CampusPin Glossary
Holistic review
An admissions process that weighs essays, recommendations, activities, and context alongside grades and test scores instead of using a strict numeric formula.
Holistic review evaluates the whole applicant — academic record (rigor of curriculum, GPA, test scores when submitted), context (school profile, family background, opportunities available), character (essays, recommendations, interviews), and contributions (activities, leadership, work, service, talents). Selective and highly selective U.S. colleges use holistic review almost universally; most large public universities use a more formula-driven approach plus targeted holistic review for borderline cases.
Under holistic review, two applicants with identical GPAs and test scores can receive different decisions because of essay quality, recommendation strength, course rigor, or context.
See also
Acceptance rate
The percentage of applicants admitted to a college in a given year, calculated as admitted students divided by total applicants.
Demonstrated interest
A signal a school tracks to gauge how likely an admitted student is to enroll — visits, emails, info-sessions, and application-essay specificity.
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