by Jenny Zhi
I’m so excited for the 2017 Joyce Ivy College
Admissions Symposium, or JCAS, especially when considering all I learned at the
2016 JCAS. It was definitely a great experience for my high school junior self;
I began the day both excited and anxious about the upcoming college application
process, but I left feeling ready to take it on.
What made JCAS especially valuable for me was the
amount of insight provided from the other side of the application process –
admissions counselors. By that point, I had read a good number of articles
written by former admissions counselors and
absorbed all their tips about do’s and don’ts. While JCAS, in addition to
students, parents, and teachers, was attended by admissions representatives
from a dozen different institutions, followed much the same format, I found
that the information was delivered in a slightly different context than what I
had read. They weren’t just giving tips, but were explaining it with stories of
behind-the-scenes experiences reading and reviewing college applications. Many
shared information about how the admissions committees at their respective
schools evaluated applications. Amherst, for example, assigns members to defend
applicants to the committee, which then performs a quick vote on whether to
admit the student. If more than half vote “yes,” that means an acceptance
letter arriving in the mail.
Many of the workshops were similarly planned to share
information from the admissions counselors’ point of view, and while I was
writing my applications a couple months later, I often recalled what I learned
at JCAS to consider how they would evaluate my application and how I wanted
them to view it. With both sides of the story, I could proceed with presenting
my story so that it is cohesive and compelling.
A word of advice: be sure to interact with all the
other girls attending JCAS as well. They all have a wealth of different
experiences to share (I sat next to a homeschooled girl who was a year my
junior but had the strongest aspirations to conduct autism research), and in
the end, it’s assuring to know that you’re all going through the same thing.
It’s always fun to compare notes and stories and dreams for the future.
There will be many Joyce Ivy Fellows, myself included,
attending JCAS this year. Feel free to come to us with any questions or just
pop by to say hi!
Best of luck to you!
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