Behind the Curtain — How Admissions Offices Read Files
Families often imagine admissions officers reading applications with endless time and care. The truth is different: decisions are made quickly, under pressure, and with specific goals in mind. Understanding this process helps parents see why clarity and cohesion in an application are so important.
Step 1: The First Read
Usually done by a regional admissions officer who knows the high schools in that area.
Average review time is 8–12 minutes per file on a GOOD day.
Officers score categories like academics, extracurriculars, essays, recommendations, and “personal qualities.”
Step 2: Committee Review
Strong admits may move quickly; others go to small-group discussions.
Officers advocate for students by summarizing them in a few sentences: “Strong STEM candidate, consistent leadership in robotics, compelling essay about resilience.”
Clarity matters: if your student’s story can’t be summarized quickly, it’s harder to make the case.
Step 3: The Human Factor
Admissions officers are people balancing fairness, institutional priorities, and gut instinct.
Two officers might disagree on the same file. That’s why narrative and cohesion are crucial — they reduce ambiguity.
Insider Perspective: At the University of Chicago, I often read 40–50 files in a day. The applications that stood out were the ones where every piece — academics, activities, essays, recommendations — reinforced a single story.
Closing Thought
The truth is that admissions officers don’t have hours to spend on each file. They’re looking for clarity, cohesion, and momentum they can recognize in minutes.
If you’re wondering whether your student’s application tells a clear, compelling story — or you’re unsure how their activities, essays, and recommendations fit together — this is exactly where my work with families begins. I bring my years of experience reading files at the University of Chicago to help students stand out in that crucial 10-minute window.
In the next post, we’ll explore how admissions officers move from evaluating individuals to shaping an entire class — and why tools like Naviance often give families a misleading picture.
