Around a month ago, I was scrolling through BuzzFeed (my procrastination website of choice) and noticed the headline ‘Here’s How to See What College Admissions Officers Wrote About You.’ The article went on to describe that Stanford University students had uncovered a little-known clause in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) that allows students to view, as the headline indicates, the comments on their admissions file at the school to which they matriculate. I had always been curious about how applicants at Middlebury are evaluated, and I also kind of wanted to know what my file said about me, so I emailed the Admissions Office to request access to my files.
Last Wednesday, I was the first student this year to view my admissions file. Dean of Admissions Greg Buckles was very patient with me and answered all my questions related to the terminology. I was able to see my readers’ quantitative evaluations of my academic ability, extracurriculars and personal qualities. I also read the comments my readers made on my overall file, as well as what my interviewer said about our interview.
In the spirit of full disclosure, I had a twofold motivation for going in to see my file. First and foremost, I was curious to know what the admissions officers thought about my application, especially about my common app essay, of which I was most proud. I applied early decision because Middlebury was my dream school and far and away my first choice, but going in, my college counselor had warned me that many ED applicants have some kind of hook — be it the support of a coach or geographic diversity or legacy status among myriad other factors. The other reason I went in to see my file was to see what about my application allowed me to overcome my lack of hook, so to speak, and gain early admission.
My main takeaway and word to you, readers, is that your file likely does not contain much you don’t know already. The reader comments mostly enumerated my grades and scores and spoke about my extracurriculars, and my interview comments basically detailed our conversation and my answers to his questions. I did not really figure out why I had gotten in or how I had overcome my total lack of diversity. (The only reasons I can think of are that I had expressed my passion for Middlebury and that my readers felt magnanimous that day.) I also learned my readers’ reservations about me and what they perceived to be my weaknesses.
I caution anyone going into the admissions office to steel yourself, because there aren’t many positive things they can say that you don’t already know. (You know if your standardized testing was good, and you probably have a decent sense of how your interview went.) Admissions officers are so good at their job that they will likely be able to foresee struggles you will have in college based on your high school experience, and they may describe those in your file. I, of course, don’t know you and have no idea what your file says. I assume that you are a strong student and excel in many areas (or else you wouldn’t be here), but that doesn’t mean that your file is all rainbows and sunshine. And I can tell you from my experience that I didn’t learn anything about myself (and a tiny part of me was hoping for an insight that would shape my entire future so I could stop worrying about it).
So while you are absolutely entitled to view your file under FERPA, maybe think twice about whether it is worth your time and the Admissions office’s time as well, because our admissions counselors are absolutely swamped with requests right now, on top of having to read thousands of applications for the class of 2019.
Sarah Sicular ’15.5 is a copy editor from New York, N.Y.
