Applying for college is probably one of the most difficult experiences you will go through in your high school years, and the thing is—that’s only where the stress begins! Once you’ve applied, there’s the whole waiting game you have to play, where you’re left in the dark for months, wondering if the admissions department of your dream school has marked your application with a big fat yes.
But what if you could see your file, uncover what admissions officers wrote about you (yes, it’s much more thorough process than just a check!), and read about how well you matched up to their standards? Well, that’s what a few Stanford students recently discovered they (and you!) have the power to do.
Last week, a group of students who run anonymous newsletter The Fountain Hopper at the prestigious university publicly revealed their discovery: Under a federal law enacted in 1974, students have the right to see their educational records. Upon the initial finding, some of the students began requesting their records. One student was astonished to be given hundreds of pages that included not only his admissions information, but also a record of every time he opened a door with his ID. As far as the admissions documentation goes, the student was given assessments made by members of the admissions department, in addition to ratings of how fit he or she was for the school in terms of grades, test scores and personal qualities, according to the New York Times.
While this student group’s discovery may crack open what had been a pretty secretive world, don’t get your hopes up in thinking you’re going to receive all of the files from schools you got rejected from, because many only cater to the requests of current students. The group is now encouraging others to write and request their own files, even providing suggested language for the request.
Do you think this move will help make the admissions process more transparent? Is this a step in the right direction, or is it best that the process remain behind closed doors?