The ground is shaking beneath McNutt and it's not because of the construction work on Mass Row. With the release of her first book, A is for Admission: The Insider's Guide to Getting Into the Ivy League and Other Top Colleges, former Dartmouth Admissions Officer, Michele A. Hernandez '89 has broken the silence about what actually takes place behind closed doors in McNutt and other college admissions offices.
In a tale that reads like a gripping New York Times bestseller, Hernandez objectively and thoroughly reveals in a step-by-step fashion how the admissions process works and how to better one's chances for admission to not only the Ivy's but to other top colleges. In addition, she lays down the facts which finally provide the answers to such controversial questions as: Do minority students really have a better shot at admissions? Does the need-blind admissions policy really apply to all applicants? Does being an athlete or a legacy really increase your chances of being accepted?
In the first few chapters, Hernandez focuses on what students themselves can do to maximize their individual potential and increase their chances of acceptance at a top school. Rather than simply reiterating what is already known about the need to perform well on standardized tests and in the classroom, Hernandez reveals how admissions officers actually interpret these grades and test scores and how much weight is placed on each.
Unveiling what she refers to as "one of the central mysteries of the Ivy League admissions process," Hernandez leads the reader through a step-by- step explanation of how the admissions office calculates each student's academic index, or AI. In fact, included in the Appendix are the actual tables and formulas used to calculate the AI at Dartmouth. Although Hernandez emphasizes that not all admissions offices use an academic index that is identical to the one used by Dartmouth, by calculating their AI, students are able to roughly gauge their chances of acceptance to other equally competitive institutions.
Hernandez argues, however, that there are inherent problems with this calculation procedure. Because each student's converted rank score (CRS) which is used to calculate the AI depends upon high school class size and the way in which a particular high school reports such things as class rank and GPA, some students may be placed at a competitive disadvantage at the outset. She also argues that because two-thirds of the formula is derived from standardized testing, it is biased against lower-income and disadvantaged students. Furthermore, she believes that intellectual curiosity, which the AI does not account for, should be one of the primary factors for admission. While Hernandez is critical of the system in general, her flattering portrayal of Dartmouth College suggests that the folks in McNutt do a better job at evaluating applicants than do admissions officers at other colleges.
Hernandez then takes the reader on a journey through the review process and describes in detail who reads the applications, how the decisions are made, and what it requires to have a special colored tag attached to an application. She explains in detail what the "blue tags for black students, red tags for Hispanic students, and black tags for Native American students" mean and why Asian-Americans, although a minority in the United States, are not included in this "tagging" procedure. She also explains why "black students are admitted at about a 50 percent rate" while the overall acceptance rate is only 20 percent.
Not only is A is for Admission a must-read for students, parents, and high-school guidance counselors who want to get the inside scoop on the admissions process, but anyone who still wonders about their own successes or failures in the admissions process will certainly get a kick out of reading this book.
However, don't be surprised if you have to special order a copy. Within the first week of publication, the Dartmouth Bookstore was completely sold out of its initial shipment. In fact, five days after the book was published there was already a huge waiting list at the bookstore. No need to worry though. When A is for Admission becomes a New York Times Bestseller in a few weeks there will be plenty of copies for sale.
