Have you ever wondered how things really work in a college admissions office? Ever wanted to know more about how a highly selective admissions office makes decisions about who makes the cut? Pasadena’s California Institute of Technology—better known as Caltech—recently gave Access College an exclusive look inside its admissions office.
Access College host, Jenny Umhofer—a former Caltech admissions officer—sat down with Caltech’s executive director of admissions, Jarrid Whitney, to talk about the process Caltech uses to sift through the thousands of applications it receives each year and the criteria Caltech applies to select its crop of budding scientists, mathematicians, and engineers. Caltech professor Victor Tsai—who attended Caltech as a student—offers his insights into what makes for a great application. And recent Caltech admittees talk about what they did to stand out from the crowd.
The value of understanding the college admissions process from the inside-out can’t be overstated. It is critical for students and families to put themselves in the position of a college admissions officer and see college applications through the eyes of the admissions office, which is, after all, the audience for the college application. This show is designed to give students and families that all-important admissions office perspective.
Access College will air on KPFK 90.7 fm in Los Angeles on Sunday, August 31st, at 1:30 pm and is available anytime on the Access College archives HERE and on iTunes.
