Several geeky reasons I really like file reading

1. The names.  This may have something to do with my own standard moniker ("Colleen"is simply "girl" in Gaelic -- very creative, Mom and Dad -- and Smith is hardly distinctive), but I truly enjoy all the unusual, foreign, and melodic names I encounter through application files.  If I ever decided to turn my attention to writing a novel, I'd be set.  Character names abound!

2. The places.  You'd think that after 5 years of reading the same territories, most of these schools would be familiar to me.  But just in the few days we've been reading files this season, I've already encountered several new-to-me schools -- from rural areas where we don't see many applicants to new public charters to our ever-expanding pool in China.  And there's always more to learn about a region; for example, I've read the essays of many students from Shenzhen, which prompted me to check out this gripping book from the library, and recently I caught this fascinating/uncomfortable episode of This American Life.  Arm chair traveling is pretty fantastic.

3. The mascots.  Lava Bears.  'Nuff said.  (And Thyra's all-time-favorite typo on a school profile: "Home of the Mighty Loins."  Oops.)

4. The camaraderie.  Sure, I'm reading files alone in my living room, with no one but my dog for company.  But I can imagine the reactions of my colleagues when we read our commentary aloud in committee, and so it's fun to work in a pun for Peter or a literary reference for Thyra.  (Falone and Raissa's sports analogies tend to whoosh right over my head, unfortunately.)  Our favorite essays get bookmarked so the entire office can enjoy them.

5. The reassurance.  Without airing too many of my personal political views here, let me simply say that I'm often deeply concerned about the trajectory of our planet.  During reading season, these worries evaporate.  Our applicants care so deeply about making the world a better place, and they have the intelligence, the creativity, and the ethics to do it.  Our future could not be handed to better stewards.

Waiting for technology to catch up

We were so excited.  Today was supposed to be our first full day of reading admission files from home.  I woke up early, made my latte, and . . . nothing.  My electronic queue was empty.  Thyra's been e-mailing and trying to sort this out since 5:31 am, bless her.  (How many deans do you imagine go into the office early on their work-from-home days simply to spare the rest of the staff the hassle?)

We know that down the road, all this fancy-pants technology will, someday, make our lives easier.  But for now?  Well, for now the new-technology headaches are in full force, and I suspect Thyra, Peter, and Aileen will be mighty relieved when all the kinks and pesky data imports are sorted out.

A delayed start to file reading doesn't translate into a delayed mailing date; it simply means fewer weekend evenings and possibly more snacks.  We're not worried yet, just frustrated and eager.  (Remember, we like staying home!)

As I refresh my e-mail inbox approximately thrice per minute, I'm trying to channel Milton's "they also serve who only stand and wait."  I'm fully caffeinated and revving to go.  Ready when you are, technology.

What we like about reading applications

It's no secret that I love reading admission files.  It is my favorite part of the job and I have even tried (only half joking) to convince colleagues to swap all their applications for all my regional travel.  No luck yet.  Problem is, everyone else likes it too.  I polled my colleagues, and here's what they had to say:

"I like putting my Nancy Drew skills to good use.  It's part sleuthing, part summarizing, at times spelunking and mostly storytelling.  I like a good story."
- Raissa Diamante

"I enjoy especially learning more about students than usually transpires during an earlier meeting (say a college fair or a school visit).  I also find it absolutely inspiring that a good number of our applicants have so much confidence, curiosity, compassion, intellect, and purpose.  We see a very nice slice of the American pie."
- Peter Osgood

"I like getting to make my own work schedule. I can sleep in a bit, enjoy my breakfast and morning coffee, and catch The View before settling in front of my laptop (covered in my purple Snuggie) for hours of app reading!"
- Jamilla Jamison

"I hate reading files.  Seriously, can't we go for a walk already?"
- Louis N. Smith (Colleen's dog)

Blog Redesign, Take 2 -- and an FAQ

Yup, I did it again.  Thank you to those of you who left (very sweet and polite!) comments about the new blog layout being difficult to read; I've gone back to an all-white background, but a snazzier layout (if I do say so myself).  I made the photoshopped "watercolor" image of Kingston Hall the background on my personal desktop instead, so all was not wasted.

There was also a question about whether we print out all the applications and supplemental materials we receive electronically.  Well, until this year, the answer was yes.  Whatever trees you were trying to save by submitting your application electronically, well, we were chopping 'em down at a ferocious rate. 

This year we switched to online reading, which is not as simple a transition as you might imagine.  For one, there's still a healthy proportion of materials that arrive on paper (fun example: my cousin Jim, an expert crossword solver and veteran calculus teacher in Philadelphia, doesn't even type his recommendation letters -- each one is hand printed -- so you can bet he won't be submitting his recommendations online any time soon).  All these documents need to be scanned in and then matched with the appropriate electronic file.  Sometimes this is straightforward -- there are only so many variations on a high school transcript -- but what do you do about a binder?  An arts supplement?  A4 paper?  So there's a lot of learning as we go, and still plenty of paperwork and computer tracking to keep our three winter break student interns busy. 

I'm also sorry to note that online reading has one further deficiency: it is not photogenic.  Sure, I can post pictures of the staff hard at work reading computer files, but without a glimpse of the screen (which I can't show, for obvious privacy reasons) there's nothing to prove that file reading is actually taking place.  We could be hunting buffalo on Oregon Trail for all you know. 

Reading paper files:

Photogenic!

Self-evident!

Dramatic! (if blurry)

Reading online:

Tidy.



The Joys of January

There's a popular misconception that we start reading admission files the day after the deadline.  We wish.  Actually, this is what you'll see around the office:

Pat keeps up with the appointments, phone calls, and visitors -- and still finds time to patiently teach the rest of us how to enter documents into the new computer system.  It's truly awe-inspiring.

Katie, Simeon, and Tum hard at work.

Even with electronic application submissions, we still receive huge quantities of paper documents.  Many paper documents = many envelopes to recycle.

Even with all the frustrations of early January -- navigating the new computer system, catching up on e-mail, placing phone calls to tech support -- it's impossible not to get caught up in the possibility of it all.  I find myself peeking at transcripts and reading recommendations as I'm supposed to be tracking -- I'm eager to just get on with it already and read files!  I can't wait to see what awaits in the Class of 2016.

Finally!

In case it's not obvious, I finally got around to redesigning the blog.  Much improved, no?  An hour in photoshop (and many false starts) turned this:

into this:

and there was much rejoicing. 

Deadline Deadline Time Is Here . . .

Time for joy and time for cheer?

Well, perhaps not, if you're still scrambling to finish your essays.  But today (January 2) is indeed the application deadline for Regular Decision & Early Decision II!  Good luck and we'll be back in the office tomorrow to start fielding questions and opening mail!