5 Questions for the Dean

Andrew Flagel, Brandeis University

Andrew Flagel, Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment at Brandeis University, joins us this month to answer our questions about the private liberal arts university located in Waltham, Massachusetts.

About 3,500 undergraduates live and study on the 235-acre Brandeis campus, which is close enough to Boston to enjoy a view of that city’s skyline. Founded in 1948, the university is named for Louis Brandeis, the first Jewish Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Its origin story continues to inform the school’s mission and milieu — but we will let Mr. Flagel tell you more about that.

In the meantime, some fun facts:

Roger J. Thompson, University of Oregon

Roger J. Thompson, Vice Provost of Enrollment Management at University of Oregon, joins us this month to answer our questions about admissions and the state's flagship public university.

Founded in 1876, University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges, including Arts and Sciences, Architecture, Business, Education, Journalism and Communication, Music and Dance, and an Honors College. Located on 295 acres in the Willamette Valley, between the Pacific Ocean and the Cascade Mountains, the Eugene campus hosts about 20,600 undergraduates.

Fun facts:

J. Robert Spatig, University of South Florida

J. Robert Spatig, Director of Admissions at the University of South Florida, joins us to answer five questions this month -- and even treated us to a bonus sixth answer!

A public research university, USF is located in the Tampa Bay region of the Sunshine State, home to the NCAA Division I Bulls and one of the nation's top centers for the advancement in research of treatments for Alzheimer'sParkinson's andHuntington's diseases.  Join Spatig here to learn more about the students and the admission process of this incredibly diverse university that enrolls more than 47,000 students across four campuses.

Douglas Christiansen, Vanderbilt University

Our inaugural dean answering five questions for us in 2012 is Douglas Christiansen, Vice Provost for Enrollment and Dean of Admissions, at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.  Founded in 1873, Vanderbilt is a private research university with an enrollment of approximately 12,000 students, including almost 6,800 undergraduates. Christiansen oversees the selection and enrollment of  each year's incoming freshman class -- about 1,600 students -- as well as the offices of Student Financial Aid and Honors Scholarships. Join him here to learn more about the kind of student that thrives at Vanderbilt, how the Admissions office makes decisions,  why he believes the school's two rounds of Early Decision are a good idea, and how the future is shaping up on the 330-acre campus, part of which is a registered National Historic Landmark.

Jennifer Delahunty, Kenyon College

This month, we have turned the interview tables on Jennifer Delahunty of Kenyon College to ask her our 5 Questions for the Dean. In addition to her work as the Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at the 1600-student Gambier, Ohio, campus, Delahunty is a well-known writer on all things admissions. (Full disclosure: we have been lucky enough to participate in one of her editorial projects!) In 2006, an op-ed she penned for the New York Times on gender issues in admissions, To All the Girls I've Rejected, went viral. It's just one example of the honesty and transparency that she brings to the admission process in all that she does.  Join her here to gain some of her trademark insight into Kenyon -- the classroom, the campus, and the admission office -- and some of her sage advice for parenting through the process.

Lee A. Coffin, Tufts University

This month 5 Questions for the Dean is delighted to host Lee A. Coffin, Dean of Undergraduate Admissions at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. Join Dean Coffin to hear more about Tufts' creative "optional" essays and the school's future direction. And did you know that the Tufts all-male a cappella group The Beelzebubs are the voice behind Glee's Warblers?!?

1. Tufts is known for its “optional” essays on the application—for example, creating a video, or the direction to do something with a piece of paper.  What is the value of giving applicants an alternate means of expressing themselves?

 

There are a couple of important questions bunched together in this one, so let me split up my answer.

Pamela T. Horne, Purdue University

Each month we invite a Dean of Admission to answer five questions. We may ask their best advice for applicants, how their office reads applications, their favorite thing on campus, or the most surprising fact about their college or university. If you'd like to pose a question to a Dean of Admission or if you'd like to nominate a Dean for us to feature, please email us at authors@collegeadmissionbook.com.

This month, we are pleased to welcome Pamela T. Horne, Purdue University's Associate Vice Provost for Enrollment Management and Dean of Admissions, as our interviewee from the other side of the desk.

James G. Nondorf, The University of Chicago

James G. Nondorf

Each month we'll pose five questions to a Dean of Admission. We may ask their best advice for applicants, how their office reads applications, their favorite thing on campus, or the most surprising fact about their college or university. If you'd like to pose a question to a Dean of Admission or if you'd like to nominate a Dean for us to feature, please email us at authors@collegeadmissionbook.com.

We are proud to present our first interviewee from the other side of the desk -- James G. Nondorf, Vice President and Dean of College Admissions and Financial Aid at The University of Chicago.

1. How can a student stand out when applying to the University of Chicago?

Many qualified applicants to the University of Chicago have excelled academically, have challenged themselves with rigorous coursework, and are engaged in extracurricular activities and the community. The students that stand out are the ones who demonstrate a level of intellectual curiosity, creativity, and honesty in their applications.

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