Want to know what your university thought about you? It’s kind of terrifying, like if there was a Lulu for ladies… but at the same time, aren’t you dying to know how you got in?
A crew of Stanford students figured out how to find out out what the admissions office had said about them. They were able to see comments from the admissions team (including criticism), and even information about how everything from minority status to being a legacy impacted their application.
Students at Stanford are encouraging everyone to come forward and ask for information, to figure out what exclusive schools are really looking for. All you have to do is request access under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, which requires schools to provide students access to their educational records.
Most people don’t know about FERPA, and almost no one knows that it can be used to give you access to your own admission files. At Stanford it’s estimated that almost 700 students have already requested their admission information.
It looks like the movie Admission might be more real than we think, minus the whole Paul Rudd and Tina Fey in love part. If you’re looking for your own information, check out the full instructions on how to access all of your school’s secrets. Unfortunately, you’d probably prefer to know what the colleges that rejected you think… but that’s not a possibility right now (which should be kind of a relief).
