College applications are more competitive than ever, rising by 6% for the 2024-2025 cycle. Understanding the process is key. The College Case study event, organized by college counselors Ms. Beth Downing and Mr. Jeremy Branch, included a wealth of insights, offering students and families a unique opportunity to step into the shoes of admission officers.
On the evening of October 21st, The Haverford School transformed into the fictional “Rosewood University,” with students, parents, and teachers stepping into the roles of college admission officers for the night. Working in a variety of college admission groups alongside 80 real college admissions officers, the participants engaged in the challenging task of evaluating three prospective student applications, deciding whether each applicant should be accepted, waitlisted, or rejected.
The evening sparked intense debate, where groups of students attempted to assess each fictional applicant holistically. They carefully reviewed realistic college submissions: the Common Application, with its sections on family background, awards and extracurricular activities; personal statements; teacher recommendations; and academic transcripts, similar to those from Haverford.
Thirty college admissions officers from universities across the United States attended the event, bringing invaluable perspectives from their respective institutions. They offered unique insights into what truly matters in the admissions process, drawn from their own experiences of reading thousands of applications and essays.
Inside each group, participants found themselves advocating passionately for fictional students, while Haverford students saw how difficult it is to make life-changing decisions with limited information and time. It was particularly powerful to many that there were no clear-cut answers. Groups often reached different conclusions about the same applicant, creating conversations about values, priorities, and how to evaluate potential.
The experience left participants with a deeper understanding not just of college admissions, but of empathy, perspectives, and the complexity of making meaningful and fair decisions about people’s futures.
The Kresge (Form IV) family “especially liked the roleplaying of being part of a college admissions committee and then learning from real college admissions personnel what they focused on in reviewing college applicants.”
This case study event came at a critical time, as the college admissions landscape continues to change. Director of College Counseling Mr. Damian Long emphasizes the college application process as a constantly evolving environment.
“Change is constant. That’s one thing that I can always tell folks in college admissions,” Mr. Long said.
For the 2025 admissions cycle, the college admissions team saw an increase in the number of students applying to a larger range of schools, caused by the national landscape of a higher volume of students applying early decision. A streamlined Digital Common Application also allowed students across the world to easily apply to many US universities.
But would more volume of college applicants actually mean that more people are actually applying to colleges?
Mr. Long said, “That is not necessarily the case. I think for us, in our landscape, certainly we have a high college-going population. But nationally, that’s not necessarily the case… However, the student can only go to one college.”
With students applying to more colleges, schools have to predict who will actually accept them. “Demonstrated interest”—the actions a prospective student takes to show a specific college they are genuinely excited to attend—is a clear data point collected by some colleges to determine the likelihood of whether they would yield this student.
Mr. Long said, “We wanted to give transparency through the case studies. Showing students and families how much engagement matters to colleges as they’re thinking about predicting enrollment in building a class.”
“Identify your values and what’s important to you in the college process first, versus saying, ‘I’m going to pick the schools and make myself fit that college.’”
With competition intensifying at elite institutions—in fact, the average acceptance rate across Ivy League universities dropped to just 5.1%, a sharp decline from 2015’s 8.9%—many families find themselves relying on rankings and prestige to guide their college lists.
But this approach reflects one of the most common misconceptions in the college process.
“There are so many different schools out there. I think that’s why it’s important to identify your values and what’s important to you in the college process first, versus saying, ‘I’m going to pick the schools and make myself fit that college,’” Mr. Long said.
These insights highlight that college “classes” of Ivy, Ivy+, and little Ivies might not reflect who students truly are or want to be. As participants discovered during the Case study event, admissions officers ultimately look for students who will thrive at their respective institutions, not those with the most impressive credentials.
Frank Bruni, author of Where You Go Is Not Who You’ll Be: An Antidote to the College Admissions Mania, cites that top Fortune 500 companies were led by CEOs not holding an Ivy League undergraduate degree. Recent research highlights that only 11.8% of Fortune 100 CEOs attended an Ivy League school as undergraduates, and only 9.8% hold an Ivy League MBA. This data challenges the notion that elite institutional prestige is the sole primary driver of professional success. Rather, it is the qualities that make someone a success, and the ability to create meaningful relationships that can be nurtured at any institution where a student is genuinely engaged and challenged.
The college counseling team emphasizes its support for those overwhelmed by the process every step of the way. Mr. Long emphasises close relationships.
“I’d say definitely through partnerships, through care, through really individualized work together. Our team takes care to be great listeners. It always comes back to the relationship of care, support, and the importance of open communication,” Mr. Long said.
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