What Does Holistic Admissions Even Mean?
Written by Amanda, University of Pennsylvania
The term “holistic admissions” has been spread in recent years during the college admissions process, from both students and admissions teams. Holistic admission is a process where colleges evaluate applicants based on a comprehensive review of their overall profile, rather than just test scores or grades. This method considers a range of factors, including academic achievements, extracurricular involvement, personal essays, recommendation letters, and life experiences. The goal is to understand the applicant as a whole person and to select students who will contribute to the campus community in diverse and meaningful ways.
Benefits of Holistic Review
Diverse Student Body: Holistic review helps colleges build a diverse student body by considering various aspects of an applicant's background and experiences, beyond just academics. This can include socio-economic background, unique personal challenges, and cultural perspectives.
Comprehensive Understanding: It provides a more nuanced view of an applicant's potential, taking into account personal qualities like resilience, leadership, and creativity, which might not be fully captured by standardized tests or GPAs.
Fairness: By evaluating applicants as individuals, holistic review can level the playing field for students from varied backgrounds, helping those who might not have had access to high-level academic opportunities but show great potential in other ways.
Challenges with Holistic Review
Subjectivity: The process can be more subjective than purely quantitative methods, which can lead to inconsistencies in how applicants are evaluated. College applications have a lot of moving parts - including resumes, interviews, and judgment on extracurricular activities, and admission teams’ opinions may differ from one student to another.
Bias and Inequality: Even with a holistic approach, implicit biases can still influence admissions decisions. Ensuring fairness requires ongoing training and adjustments to the review process. A strong example is having a bias towards legacy applicants, which, in recent years, is starting to effectively decrease admissions decisions.
Complexity and Time: Holistic review is more time-consuming and complex, requiring admissions committees to consider a wide range of information and perspectives. Top-tier schools are receiving thousands and thousands of applications, with UCLA receiving 146,250 applications this past year. Admissions teams are going through many applications which can be somewhat frightening for both students and admissions teams.
Impact of the Ban on Affirmative Action
With the ban on affirmative action in some states, colleges are increasingly focusing on holistic review to maintain diversity. This shift requires a careful balancing act to ensure that diversity goals are met while adhering to legal constraints. Colleges might emphasize factors like socioeconomic status, personal essays, and unique life experiences to achieve a diverse student body without considering race directly.
How Students Can Stand Out
Essays: Write compelling and authentic personal statements. Highlight unique experiences, personal growth, and what you can contribute to the campus community. Be honest and reflective, showing your genuine self. Admissions teams can absolutely detect when some parts of the essay don’t feel authentic.
Academics: While holistic review doesn’t rely solely on academics, strong academic performance still plays a critical role. Aim for good grades and challenging coursework, but also focus on your learning journey and any unique academic interests or projects.
Interviews: If interviews are part of the process, use them as an opportunity to showcase your personality, enthusiasm, and fit for the college. Prepare to discuss your experiences and how they have shaped your goals.
Extracurriculars: Engage deeply in a few activities rather than spreading yourself too thin. Leadership roles, significant achievements, or long-term commitments can demonstrate your passion and dedication.
Recommendation Letters: Choose recommenders who know you well and can provide detailed, personalized insights into your character, achievements, and potential.
Conclusion
In sum, holistic admission aims to look beyond numbers and consider the full spectrum of an applicant’s experiences and potential, making it a powerful tool for creating a diverse and dynamic student body.
