407: Behind the Scenes of an Admission Office + Supplemental Essay Deep Dive w/ Rick Diaz
On today’s episode I got to sit down with Rick Diaz, the Regional Director of Admission for Southern Methodist University (SMU) and someone I’ve known for more than 15 years. We have a pretty wide ranging discussion that covers:
- A behind-the-scenes look at how SMU reads applications and how they shape a class—and what that even means
- Then we dive into supplemental essays — in particular the impacts of the Supreme Court’s decision to ban race-conscious admission — and how that decision has led to a large number of selective schools changing or adding new supplemental essay prompts.
- We nerd out on Rick’s favorite supplemental essay—the “Why us” essay—talk a little about college majors and then—I think, Rick maybe has a little a-ha moment about when his interest in his own college major began
- We play a little game I made up on the chat called “What do students get wrong about…”
- And finally we discuss dos and don’ts for making a connection with your regional admission officers including (spoiler alert) why you maybe shouldn’t show up at their house with a box of their favorite cookies… unless you kinda’ want to freak them out a little?
I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.
Play-by-play
- 0:00 - Welcome to the podcast
- 01:32 - Who is Rick Diaz?
- 02:35 - What’s Rick’s role at Southern Methodist University (SMU)?
- 06:04 - How does SMU read applications?
- 08:44 - How long does Rick spend on reading an application?
- 10:42 - What are institutional priorities and how do they shape decisions in a college?
- 13:05 - What is the relationship between supplemental essays and institutional priorities?
- 16:29 - What are colleges looking for when their supplemental question is “Why us?”
- 17:21 - This year’s supplemental prompts at SMU
- 18:14 - Should you talk about your diversity in your college essays?
- 21:01 - An exercise in diversity
- 23:32 - What are colleges thinking about right now surrounding supplemental essays?
- 25:55 - Rick reacts to supplemental prompts from other schools
- 26:07 - Rick reacts to a prompt about being different
- 27:34 - Rick reacts to a prompt about your identity and goals
- 29:41 - How did Rick figure out his major in college?
- 32:46 - What is demonstrated interest and how important is it?
- 38:16 - Why do colleges care who is more likely to enroll?
- 40:25 - Do’s and Don’t’s of reaching out to your admissions officer
- 43:01 - What students get wrong about admissions
- 43:14 - How important are extracurriculars & summer planning?
- 44:41 - What about the personal statement?
- 47:03 - Is it true that the personal statement or supplemental essay can impact some students more than others?
- 49:00 - What about Standardized testing?
- 51:00 - What Rick loves about this work
- 52:41 - What should families keep in mind during this process?
- 57:07 - Wrap-up and additional resources
Resources
The “If You Really, Really Knew Me” Exercise (Template)
This practical, comprehensive exercise helps students generate a list of identities, skills, qualities, and skills they can share with colleges. It’s one of our favorites here at CEG—if you use it, just give us a shout-out. :)
The Social Identities Exercise (Template)
This exercise is another favorite and is useful for helping students think about diversity and identity in both broader and more nuanced ways. Includes a guide for counselors, facilitators, and parents.
How to Answer the “Diversity” (and Other Related) Supplemental Essay Prompts (Blog Article)
