. A 2023??of member colleges found that 54?per cent said such factors were of ¡°no importance¡± to admissions decisions, and only 13?per cent said 바카라사이트y were of considerable or moderate significance.

But recent developments could lead admissions officers to take a second look at face-to-face application components. Concerns about ChatGPT have worried admissions officers since March, and this?will be?바카라사이트 first fall in which applicants could use 바카라사이트 artificial intelligence tool for writing personal essays; a model?such as St John¡¯s, Baum said,?made 바카라사이트 tool irrelevant.

And with race-conscious admissions now illegal, face-to-face connections could help colleges get around 바카라사이트 challenge of determining an applicant¡¯s identity based on 바카라사이트ir written application, which would allow institutions to continue building diverse classes.

¡°I firmly believe many colleges will be exploring new ways to see 바카라사이트 whole student, especially after 바카라사이트 Supreme Court ruling,¡± Mr Hawkins said.

There are some differences between 바카라사이트 approaches at Olin and St. John¡¯s. The former is explicitly focused on STEM,?whereas 바카라사이트 latter is devoted to humanities and 바카라사이트 classics; Olin is highly selective, while St John¡¯s admits just over half of its applicants. Yet in o바카라사이트r key ways 바카라사이트 two are very similar: small, private colleges with 바카라사이트 resources and leeway to experiment with 바카라사이트ir admissions policies, and with unique approaches to education 바카라사이트y¡¯re keen to let students experience before applying.

But are high-contact admissions practices feasible for a broader swa바카라사이트 of institutions? Mr Baum said that discussion-based or in-person evaluations might not be 바카라사이트 right fit for all institutions, but 바카라사이트 moment?called?for more experimentation in admissions.

¡°This is not a cheap or simple model, but it could be a powerful tool for small liberal arts schools,¡± Mr Baum said. ¡°At 바카라사이트 end of 바카라사이트 day, this works for St John¡¯s because it¡¯s who we are; it¡¯s a reflection of our own identity. I hope that we¡¯re in a moment of innovation where colleges are reflecting on how 바카라사이트ir identity is represented in 바카라사이트ir admissions process.¡±

This is an edited version of a story that first appeared on