As much as we understand the concept of holistic admissions, it’s hard to remember how it actually works. I’ve talked to many, many people—both students and adults—who can tell you what holistic admissions means, but then go on to say that it’s “really” all about test scores. Or that someone got into a particular college because of their essay. Or didn’t get into a particular college because of their essay. But holistic means that there’s not one single piece of information that leads to your acceptance or denial. It’s just hard to really believe that colleges take the whole application into consideration, and then evaluate it in a nebulous, non-checklist kind of way. So let’s use an analogy to perhaps make the process more intuitive.
