Playing the admissions game

If you were an admissions counselor, which student would you admit?

That was the role-reversal game played at Penn Charter as part of its college-prep program. The idea was to give students insight into the factors colleges consider.

Students and parents acted as admissions officers at fictitious "East Falls University." They were led by representatives of seven colleges.

Of four "applicants," two could be admitted, one put on a wait list and one rejected.

"Does anybody really like Elizabeth?" asked an admissions officer.

"Her essay was really strong," one parent said.

Another disagreed: "It says the same thing three times."

In the end, the group wait-listed Stephen, who had the highest SAT scores and alumni parents.

"Are you comfortable putting the person with the highest scores on the waitlist?" the officer asked.

They said yes.

The group admitted two multicultural students, one of them a first generation college student. They rejected Elizabeth, who could most afford to pay full freight.

"Whew. I could never be an admissions officer," senior Kirby Dixon said, stressed by the difficult decision.