Admissions Workshop Notes

The full text of the notes taken at the 2010 Re-Rad Admissions Workshop. There were roughly 25 students in attendence, and the workshop was planned and lead by Re-Rad signers and Admissions staff.

Tours ("What are the most important features of Hampshire to highlight on an Admissions Tour?")

 * go to mods: emphasize collaborative atmosphere and community-building
 * more training about science/specialize facilities: concrete examples
 * some things are under-represented because interns are connected to certain programs, so need some kind of community forum where people connected to things/knowledgeable about things can come and say what’s important to know about them, what they want prospies to hear
 * digital forum? community meeting? create something to distribute to interns
 * John Bruner, set of blogs specifically about admissions, general info and also special/temporary things that are happening
 * -awesome when students engage with a tour, though not to sidetrack them completely

Divisional system ("How can we accurately explain Hampshire's Divisional system to outsiders?")

 * remember that students may not know what the traditional education looks like
 * often no mention of Div Limbo, misleading
 * less words: concise and simple
 * how do students explain their own Divisional studies, and is this accessible to prospies?
 * progression, sense of motion
 * everyone and everywhere says something different
 * communicate how impressive (and intimidating) Div III is...and make it clear that you do this your 4th year, after being prepared for it
 * some areas tend to lend themselves to projects clearly (writing, theatre, etc), we should emphasize and give examples for ones that might be less self-explanatory (math, literature, history)
 * giving only titles of Div IIIs=better than only giving subject areas like a major, but still sometimes confusing: Div IIIs are more than the name
 * website should showcase some Div IIs


 * --&gt;invite prospies to Div III final presentations!
 * --&gt;Div III blog for prospies to see and read Div IIIs in progress! Also could interact with the students doing these projects, ask questions, etc
 * info sessions: what should they look like?
 * more of a conversation, interactive (issue: how do you make people ask the right questions to get at the key information?)
 * common question: “no grades...how is this rigorous?”
 * Solution: give an example of how professors comment on papers. Show the progression from comments to final course eval. This should be in the viewbook and should also be given to prospies. Perhaps also give an example of a Divisional contract, and how it changes over the course of the project.
 * Also, put things in the context of how education in this country is changing as a whole: Hampshire is at the forefront of a movement that emphasizes things other than grades and tests.
 * “what about competition?”: “other people doing cool things makes you want to do cool things, even without the need to compare oneself or to come in first”. Also emphasize collaborative nature of many projects, and how when one is not concerned with competing one is more likely to see connections between different people’s work
 * explanation of a Divisional system is often boring. Solution: give a sense of motion, process of continual improvement (exemplified both in evals and in progression from Div I to III), communicate flexibility and experimentation but don’t just say it, let prospies/parents see for themselves by giving concrete examples
 * why is our curriculum unique? How can we show this?
 * sometimes Hampshire students do badly or fail in their projects, how do we deal with this?
 * is Hampshire “not for everyone”? Is this a useful thing to be saying?
 * For some, Hampshire is immediately recognizable as exactly where they want to be. For others, they do not have this immediate connection but can still succeed here and have it become perfect for them. We do not want to put this second group off and suggest that if it isn’t clearly for them, they shouldn’t be here.
 * most people don’t think Hampshire IS for everyone
 * for students that don’t want their already-formulated ideas challenged, Hampshire is not the right place
 * rarely say that to students, sometimes say it to parents
 * represent Div II work and Div III work in the office: Admissions offers students a chance to represent their work in some visual way and then puts it up in Admissions
 * how do you balance how much information you give to a student? how do we get them to see and actually take in stuff?
 * leaving things out places where they can be looked at if they want
 * mailing list
 * make it a conversation
 * understanding the differences in the experiences of various prospective students

Messaging ("How should Hampshire make contact with prospective students?")

 * What should go in the materials?
 * student work—paragraph from best essay in a pamphlet
 * student-written materials
 * example of a Div II portfolio
 * list of previous courses for students to see
 * make sure it isn’t misleading: things that you can do here easily
 * advertise Hampedia
 * --&gt;Marlboro college: “all of the materials in this admissions packet are made by students, staff and faculty”
 * word of mouth as a way that students find us
 * who are we marketing to?
 * what should we emphasize?
 * student/faculty interactions highlighted
 * b/c it is mandatory
 * Division III as something unique
 * not thrilled with physical spaces, seeing things going on in these spaces is a plus
 * student responsibilities
 * distribute SAF, students on Board of Trustees
 * 5 college consortium as a resource
 * don’t want to sound like Hampshire is nothing without the 5 colleges. Do want to make it clear that many programs at Hampshire do rely on it...but many others don’t
 * make it clear exactly what you can use the five colleges for
 * ask different Schools of Thought what is the best about them, what is the most interesting and special thing they do
 * housing
 * mod system presenting opportunities: live with your friends, farm share
 * Lemmelson Centre as an emphasis
 * emphasize outcomes
 * emphasize community that exists
 * clubs/groups are underemphasized
 * don’t preface by saying what Hampshire isn’t
 * just talk about how it works
 * “a school that is good for me”
 * Hampshire students are intensely personal about interests
 * we undersell our academic rigor
 * student writing
 * ask prospies why they are studying things
 * --&gt;contact between prospies and current students (connect people based on interests)
 * amazing amount of talent here, we need to somehow tap into this resource
 * important that Hampshire not apologize for who we are
 * so difficult to get information, and some of it is inaccurate, about transferring in and/or being an older student

Fit ("How should we determine if an applicant is a good fit for Hampshire?")

 * accounting for religious and intellectual diversity
 * sometimes people think fit for hampshire and they assume liberal, and admissions does not think that
 * extra-curricular involvement in school, not just community
 * capacity for growth with regards to diversity/social justice
 * independence =/ total freedom
 * perseverance/consistency of interest
 * social conscience
 * more passion than apathy!
 * self-reflection
 * self-advocacy
 * evidence of self-motivation
 * leadership/ability to listen
 * thoughts on what they want to do and what ideas and plans they have, not just what they have done

General comments

 * lack of community involvementin Admissions: why? Admissions seen as weird, unknown, separate, secret
 * big question: HOW DO WE TALK ABOUT ACADEMIC RIGOR?

What is going to happen to this stuff after?

 * admissions staff will bring them back to admissions and send them to higher-ups
 * Re-Rad will write them up and send them to Strategic Planning Committee