If you’ve attended a college information session or spoken to an admissions counselor recently, you may have heard the term “holistic admission” or the phrase “We use a holistic review approach” in reference to reviewing applicants. But what does that actually mean—and how does it impact the way your application is reviewed?
In this post, we’ll break down what holistic admissions really involves, why more colleges are using this approach, and how you can prepare a compelling application that reflects your full potential.
What Does Holistic Admissions Mean?
When a school uses a holistic admissions approach, it means that they consider every part of a student’s application to make a decision. They can equally consider an applicant’s experience beyond their academic performance, including their extracurricular involvement, their writing skills, their demonstrated interest in a college, their major, where they’re from, and many other factors to make a positive decision and admit a student.
Why Do Schools Use a Holistic Admissions Approach?
As college admissions becomes more competitive, with many students boasting perfect grades, test scores, and essays, colleges have to look beyond the numbers to differentiate students from one another. Using a holistic approach allows colleges to consider other non-academic factors that might make a student particularly active or a good fit at a college.
Additionally, many schools want to create a diverse student body with different strengths and interests. Imagine going to a school where 50% of the student population were presidents of the same club and wanted to major in Psychology—that would not only limit your peers’ perspectives, but would also strain the major department’s resources! Holistic admissions also allows schools to put emphasis on different parts of the application to bring in as many different types of students as possible.
It’s important to note that holistic admissions process might look different from school to school. For example, MIT likely places more emphasis on academics than essays. To understand what each college is looking for, we encourage you to take a look at the Common Data Set.
The Key Elements of Holistic Admissions
Academics
Most universities will tell students that academics are the #1, MOST important part of the holistic review process. Even as they consider other factors, they still want to admit students that they feel are prepared for the level of academic rigor at their university. They will consider your grades, test scores, the difficulty of the curriculum you pursued, your rank, and even your academic performance compared with peers from your school.
For competitive majors like Computer Science, Nursing, Engineering, or Business, they will pay special attention to your STEM curriculum. HelloCollege counselors are well-versed in competitive admissions criteria and will help make sure your student takes the right classes to be admitted to these highly competitive programs.
Extracurriculars
Admissions committees will also consider what you’re involved in outside of the classroom. Extracurricular activities include school-sanctioned clubs and sports, external organizations like regional sports teams or regional theater productions, jobs, internships, volunteer work, and even family commitments and responsibilities! Schools want to see that you are a member of and contribute to different communities.
Essays
Most US schools ask for and consider a personal statement in the admissions process. Some colleges also ask students to complete supplemental essays that help counselors better understand your interest in attending college and your interest in their specific college or university. Every essay is an opportunity for you to show the admissions committee who you are in your own voice—take advantage! Our HelloCollege essay coaches are a great resource in helping you best express yourself in these essays.
Letters of Recommendation
Some schools in the US require letters of recommendation, others consider it optional. Either way, letters of recommendation provide valuable insight into a student’s qualities and strengths from an external perspective. Even if they aren’t required, having a letter or two from a teacher that you know well can only help a counselor find a reason to admit you!
Demonstrated Interest
Some universities also value demonstrated interest. Demonstrated interest is the process of showing a school that you are interested in them by engaging with them in some manner—taking a tour, emailing your admissions counselor, meeting your admissions representative at a college fair, or even just opening one of their emails. Demonstrated interest is often a deciding final factor between students with similar profiles. It’s important to make a positive impression when engaging with universities in this way; your HelloCollege counselor can help you strategize!
And more…
There are many other parts of the holistic review process that play a role beyond what you personally provide the university. For example, some colleges look for students with personal qualities that match the university’s values, so students who highlight that value in their essay may be seen as a better match than another who doesn’t. Some schools look for students from specific states and countries, prioritize students who apply for certain majors, look for athletes from specific disciplines… the list goes on!
The bottom line is that anything that an admissions counselor can confer or infer from your application is fair game. A HelloCollege counselor can make sure that all of those pieces are polished and present for a holistic review process.
How Do I Know If A School Uses Holistic Admissions?
- Look at the school website. The Admissions website at a school or college will often mention if they use a holistic approach in their admissions process.
- Ask an admissions counselor. If you have the opportunity to meet an admissions representative from the college, ask them directly! This is a great question to ask at a college fair, information session, or college visit.
- Follow their admissions social media accounts. They will likely have posts discussing holistic admissions somewhere in their history.
- Ask your college counselor. If you have exhausted your resources and aren’t sure if the school uses holistic admissions, ask your school or college counselor. They are experts on many different colleges and will likely know the answer or be able to connect with someone who can answer it.
How Do I Stand Out in Holistic Admissions?
If you want to stand out in a holistic admissions review, it is important to highlight your achievements both in and outside of the classroom. Academics are typically the most important part, so earning great grades, taking difficult classes, and continuing to perform better in harder classes year over year is key. Our HelloCollege tutors do great work in helping our students look academically strong.
Outside of the classroom, we recommend getting involved in activities you love and taking any opportunities you can to become a leader among your peers. The counselors at HelloCollege can help you discover summer programs, research opportunities, internships, and independent research programs that can help you reach superstar status outside the classroom. To learn more, schedule a free consultation!
Conclusion
The phrase “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts” explains the concept of holistic admissions well. Colleges want a full picture of a student’s personal, professional, academic, and social life in order to make an informed admissions decision. Colleges that use holistic admissions want to see you as a whole person; if you want to make sure your application allows for that, reach out and get connected with a HelloCollege counselor!
