By wpengine September 23, 2002
In an attempt to de-mystify the college admissions process, New York Times reporter Jacques Steinberg’s new book The Gatekeepers offers a personal account of the complex application process. Cornell appears in several capacities throughout the text, primarily through the story of one such Wesleyan applicant, Rebecca Jannol ’04, now a student in the College of Arts and Sciences’ College Scholar Program. The Gatekeepers, released Sept. 12, follows Ralph Figueroa and the admissions committee at Wesleyan University as they worked to narrow 7,000 applicants to fill 700 seats for the Class of 2004. The narrative also features the personal history and experience of several high school seniors Figueroa encountered during the Wesleyan selection process. “I think that the only way for an outsider to understand this process is to actually watch it happen. I got in there and I’m trying to give readers the same experience,” Steinberg said. “I really wrote it with parents and kids in mind, to inject a bit of sanity into the process.” Jannol initially caught the attention of Steinberg for her decision to discuss in her college essay a disciplinary incident that had occurred when she was a high school sophomore. Steinberg recounts how Figueroa stood up to many of his colleagues who viewed the incident — taking a bite of a pot brownie — negatively. While Jannol was ultimately accepted to Wesleyan after placement on the wait list, Steinberg’s analysis of her application at Cornell and at Wesleyan offers a poignant portrayal of the efforts that admissions officers make on behalf of students whom they believe deserve to attend their respective institutions. “An application is just these pieces of paper that can become people to certain admissions officers, like Ralph Figueroa and Ken Gabard [assistant dean for the College of Arts and Sciences]. That’s what this book shows,” Jannol said in response to the discussion of her application. “This book gives perspective students some sort of hope because it shows that there is no formula for success,” she added. The Gatekeepers developed from a series that Steinberg wrote for the Times as an educational correspondent. Steinberg said he hopes the story will serve as a “counterpoint” to the typical instructional books that claim to offer a successful approach to admissions. “I felt very strongly that college how-to guides were really irresponsible. The process is much more complicated and not as easy as these books made it out to be,” he said. According to Steinberg, Wesleyan served as a paradigm of a highly competitive institution working to narrow a large collection of applicants to a fraction of positions. While schools such as Bates College and Bowdoin College consider the SAT’s optional, Wesleyan followed a relatively typical admissions process, specifically for its partial reliance on the SAT’s. “I definitely wanted to follow an admissions office under a lot of pressure. Wesleyan has 7,000 applicants for 700 freshman seats,” Steinberg said. “I have a broad portfolio with national college correspondence. Wesleyan was one of the few highly selective schools that would have me because this is such a secretive process.” Steinberg cited as an example of the similarities in the admissions processes the experience of Nancy Hargrave Meislahn ’75 who served as the director of admissions at Wesleyan during the selection of the Class of 2004. Hargrave Meislahn entered that position days after leaving her post at Cornell in the fall of 1999 after nearly 20 years. “I think what sets us apart is the involvement of the faculty. In Arts and Sciences, faculty are reading applications ar every stage. It offers a lot more insight into the applicant. They are looking for key elements like intellectual enthusiasm, intellectual engagement and involvement. That’s their bread and butter,” Gabard said. In response to the circumstances involving Jannol’s admission, Gabard said that he viewed the incident surrounding Jannol’s essay as an ultimate triumph. “At Cornell, in Arts and Sciences, we’ve always felt that if students made a mistake, faced it, dealt with it and the school knows about it, then we’re fine with that. And you move on and look for things that the student can contribute to the campus,” Gabard said. In reacting to The Gatekeepers, Gabard said, “I hope that, in general, this book will encourage families to be adventurous. If they’re interested in applying to an institution they should go for it. Not just at Cornell, but at peer institutions as well, a lot of personal attention is paid to the applicants, into the backgrounds and personalities of students applying.” Jannol echoed Gabard’s sentiments, encouraging future applicants to share their personal stories in the application process. “If there is any way that an applicant can let his or her voice be heard, that’s so much more meaningful than scores,” Jannol said. Steinberg’s interest in the college admissions process began during his own application process. “I had gotten into Dartmouth for the class of ’88 from a small public high school. My SAT’s were below median for the class I was admitted to with 9,000 applicants and 1,000 seats. I had always wondered why and thought someday I’d like to figure out how the process works,” Steinberg said. After graduating from Dartmouth, Steinberg briefly worked for the Hartford Courant before entering a position as a clerk for a columnist at the New York Times Washington Bureau. Then, after a month-long tryout and then a year-long trial period with the Times, Steinberg became a staff writer. He is currently a national education correspondent. Last week, Steinberg began a 28-day tour of 18 cities where he said he anticipates speaking to audiences of mostly parents and students. He plans to continue writing for the Times after his return from the book tour.Archived article by Laura Rowntree
By wpengine September 23, 2002
Over 800 students arrived between Friday and Sunday at Bartels Hall to purchase men’s hockey season tickets. This weekend marked the first implementation of the much publicized “new system,” designed to ensure that the most dedicated fans received first choice of seats. Some arrived over 80 hours in advance of the actual ticket sale, while several hundred arrived in order to camp out on Friday night. Publicized plans called for fans to start lining up at 4 p.m. on Friday afternoon and wait overnight at Bartels’ Ramin Room in order to be issued a line number. Each line number entitled its holder to purchase up to two tickets. Line numbers were scheduled to be issued at 1 p.m. on Saturday, and students hoping to buy tickets would have to wait in the Ramin Room until 11 p.m. on Saturday and return Sunday morning to select their tickets. Instead, Gene Nighman, director of athletic ticketing, and his staff began handing out line numbers at approximately 10 p.m., allowing about half of the earliest arrivals to leave for the night. Even though the official line-up began at 4 p.m., many students were waiting days before. Andrew Keisner ’05 arrived at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, 87 hours prior to the start of ticket sales and 66 hours prior to the planned issuance of line numbers. “I stopped by during the day between my classes on Wednesday to see what was going on, then I came here at about six. They kicked me out.” Not willing to risk losing the number one spot, Keisner returned several times Wednesday night and all day Thursday, repeatedly being told to leave. “I came back again on Thursday at 8 p.m., and a I slept outside overnight. It was freezing.” He was once again ordered by ticketing officials to leave. Returning at 3 p.m. on Friday, Keisner discovered that a line was forming near the Biotechnology building. “There were several people there by the time I walked to the [unofficial] line on Friday. They let me go in front of them because they knew when I got there.” Keisner, however, did not receive the number one spot in line. Once tickets were issued, C.J. Minchoff ’05 held Line Number 1. Margaret Sopher ’06, holding line number 14, reported that she had arrived far in advance of the official start of the line as well. “I got here on Thursday at 11 p.m., and was forced to leave. I came back at 1 p.m., and was forcibly removed by Gene [Nighman] at five.” Sopher also could not be stopped. “I came back at eight that night and then again on Friday at one. There were enough people who had remembered me to let me ahead of the line that had formed.” “I’m a huge hockey fan,” said Sopher, commenting on her dedication to getting her choice of hockey tickets. “It’s one of the reasons I chose this school.” Many students were upset about the length of the process as they waited to enter the Ramin Room. “It’s a waste of my time and my weekend,” said Marc Weiskopf ’05, “but I’ll do what I have to to get my tickets.” “This is bullshit,” said Mike Lepage ’05, one of several hundred students waiting in line outside of Bartels Hall. “Last year was great — I came out at nine or 10 at night and it was just fine. I ended up with some pretty good seats in [section] D and they let us go at 7 a.m.” “It’s fun! I’ve been out her for four hours and I’m still amused,” said Irena Djuric ’06. “I’m more of a hockey fan already.” “They forced us into the hot, stuffy Ramin room but wouldn’t let my dog — who had spent as many if not more hours out there than most of these people — come in,” said Chad Rekasie ’05. However, shortly after 10 p.m. on Friday night, Nighman announced the immediate issuance of line numbers, approximately 15 hours ahead of schedule. Once line numbers were issued, each person could hold up to two line numbers, allowing half of the waiting fans to leave. The remaining students came well-equipped for their overnight campout in the Ramin room. Many students came with televisions, VCRs, laptop computers, couches and various games and sports equipment in addition to an abundance of study materials. By Saturday morning, the Ramin room had taken on a pungent odor, best described as a mixture of pizza and sweat. Many students likened the odor to that of Lynah Rink during the Harvard game. “I’m definitely finding a way of sneaking in a lobster,” Sopher said in regard to the Harvard game. “I figure dead fish could not smell any worse than this gym does now.”Archived article by Chris Mitchell