Approaching the Finish Line

As a distance runner for more than half of my life I feel like I just rounded the final corner of a difficult race.  The crowd is cheering, people are ringing cow bells and I can see the canopy of the finish line, but I am still not there yet.  This is the point where it takes everything I have to get through the last mile.  I will get there though, I’ve come too far and worked too hard not to finish with gusto.

Whether you realize it or not, we all – you, me, the Whitman Admission Staff and all the other applicants to Whitman – started this race together at the end of August.  That is when the college admission cycle truly took hold for seniors.  My colleagues and I hit the road and students started collecting and submitting application materials.  It has been a long time since then, seemingly a lifetime.  Applications have been submitted, materials reviewed and decisions are being made.  The finish line is in sight.

For my colleagues and I it is time to put on our favorite Pandora station or “victorious” playlist, we are making final decisions and about to admit our class.  For those of you waiting on us, hold on we’re coming.  Check out the “Songs to Wait By” one more time and know that a “Songs to Celebrate By” is about to be released, as well as our admission decisions very soon.

You have all run a solid race over the last four months, really four years, and deserve a crowd of people yelling your name.  Enjoy the last mile (these next couple of weeks), there is nothing like it, you went the distance and completed the college admission cycle.  When you cross that finish line, do it with gusto – you earned it – raise your arms and claim your moment.

Songs to Read By

I  generally like to keep my music upbeat when reading applications; it helps me set and sustain a good pace and keeps my energy level high, even when I’m pushing through into the third or fourth consecutive hour.  In no particular order, some of my favorites lately have been:

1) Ophelia - The Band
2) And Your Bird Can Sing – The Beatles
3) Into the Mystic – Van Morrison
4) Morning Sun – Al Barry and The Cimarons
5) Animal - Miike Snow (Punks Jump Up Remix)

So now you can probably guess my picks on the Songs to Wait By list last week. My favorite place to read is by far my house. Lucy, my puppy dog, can hang out and is more than happy to distract me for a minute or two in between each file. That way I can start each one with a fresh eye. Snacks are also in close proximity, a clutch component of being well-prepared for an afternoon of reading.

Welcome to Reading Season!

Well, it’s been a crazy three weeks or so as the January 15 regular decision deadline has come and gone, leaving support staff inundated with sorting essays, importing test scores and common applications, and printing golden “complete” letters, informing anxious students we do indeed have all the components of their application. Soon after the kind ladies upstairs work their magic, the various pieces arrive in our reading tool in a .pdf file ordered common application, transcript, Whitman supplement, teacher recommendations, and finally, interview notes. The switch to electronic reading is relatively recent; I just graduated from Whitman last May and when I started as a student worker five years ago compiling and sorting the paper files was a major part of my job. Now students digitize any and all paper we receive.

Anyway, back to the present; while it would be a neat trick if the completed files automatically migrated from upstairs to officers’ various computers, it’s just not that simple. Due to major discrepancies in the number of applicants from various geographic locations, not all officers are able to “first read” all the students from their territories. While PJ, the California officer, is an absolute file master, there is simply no way he can keep up with the massive number of Cali applications, and so officers with less populated applicant territories, like myself, pick up the slack, especially if we’ve had past interaction with the student. These decisions are made by the all-powerful kings of distribution,  Josh and PJ. For the most part, however, the majority of any territories files, even Seattle and California, are first read by the area officer. After the initial vote, the file is distributed again to a “second reader,” and from there a decision is made, either admit, deny, committee, or waitlist.

If the two readers disagree on their votes or an application hits a committee trigger (recent C, test scores or GPA below a certain threshold, to give a few examples), but at least one officer wants to admit the student anyway, the applicant will be discussed in a committee of 6-10 admission officers in early to mid-March. Knowing all this, students can rest assured their application is receiving a thorough vetting.

Right now distribution is really beginning to heat up as more and more files are processed.  Batches of files go out twice  a week in groups between 15-60 at a time, and are due back one week later.  One thing I’m really loving about reading season so far, besides all the amazing applicants, is the fact officers are given one whole day and two half-days out of the office each week to focus on reading (it’s hard to focus on anything for too long here).  Kicking back with a good essay on The Great Gatsby and a cup of coffee on your own couch hardly feels like work. Of course, I might change my mind hundreds of files and a few months later…

More songs we’re reading by

OK, we’re really in the thick of reading your lovely applications. We do get short breaks to revel in our Men’s Basketball victory over top-seeded Whitworth and attend the many lectures happening on campus, but after those are done, we return to our files and our reading music:

Enjoy!