Do No Harm: Admission Officer Sensemaking of the High School Counselor Recommendation Letter

• In Event: Guiding Voices: The Critical Role of Coaching, Mentoring, and Advising for Student Success

Abstract

The college admissions landscape is rapidly changing, thereby placing increased emphasis on subjective criteria and granting greater influence to a key institutional actor: the admissions officer. The purpose of this study is to better understand how admission officers make sense of their role in the admissions process, specifically reviewing school counselor letters of recommendation.

Authors

• Mandy Savitz-Romer, Harvard University

• Luke Brown, Boston College

• Stephanie Carroll, University of Michigan

• Heather T. Rowan-Kenyon, Boston College

• Ryan Creps, Boston College