Category: Best Practices

Exploring Maker Portfolios

For engineering programs, the ongoing challenges of identifying best-fit candidates and filling seats has been made even tougher than ever this year. Pandemic-driven declines in international enrollment and necessary concessions toward a test-optional environment have meant that admissions and enrollment teams have fewer options and fewer insights to work with. Plenty of experts talk about the value of holistic review in this setting. When we are struggling to collect “more/better,” the notion ofRead More

When the Show Must Go On: How a Prestigious Dallas Arts High School Saved its College Showcase during COVID-19 and Put Students and Recruiters Center Stage

The Booker T Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, Texas has a reputation that precedes itself in several notable ways.  Founded in 1922, this award-winning Arts Magnet and member of the Dallas Independent School District was Dallas’ first high school for African American students. Renamed for Black community leader andRead More

Why Application Portfolios Are Here to Stay

Are application portfolios a niche tool for art schools, or will they become an integral component in the future of college admissions? At the 2020 Common Application Virtual Summit, undergraduate admissions officers discussed why more programs should incorporate portfolios, and shared best practices for how to do so effectively. Becky Chassin, Assistant Dean Undergraduate AdmissionRead More

6 Ways for Your Admissions Office to Maintain Operational Continuity with SlideRoom™

During these unprecedented times, maintaining operational continuity is one of the biggest challenges and top priorities for businesses and organizations of all types. For your higher education institution, that can mean anything from continuing to deliver quality instruction to maintaining your application review processes without having access to your physical admissions office. Read on forRead More

High School Counselor’s Guide to SlideRoom

High School Counselors and Teachers often reach out to us with questions about how they can help students who will be using SlideRoom to apply to colleges and universities. Now, there’s an easy-to-use guide that any staff member can reference when guiding their students through the SlideRoom application process: The High School Counselor’s Guide toRead More

How Admissions Missed the Next Einstein

When Sabrina Pasterski was applying for undergraduate admissions, she was rejected by Harvard and waitlisted by MIT … until they saw a video of her building an airplane. Due to Sabrina’s persistence, this video was eventually seen by Professors Allen Haggerty and Earll Murman who strongly advocated for her. “Our mouths were hanging open afterRead More

Recommender Evaluation Forms

SlideRoom’s feature set for collecting letters of reference has just been expanded so a recommender can evaluate an applicant. In addition to plain text entry and PDF uploads, institutions may now design their own evaluation form and have those presented to recommenders. This will help assist in collecting more targeted information about applicants. The exampleRead More