301: Behind the Scenes of an Admission Counselor's Life w/ Kati Sweany

The College Essay Guy Podcast: A Practical Guide to College Admissions

This episode I'm with with Kati Sweaney, Senior Assistant Dean of Admission at Reed College. It's the first in a series of interviews with current and former college admissions officers where we go behind the scenes to let you know how things work.

In this episode we get into:

• The life of an admission officer, including what their travel season is like
• Do’s and don’ts for that initial email to an admissions office
• What is demonstrated interest?
• Why it matters for colleges to predict who attends their school
• Some other ways students can demonstrate interest
• Additional info sections that made a difference
• How fast do admissions officers read the application?
• How many essays has Kati read?
• Kati’s do’s and don'ts for the application essays

Resources:

• College Essay Guy Interview Guide
• Guide to Demonstrated Interest
• Ira Glass on Storytelling

Play-by-play:

[2:00] How Kati got into admissions

[3:42] What kind of person is drawn to working in admissions?

[5:30] What is travel season for admissions reps?

[10:05] Why do college reps travel to so many high schools?

[13:55] A little bit about college fairs

[16:13] Examples of how students stood out at college fairs

[19:50] Some do’s and don’ts for the initial email to admissions offices

[22:44] What is demonstrated interest?

[26:37] Why it matters for colleges to predict who attends their school

[29:27] Some other ways students can demonstrate interest

[32:00] Additional info sections that made a difference

[34:50] How fast do admissions officers read the application?

[39:17] How many essays has Kati read?

[40:40] Kati’s do’s and don'ts for the application essays

[43:50] Why those tiny details are so important in an essay

[45:25] A few college essays that stood out (after reading 25,000 essays)

[54:16] Kati’s advice for parents

[56:54] What Kati hopes students will keep in mind throughout this process

This episode was initially recorded in the fall of 2019, so you may notice some pre-pandemic language used.