read like a pro: a survival guide for admissions officers

Read Like a ProAn Admissions Survival Guide

Matchbox, Inc. 1

Tuesday, January 29, 13

About the AuthorElizabeth Pabst

-Assistant Director of Admissions at Boston University

-Three years in admissions Harvard University

-Former College Counselor, Saint Paul Academy

-Responsible for the annual review of 2,000 applications

-M.A. in Social Science, University of Chicago

-Currently the Customer Success Manager, Matchbox, Inc.

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IntroductionI’m a firm believer in efficiency. And as passionately as I feel about efficiency, I feel even more strongly about “work-life balance.” In my opinion, these two issues are inherently intertwined—or at least they should be.

If we make a concerted effort to use our time wisely, to think about our methods rather than just repeat what’s been done before or what seems most obvious, we produce better results.

So, after many years in the business, I have decided to write my tips down and share them with undergraduate and graduate readers, rookies and veterans alike.

Here are my seven tips for surviving reading season...

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1. Set your hours and schedule reading like a work dayIt’s important to take the bull by the horns and create a schedule that maximizes your productivity and allows you to keep your head above water. My advice is to treat each day out of the office like it’s a standard work day. Set hours for yourself. Whether it 8-5, 9-6, or some variation on a “typical” work day, wake up, get dressed, and get working.

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“Equally critical to beginning my day early was wrapping things up at a reasonable hour. For me that was 6pm, maybe slightly later if necessary. But never was it so late that I couldn’t meet a friend for dinner or have some down time before going to sleep.”


2. Establish a pace to achieve your goalsAvoid burning out early in the reading season by setting a daily goal for yourself based on both the average time that it takes you to complete one application and the expectations that your admissions director has of you. Know that some days you’ll fall short, and others you’ll find a groove and crush that number by mid-afternoon.

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“Perhaps you know that you need to read more than that “magic” number—so set goals early on rather than leaving a big stack of unread applications for the night before your deadline.”


3.Create a reading day routineThe schedule you set for yourself is a big-picture view of your day, and thus the routine or rhythm you develop is the strategy that you employ to get it all done. Instead of setting out to read 40 applications- chunk them out into groups of eight or ten. Doing so allows you to build in the all-too-important breaks, because reading in groups like this provides you with logical times to pause and clear your head throughout your day. 8


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“No matter how you divide up the work, though, remember to read the application in one fell swoop. It will help you stay on track and minimize the time you waste back-peddling and refreshing your memory on an applicant if you start-and-stop his or her application.”


4. Get in the ‘zone’ by eliminating all distractionsWhen you’re working at home, distractions are everywhere. Laundry, DVR, and the internet all seem to scream your name! So, I encourage you to find your reading spot. Whether it is the kitchen, a chair, or a cushion on the floor, make one place your own for the reading season.

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“One year, when I lived in a studio apartment, that meant moving my favorite chair into the kitchen. No TV, computer, or unmade bed in there!”


5. Organize your applications to provide contextSave time by reading groups of applications from one particular school or program. Reading in this manner allows you to use the content and context provided by the applicants to make educated decisions, without interrupting an evaluation to do your own research.

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“I found that reading in this manner helped me to pick up on discrepancies and be more aware of nuances, and it was especially useful in terms of efficiency.”


6. Don’t be afraid to ask for helpAs you read, make sure you are documenting your questions! Rather than picking up the phone every time you have a question, write them down and send an email to your colleagues or boss after a few days of reading.

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“Nobody benefits from a reader ‘winging it,’ so by all means, lean on your colleagues.”


7. Read with your phone nearby If you need clarity on an applicant, reach out to their guidance counselor or reference. Give the counselor a call while the application is fresh in your mind, or better yet, with it right in front of you. This will save you a great deal of time of re-reading an application to remind yourself what you had questions about!

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“Much of the job of the application evaluator is reading between the lines, and sometimes you need to call up a guidance counselor or teacher and ask, ‘What did you mean by that?’ Or, ‘Why isn’t Sarah taking Physics this year if she wants to be an engineer?’”


About MatchboxWith the Matchbox iPad app, admissions decisions become quicker providing visibility into the incoming class sooner. Founded in 2011, Matchbox already has more than a dozen customers including the graduate programs at MIT and UCLA as well as the undergraduate programs at Spelman College and Colorado College. For more information, please visit www.matchbox.net

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http://www.matchbox.net

http://www.matchbox.net

read like a pro: a survival guide for admissions officers

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