Winter in South Bend
is different things to different people. To the crew in Notre Dame's Office
of Admissions, heading home in the dark, stacks of folders under arm, winter is
file-reading season. by Kerry Temple
Winter in South Bend
is different things to different people. To the crew in Notre Dame's Office
of Admissions, heading home in the dark, stacks of folders under arm, winter is
file-reading season.
From early January until the third week in March, each admissions counselor will read files -- somewhere between 1,300 and 1,500 files containing the abridged life stories of bright, talented, ambitious high school seniors aspiring to membership in an exclusive group C next fall=s freshman class.
So on cold and snowy weekends and late, late on frigid nights, the shapers of the ND Class of 2003 pore over high school records and transcripts, letters of recommendation, standardized test scores, essays and personal statements, even cassette tapes and artwork and other evidence of achievement. They analyze grades and rank in class and extracurricular activities and how many advanced placement classes were taken and at what high school (because not all classes and not all high schools are created equal). And from those files -- the brimming portfolios of more than 9,000 applicants -- they will select a class of 1,935 freshmen.
The ratio means thousands of decisions -- decisions that gladden, even elate the recipients of those prized letters of acceptance. But also decisions that disappoint, rankle, surprise and anger. Decisions that break hearts, shatter dreams, alienate alumni, madden parents. Decisions questioned and sometimes challenged by high-ranking administrators, coaches, faculty, fund-raisers, guardians, friends of parents. And sometimes by tearful 17-year-olds for whom that rejection letter feels cataclysmic.
The truth is, the selection process does change lives forever. It also helps set the course for Notre Dame -- now and long into the future. A university, after all, is only as good as its student body, and competition for acceptance to an elite school such as Notre Dame is keen.
The pressure is heightened, says Dan Saracino, a 1969 Notre Dame graduate and Notre Dame's assistant provost for enrollment management, because the "pie" is limited to those 1,935 slots in each class. But University interests require increasingly larger pieces within that "pie" -- pieces squeezing, nudging, pushing each other for room.
Of course, one criterion is academic excellence. Saracino says the high school transcript, showing such ingredients as coursework, grades and rank in class, is the most important element being considered. Then come the SAT or ACT scores, which, says Saracino, "support the decision but don't make the decision." These dual factors, he says, get the applicant "to first base." And "first base," comparatively speaking, is a long single. Among this year's freshmen, 65 percent ranked in the top 5 percent of their high school classes, and 33 percent graduated as number 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5. The average SAT score was 1325 and the average ACT was 30.
Despite the quality, many at Notre Dame want an even stronger undergraduate student, and targets have been set toward this end. In addition, some disciplines want students gifted with special talents, such as in music or the arts. And the file-reading certainly takes this into account -- extraordinary students whose skills would enrich the academic, social or cultural experience of others. When putting together the puzzle that is each freshman class, the admissions counselors are looking for distinction.
This is but one way to enhance the diversity the University seeks. It is widely accepted that preparing students for tomorrow's world means exposing them to a variety of viewpoints, backgrounds, lifestyles and philosophies. A more diverse student body would strengthen the academic enterprise and make a Notre Dame education more valuable for everyone. Few disagree with the sense that the University would be a better place with more ethnic or racial minorities, more international students, and a more socioeconomically diverse student body. Those pieces of the pie get deserved attention.
But there are others. The University wants 85 percent of its undergraduates to be Catholic. It also wants one-fourth to be the sons or daughters of alumni. Notre Dame fields 26 varsity athletic teams and the coaches for each sport are seeking admission for exceptional athletes. Sons and daughters of University faculty and staff also receive special consideration as do other candidates, such as those whose families have a longstanding relationship with Notre Dame or its fund-raising efforts.
The number of openings remains constant, the goals more ambitious, the bar goes higher and higher. So the files are read closely, contemplated, discussed. Each file is read by two counselors; decisions go to committee, then are reviewed by Saracino for logic and consistency. In addition to academic records, extracurricular activities are integral ("Notre Dame," says Saracino, "is not looking for the kind of kid who joined eight activities, but two or three and really developed there.") as are letters of recommendation, a personal statement and personal essay.
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I like the essays," says Susan Joyce, a 1985 Notre dame graduate and a 12-year veteran of file-reading season. "It shows what's most different, what the student may contribute to the Notre Dame community, how they think. Some students just come alive during this part of the application."She adds, "At selective schools you have to dig deeper, you have to be a good detective sorting through the files. The typical applicant here is so far above average that they are not just well-rounded but outstanding in every category. We'd all be thrilled to be the parents of those students who get turned down."
Joyce, an associate director of admissions, says she looks for "what students will contribute to Notre Dame and to each other." She likens the creation of a class to painting a picture, using all colors and textures, to form a coherent and multifaceted whole. "What you have," she says, "is some experienced people making some fine-tuned decisions, weighing every spot."
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We are not trying necessarily to admit the well-rounded student," says Saracino, "but to create a well-rounded student body. We need, for example, for this to be a place even for the kid who doesn't go to football games. Yet Notre Dame is still filled with kids who love this place, and they are not eggheads by any means."Last year the process began with a talented pool of more than 8,600 applicants -- a "self-selected" group, admissions people say, explaining that thousands who would like to attend Notre Dame are deterred by its academic reputation and simply don't submit the official application with its $40 fee. And that 8,600 represents only those submitting that application, not those who simply write for materials or visit or make inquiries. Some schools inflate the number of "applicants" by counting such contacts as part of their applicant pool to seem more "selective" in order to rank higher in the college rating game.
Of those 8,600, about 3,500 are actually accepted. About 54 percent of those admitted enroll. The vast majority of those who choose to go elsewhere cite financial reasons. Even that ratio ranks Notre Dame among the top universities in the country and makes it one of only eight schools (along with Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Dartmouth, Brown, MIT and Rice) that admits fewer than half of all applicants and enrolls more than half who are offered admission.
Still, say University officials, that isn't good enough. "The concern I have, and it's a legitimate concern," says Saracino, "is that we receive too few applications for a school of Notre Dame's stature. And my belief is that there are some great matches out there for Notre Dame, but that some very good people are dismissing Notre Dame without knowing much about it."
At least one indication of this is a survey based on the findings of 22 focus groups composed of high-talent Catholic high school students throughout the United States. The students were shown a list of a dozen first-rate universities, including Notre Dame, and asked what characteristics came to mind about each. The only characteristics mentioned for Notre Dame were "football" and "Catholic." Nothing about academic excellence or other such traits attributed to Notre Dame's "peer" institutions. It came as no surprise, then, how few listed Notre Dame as their college of choice. "Too many excellent students don't know about Notre Dame or have a misconception about us," says Saracino, who came on board a year and a half ago to intensify the University's admissions' efforts. "We need to get a more compelling presentation out there on the academic life that exists here."
So the past year has seen an infusion of resources into the admissions program, funding that has led to completely revised and more elaborate recruiting materials, a visitor's guide, web site, CD-ROM and a video. Admissions has also embarked upon several initiatives that bring to campus talented high school students for summer academic programs as well as high school guidance counselors who advise those students on college decisions. The guidance counselors see the facilities, meet with Notre Dame students and faculty, talk with financial aid representatives, and get a firsthand look at the University's First Year of Studies and Career Services departments. "I have yet to find a counselor," says Saracino, "who has come to campus and didn't say, 'Wow, I had no idea.'"
"Notre Dame," says Joyce, "always had a more low-key approach. We used to say action speaks louder than words. But in the late '90s that just doesn't cut it anymore. Of course, even if we did nothing, we would still fill each class, but not the class we're looking for."
In the competitive '90s, finding that class requires more than getting the word out and letting the files roll in. The admissions office has a professional staff of 14, each member responsible for a geographical area and another set of duties, such as minority recruitment or international outreach or the department's publications. Having responsibility for a geographical area means handling the phone calls and correspondence coming from those states as well as traveling there, becoming familiar with the area's high schools, getting to know high school personnel, representing Notre Dame at information programs, and coordinating efforts of the Alumni Schools Committees and other alumni activities that affect recruitment. "You can't look at transcripts in a vacuum," says Joyce, who has had eight states in her tenure. "So you're expected to know regional differences and what schools have weighted grades. You become familiar with travel agencies and airline schedules and hotels."
The stepped-up effort is further accelerated by speedier forms of communication (e-mail, faxes, the Internet), by parents and students wanting more immediate responses to questions, and by admissions counselors simply needing to be more available to the public. Then there are the information sessions -- for parents and interested teenagers who have come on a "school visit" and want to know more about Notre Dame. Twice a day, six days a week, the admissions office hosts these gatherings, showing the video, talking about Notre Dame, answering questions. These meetings, Joyce notes, are not "evaluative," but are informative only.
The admissions office also offers student-guided tours, operates a phone center four nights a week, and can arrange for high school students to visit campus and stay in a residence hall with student hosts. Acceptances are often followed up with letters from alumni and deans and department chairpersons.
It's a comprehensive, all-out, year-round effort to make each incoming class better than the previous one. Yet, Joyce cautions, it's not really about selling. "You don't sell the University," she explains. "It's about a match. And we're not recruiting in order to turn more people down, but we are trying to attract high-talent, usually Catholic students and to get the word out that Notre Dame can compete with the best. All these schools can say they have small classes, that the faculty cares, that the resources and technology are cutting-edge.
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What I highlight is, if you compare Notre Dame to the other top 20 schools, that it is the strongest Catholic school on the list, that it is one of the most residential schools in the nation, and that its blend of faith, community and intellectual vigor is unique."What the admissions people hope is that the nation's best and brightest resonate with this theme, that they see Notre Dame as being the best match for them, that they apply and, if accepted, decide to attend. The proof, ultimately, is in the files.
The "early action" deadline was November 1, an advance screening that drew almost 2,000 applications. Some of these were accepted, some told "no," some delayed till the regular sifting and selecting takes place in the winter. The letters of acceptance and rejection go out in early April; some applicants are "wait-listed" and they sit in line as those initially accepted weigh their options and make their choices. Then, as the summer lolls by, the final slots are filled, the Class of '03 is brought tightly into focus, each piece fitted into the mosaic that began nearly a year ago.
But now it is file-reading season and a dozen or so admissions counselors are spending their winter days and nights learning as much as they can about the young people who want to come here.