The Gatekeepers: Perception and Reality Behind the Wesleyan Admission Process

The Gatekeepers: Inside the Admissions Process of a Premier College, by Jacques Steinberg, education reporter for The New York Times, offers an inside look at Wesleyan’s admission process. From fall 1999 to spring 2000, Steinberg followed Ralph Figueroa, former Wesleyan associate dean of admission, and his eight colleagues through the daunting task of recruiting students nationwide, reviewing applications, and meeting to finalize the incoming class. Using real names, applications, and interviews, the author describes objective and subjective criteria used to select freshmen, and the anxiety of students waiting to hear if they’re among the chosen. Join a lively discussion of The Gatekeepers, the admission process today, and the challenge of winnowing some 7,000 applicants to a class of 700 freshmen each year.

Presenters: Nancy Hargrave Meislahn, Dean of Admission and Financial Aid; Justin Harmon P ’05, Director of University Communications