Admitted or Denied in 8 Minutes or Less?

Did you see the Wall Street Journal article released earlier this year about some admissions teams reviewing college applications in 8 minutes or less? If not, you can click below to read the article. It may surprise you.

While it may be true that admissions teams quickly read through applications (think about job applications and resumes -- everyone knows that recruiters spend seconds glancing over a resume before deciding to call the candidate), there are two nuances I want to call out:

1. Application reviewers are trained to look for certain things, which considerably speeds up the process. Once a reviewer understands all the parts of an application, they are able to get through each one quicker than other people.

2. Applications go through several reviews. More than one person is reading the application and conversations about the candidates occur between the readers and decision committees.

So, the actual review process is longer than 8 minutes.

However, knowing the intense amount of effort students put into their applications, it may be disheartening to find out the harsh reality that decisions on admissions can be made so quickly.

That's why it's so important for parents and students to understand how a college application is reviewed. 

I am hosting a free live online college application review case study webinar to give you a chance to step into the shoes of an admissions committee member. If you would like to sign up for the next available webinar, you can get all the details here.