Colleges look beyond grades, scores
By Victor Greto
The (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal
Once upon a time, high school seniors had few worries about college admission as long as their grade-point averages were high and their SAT scores stood above the national average.
Not anymore.
Admissions staffs now look just as hard at less traditional and increasingly important enrollment indicators, from a written essay and recommendations to the quality of the student's high school curriculum and extracurricular activity.
"A person is more complicated than a GPA or an SAT score," said Lou Hirsh, director of admissions at the University of Delaware. The SAT is a widely used college entrance exam.
"Talent gets measured in a lot of ways."
A March 2002 study that examined trends in college admission from 1979-2000 showed that while a student's grade point average remained one of the most important factors in admission, its role as the "single most important factor" has declined steadily.
Last year, when Ashley Rawlley, 18, of Middletown, Del., applied to five colleges, she couldn't just sail on her 4.0 high school GPA. She had to get at least one recommendation, and provided two. She had to list her extracurricular activities, and she had to write an essay about why she wanted to go to college and what she expected from it.
Rawlley started writing the essay two nights before it was due. "I wrote about the girl I wanted to be after graduation," she said. "I was so pressured to come up with something and started randomly writing and it sort of flowed. My family looked at it and they all thought it was good."
So did at least four of the five colleges where she applied. She is now a freshman at the University of Delaware, majoring in hospitality management.
Vern Myers, a guidance counselor at Alexis I. du Pont High School in Greenville, Del., said a student's GPA remains key to college admissions but as part of an overall picture.
"When we listen to the colleges come to recruit students," he said, "it's strength of schedule compared to what's available. Grades achieved are the second most important thing, followed by class rank, college admission test results, activities, leadership, essays and recommendations."
Jonathan Olmsted, a freshman at UD from Meriden, Conn., said he knew his high GPA and SAT scores weren't going to be enough. "In the application, you have to re-create yourself as best you can in the words of your essay, and in the descriptive picture given by your teachers in the recommendations," he said.
His essay — a story about digging a latrine with a friend when he was a Boy Scout — "seemed a very ignoble, base thing to talk about," he said. "It was sort of ironic in that aspect, and it catches the reader off guard in a good way."
A student's life experiences are considered along with extracurricular activities, said Bette Coplan, executive vice president of Wesley College in Dover, Del.
For example, a student's academic record may be less than stellar, but the student has overcome an emotional crisis and possesses strong recommendations.
"We had one who lost a father in a car accident and a month later lost a mother to AIDS," Coplan said. "He was a good, solid student, and then became academically decimated. We did pick him and he's doing well, getting the psychological support and help he needs." The more sophisticated application process puts more pressure on the admissions staff and the students.
"It's stressful without a doubt, even beyond the deadlines," Olmsted said. "On top of the colleges, your counselor has even more deadlines. And senior year is not exactly a piece of cake."
