This is my second year serving on the Freshman Admissions Committee. The committee has 16 student readers who are undergrads (sophomores, juniors and seniors) that serve as readers for the incoming undergraduate applications. The admissions committee is comprised of undergrads, faculty and admissions staff who read every application that comes through the office.
As most of you know, the early action date for fall admissions 2010 was in early November. Since then, I have been fulfilling my duties as a student reader by reading a ton of applications and writing up about each student I read. Any chance I had downtime between homework sets or throughout my day, I would sit and read an application written by a high school student. I gotta say, I am truly impressed----these applications were AWESOME and the amount of talent I see and read about never ceases to astound me.
Today, we had Committee for the early applicant pool all day at the admissions office. We made the final decisions on students we would admit and hold from the pool we received about a month ago. Admissions committee is always a little bit mentally taxing and is definitely tiring---but we pulled together and got it done! Good work team!
From Left: Cameron, Sarah, Me, and Jann--discussing our small morning group session
Lots of caffeine is necessary for this process...and apparently, so is chocolate :D
"So what do you think about this appication, Sarah?" Cameron asks.
The afternoon session---more undergrads showed up for this one...
I really enjoy my job reading for the admissions committee; I enjoy reading about what all you wonderful students are doing and it definitely inspires and reminds me of my experience when I applied to Caltech.
And to make this post more day-appropriate (and maybe even coincidental)...
I received my acceptance letter from Caltech!!!
To the day----4 years ago, I opened up my mailbox in San Diego to find the letter that changed my entire life. I still smile and sometimes tear up when I think of that moment---I cried, and stayed up all night with my parents in shock and just talking about the endless opportunities---I literally felt a shift in my life happen. And now, 4 years later, I am a senior in college that has so many
wonderful memories and has been through so much---and most importantly,
about to graduate in a few months!
I applied early action to Caltech because it was my first choice school---and I knew from the moment I heard about it, to when I first visited the campus, that this was where I belonged. It was the best decision of my life to apply early ---since it saved so much time and energy by knowing in early December of my senior year.
It has come full circle----4 years ago, the committee read my app and decided to admit me, and here I am reading for the new generation that will be here after I am gone. To those of you who are applying to Caltech this year and in the near future----I wish you the very best of luck during this process and really encourage you to put your best foot forward...(and to spell check)!
When are the EA decisions communicated to the applicants? Do you send them in mail or e-mail?
Posted by: star | December 09, 2009 at 02:29 PM
Good to hear the first part is done for you. Despite the ordeal of college essays, I still think committees have the tougher job in this process, so thank you for caring so much. A lot of us are jockeying to be able to celebrate our own 4 year anniversary, eventually. Whether it's at Caltech or not, I appreciate the work you've done.
Good luck with your final classes. I have some of my own to get back to..
Posted by: Adam | December 09, 2009 at 05:34 PM