Applications to Choate Reach Record High Reading Phase Commences
By Kristen Raddatz ’09
News Staff Reporter
Friday, January 25th marked the Admission Department’s transition to full-on reading mode. Choate’s admissions officers are now immersed in the “reading period,” the first step in the process of selecting Choate’s class of 2012.
The transition into reading period means that Admissions is now reading applications all day, all night, and all weekend. This will continue for about three more weeks, until the next phase begins. As a result, faculty members are conducting most interviews from here until the final acceptance letters are sent out.
Historically, this year’s interviews are an all-time record. Month by month, the Admissions Department tracks the number of inquiries, visitors, interviews, and pre-interview information forms it fields. And every month, they check to see how they are doing compared to the previous year and to historic trends. Ray Diffley, Head of the Admission Department, says a trend has been evident this year: “As of January 1st, the school was about 5% ahead in all of these categories, compared to last year.”
After the reading period comes the “committee phase.” There is a committee for every group of students applying to Choate—prospective day students and boarding students, and applicants for 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, and post-graduate grades. The admissions staff comes together during this time to examine the applicant pool for each group. Typically starting in mid-February, this phase will last between ten and fourteen days.
This year’s admission process marks a significant transition in day-to-boarding-student ratio, Diffley comments. With the new dormitory opening in September, forty new beds will be available. Over the next three years, Choate will be admitting 13 percent more boarders—which means 13 percent fewer day students.
The reason for this shift lies in a long-term ratio quandary. In 1993, Choate decided to downsize its student population from 1,050 to 850. The administration did this by exclusively reducing the number of boarding students, gradually eliminating about 200 spaces for boarders. The ratio of boarders to day students had previously hovered around 80:20; after the downsize it shifted to about 71:29.
Diffley says, “It has always been the intention, without a specific plan, to get back to that general mix of 80:20. The new dormitories gave us the chance to do that.”
An additional reason for the shift is the broadening reach of Choate’s international recruitment efforts. Admission’s global reach is stretches further each year; Choate is able to recruit stellar students from all areas of the world. An increase in available boarder positions will extend the possibilities for international diversity.
Hand-in-hand with new possibilities is this year’s gearing up of Choate’s alumni network. Alumni involvement in the admission process is growing, says Diffley. Available time for interviews on campus is limited, and alums can offer an off-campus connection to the school for prospective students. Over 250 alumni interviews were conducted this year, up from 150 last year. If this trend continues, Admissions can continue to increase the number of interviews offered all over the world, even during the office’s busiest periods of time.
Another change in the admissions process this year is the focus on electronic connections with prospective families. Families have been encouraged to find information about Choate online, and newsletters and application information have been sent out via email. The department really wants to emphasize communication with prospective families, and the internet expands the range of ways to do this.
In addition, two essay questions on the application itself have been changed this year. One, which focuses on the creativity of the student, depicts a scene. A headmaster walks on stage and announces to the audience, “I have some mind-boggling news….” This may seem like a familiar situation to us, but the applicants must use their imagination to finish the scene in a story.
The second essay question is a very basic one, to evaluate the intelligence and personality of the applicant. It asks about one of the largest challenges in his or her life, and what he or she did to deal with it. This essay is used to gain an understanding of the thought processes of the applicant.
All in all, Diffley says, it is too early to see the shape of the class of 2012. He won’t be able to tell until the Admission staff begins the committee phase in February. But the pool looks good so far, thanks in large part to the efforts of Choate students. He says, “This has been another incredible year for Liz Mitchell and our Gold Key. I’m just very impressed by the unselfish attitude of our kids. It’s greatly appreciated by us, and it also reflects on the school’s reputation.”
