Oakwood Families Participate in College Admission Committee

Admission officers from seven colleges -- Florida, Franklin & Marshall, Nevada - Reno, Oregon, Seton Hall, Tennessee, and Washington State -- visited campus on March 26 to guide 10th and 11th-grade families through a college admission case study. Participants holistically evaluated three mock applications to fictitious Lake Washington University and decided which applicant to admit, waitlist, and deny. Like real admission officers, Oakwood families had to balance Lake Washington's institutional priorities and needs as they rendered admission decisions. Oakwood families discovered how grades and test scores, while important in college admissions, are not the sole criterion for admission at highly selective colleges. Often gleaned from recommendations and essays, traits such as intellectual vitality, empathy, resilience, innovation, and openness to change are sought-after qualities by colleges.