A Q&A with Plymouth State University's Andrew Palumbo

1. A Q&A with Plymouth State University’s AVP and
Director of Admissions Andrew Palumbo
sponsoringyoungpeople.org /a-q-and-a-with-andrew-palumbo/
The founder and editor of the admissions blog, The
Admission Insider, where he offers advice and insights to
students and families about the college-going process,
Plymouth State University’s AVP of Enrollment
Management and Director of Admission Andrew Palumbo
says he’s passionate about working to support those
students who need help most.
“I think there tends to be a fear that colleges and universities
are shying away from recruiting low-income and first-
generation students,” he notes. “This is not the case.”
“In fact, it’s the diverse range of backgrounds and
experiences that helps to make our campuses special,” he
says.
Admissions directors like Palumbo are tasked with making
final decisions on whether or not to accept or deny a given student—a decision that can irrevocably affect
their trajectory. Some parents suggest that they are essentially “playing god,” but Palumbo doesn’t see it
that way.
“From a college perspective, schools are trying to do their best to find the right quality and quantity of
students that fit the opportunities that they offer,” he says.
Before arriving at the 6,500-student university in Plymouth, New Hampshire—a part of the University
System of New Hampshire—Palumbo served as director of undergraduate admission at The Sage
Colleges and assistant dean of admission at Union College, his alma mater.
We spoke with him about The Admission Insider, his thoughts on the ‘Early Decision’ college admissions
process, and what, if anything, students can do to stand out from the tens of thousands of other eager
applicants competing for a coveted spot in the Class of 2018.
Andrew, the class is yours…
While I enjoy the opportunity to make personal connections as I have these discussions, prior to creating
TheAdmissionInsider.com, I still felt as if there had to be a better way to get helpful information out to a
larger audience of students and parents who needed it.”
Q: Though I believe it’s no longer still active, you created and wrote for one of the more thoughtful,
insightful admissions blogs I’ve come across online, The Admission Insider. There’s a lot of great
advice there for students and families. What prompted you to want to start blogging about your
field, and why do you think that tools such as blogging, Facebook and Twitter, among others, have
become indispensable from an admissions standpoint?
A: Thank you for the kind words about TheAdmissionInsider.com!

2. Honestly, TheAdmissionInsider.com was born out of a love for helping students navigate the college
admissions process and my frustration with the status quo. Far too often, the students who get the best
college advice are those who can pay for it and/or live in more affluent areas where school budgets can
provide better support services. The students that I meet who need assistance the most, however, tend to
be young men and women who don’t have access to equal resources and advisement.
I regularly seeking out opportunities to speak to individuals and groups of students who fall into the latter
category. While I enjoy the opportunity to make personal connections as I have these discussions, prior to
creating TheAdmissionInsider.com, I still felt as if there had to be a better way to get helpful information
out to a larger audience of students and parents who needed it. I’d love to say that the site’s creation was
a carefully designed plan, but the reality is that I saw a need, a potential vehicle to address that need, and
did my best to execute by creating content and a website that provided an insider’s view to first generation
students, their families, and anyone else who would find my words useful.
The result was the first iteration of what I intend to be a career-long focus on addressing a national gap in
access to adequate college advisement and opportunities. Unfortunately, I had to put
TheAdmissionInsider.com on hold indefinitely as I relocated to Plymouth State University and to begin my
new role here. My first child, Cecelia, was born earlier this month and this has provided me with some time
and motivation to reflect and consider how to restart TheAdmissionInsider.com in a way that provides
more consistently updated information that can be disseminated to students and families better than it ever
has before.
One of the strengths of blogging as a platform is that, even while TheAdmissionInsider.com is not currently
being updated, there are still countless students and parents who can and do use the advice and
information previously shared on the website. My goals for the future are to reach a larger audience than
ever before while also providing more opportunities for individual interaction. It’s one thing to be a voice
that speaks directly to first-generation students and those who are seeking out information from someone
who lives in the world of college admissions every day. My ultimate hope, however, is to provide a two-way
street that allows for a more direct dialogue and addresses the most pressing questions and needs that
my students and families have.
Q: I know you and your staff are currently in the
middle of ‘Early Decision’ season. The common
perception about applying Early Decision is that
colleges and universities tend to look more
favorably on early applicants by recruiting a
higher percentage of students than Regular
Decision students. Is this a fair, somewhat fair or
totally off-based assumption? What are the
advantages and disadvantages of applying early,
as you see them?
A: Early Decision has certainly been a sensitive topic
over the past decade. I will add a disclaimer that I
have worked at institutions that a) offer Early Decision, b) offer Early Action, and c) don’t offer either.
Plymouth State University does not offer Early Decision or Early Action.
In my most popular postings (based on reader feedback) on TheAdmissionInsider.com, titled “College
Application Demystification,” I explained the different types of application decision types so I won’t go
too far into that topic here. Instead, I’ll share my personal view based on my experience working with both
Early Decision and Early Action in past roles.

3. I strongly recommend that students do not apply Early Decision to any institution unless they have visited
the school, can afford the cost of attendance (not just the tuition), and have a strong affinity to the
institution.”
I strongly recommend that students do not apply Early Decision to any institution unless they have visited
the school, can afford the cost of attendance (not just the tuition), and have a strong affinity to the
institution (i.e. they have close friends or family members who have attended and they understand the
experience and culture more than most prospective students would).
From a college perspective, schools are trying to do their best to find the right quality and quantity of
students that fit the opportunities that they offer. Some schools believe that Early Decision is a helpful
tactic in achieving this goal. Personally, I have a bit of trouble understanding how locking a high school
senior into a decision they are asked to make in late summer/early fall is the optimal way to achieve the
“fit” that schools and students alike should be looking for.
There are always news stories and rumors about ABC University using Early Decision to increase their
selectivity by accepting more students through Early Decision (who would then have to attend) so they can
deny a larger percentage of students who apply regular decision. Similar accusations are often made
about XYZ College giving less financial aid and scholarship to students who apply via Early Decision
because these individuals have essentially given up their negotiating power and told the institution that it’s
where they want to attend at the exclusion of all other schools.
Do I believe that my colleagues in higher education that work at Early Decision schools use it in one of
these two ways? For the most part, no.
Early Decision is an odd creature that, in my opinion, has outlasted its usefulness from a student
perspective. Think about it this way:
What are some of the cons of applying Early Decision?
• You give up your right to change your mind.
• You lose bargaining/negotiating power for financial aid and scholarships.
• You finish your college search prematurely. Many students will find an academic passion via a class or
classes that they take during their senior year. If you apply Early Decision to a school that doesn’t have the
major you fall in love with after being exposed to it in your final year of high school, you’re out of luck.
What are the pros of applying Early Decision?
• You find out that you are admitted sooner than if you applied regular decision.
• You may get admitted to a school that otherwise would have waitlisted or denied you.
When I compare the pros and cons above, it seems fairly clear that Early Decision takes away more from
students than it provides. I’ll even take it a step further and suggest that the only real “pro” is the offer of
admission coming at an earlier date. When you consider the fact that Early Action and Rolling Decision are
now very popular offerings at colleges and universities nationwide, why should students have to give away
their ability to choose between offers of admission just in order to find out their decision a bit earlier?
My final comment about a perceived benefit of applying Early Decision addresses the fact that “gaming the
system” and getting admitted to a reach school Early Decision that wouldn’t have admitted you via their
regular decision is a misguided tactic that I strongly advise against. It is important for you to select a
college or university that will challenge you academically, but would you really? want to attend an institution
that normally wouldn’t want you as a student? If you are going to spend 2-4 years at a school, you want to
be sure that it’s a place that wants and appreciates all that you have to offer its community.
Q: What stands out for you most about an applicant? How do candidates distinguish themselves?

4. And I don’t mean in their SAT scores or grade point averages, given that those aspects of their
profile are already essentially set by the fall of their senior year of high school. But how can they
stand out personally?
A well-written essay that tells me a little more about who an applicant is, what he is passionate about, and
what he values helps me better understand the other parts of the application that accompany the essay.”
A: There are many things that can still help a student stand out in the fall of their senior year of high
school. The one that sticks out the most for me tends to be the essay. Students are well served if they
choose to view the application essay more as an opportunity and less as an item on a to do list that needs
to be crossed off. The essay is a rare chance for the applicant to choose a topic and share a piece of his
story. While most parts of the application are somewhat objective, the essay couldn’t be more subjective.
A well-written essay that tells me a little more about who an applicant is, what he is passionate about, and
what he values helps me better understand the other parts of the application that accompany the essay.
Q: In light of what has been going on nationally around the Abigail Fisher v. University of Texas
case, how do you personally—and professionally, as an admissions dean—approach your job with
respects to recruiting a robust class that necessarily includes low-income, first-generation and
other non-traditional college-goers?
I am passionate about the issues of access and equity
in the college admissions process. I believe that the
recruitment of all students, including those you
describe in the question above, starts with education.
As an admissions professional, I work just as much for
the prospective students that I come across as I do for
the university that employs me. This belief was a
motivating factor in creating
TheAdmissionInsider.com.
Part of my role is to educate students on the college
search process and applying to schools. The earlier
this can happen (within reason), the better. The early
high school years are the perfect time to begin having conversations with students about what their
passions are, the goals that they have for their future, and what they will need to do in order to reach these
goals. If I do this well and equitably, I will reach a broad cross-section of students with varying
backgrounds.
In addition to educating students on the college process, I also partner with high schools, counselors,
community-based organizations and other groups that will assist me in reaching these students. I think
there tends to be a fear that colleges and universities are shying away from recruiting low-income and first-
generation students. This is not the case. In fact, it’s the diverse range of backgrounds and experiences
that helps to make our campuses special.
In my professional career, I have carefully chosen to work at institutions that appreciate and search for this
type of an inclusive community. While some schools may have quotas, differing standards, or employ other
tactics that they believe may help their goals in this areas (whatever those specific goals may be), I believe
that the best way to recruit is to educate all types of students and partner with a broad range of individuals
and organizations. When this is done, I have found that under-represented and under-supported students
tend to find my institution in a more organic way.

5. In my personal opinion, I don’t believe that the best way to address the inequity of college access is any
type of proposed “quick fix” that some schools employ. Instead, it starts with education and outreach.
There are systemic problems that lead to this inequity and these issues can only truly be combated when
faced head on.
Consider the value of the education that you will be paying for. Don’t just stop at retention and graduation
rates. Really research the opportunities that the schools offer. Whether you are interested in
undergraduate research, traveling abroad, having internships, etc., you should be investigating how
possible it is at these institutions and what they do to help you succeed.”
Q: I’m a high school senior. It’s, we’ll say, September, at the outset of the school year. What are the
three most important things my family and I should be considering right now in terms of college
admissions?
A: 1. What type of school is right for you? Size, location, access to faculty, academic opportunities, majors
offered, etc.
2. Consider all of your options: Don’t ignore a school simply because it’s a two-year or four-year, or
because it’s private or public. The best college lists are ones that have a balance of opportunities and don’t
close any doors too soon.
3. Value and cost: It’s never too early to consider the value and cost of your education. First, a school’s
tuition is not the “cost” of attendance. Consider the full amount (including all fees, housing, meals,
transportation costs, books, etc.) it will cost to attend the schools you are considering. Once you have a
ballpark for this figure you’ll be prepared down the line to subtract any grants or scholarships that you
receive from this amount and have a reasonable comparison of a true cost of attendance at the schools
you are accepted to. This cost, while very important, shouldn’t be the only factor. Consider the value of the
education that you will be paying for. Don’t just stop at retention and graduation rates. Really research the
opportunities that the schools offer. Whether you are interested in undergraduate research, traveling
abroad, having internships, etc., you should be investigating how possible it is at these institutions and
what they do to help you succeed. If someone tells you, “getting the degree is all that matters”, stop and
think real hard about that. The value of a college education goes far beyond the piece of paper that may
open some doors for you down the road. It’s what you do and learn during this time that will continue to
provide opportunities to you throughout the course of your life.
Q: Any idea when we can expect to see a bigger, better The Admission Insider back in action?
A: I’m hoping to get things back up and running in summer 2014. A lot has happened over the past year to
lead to this unplanned hiatus, but I hope to use my spare time leading up to a restart to come up with new
ways to engage my readers and have a more in-depth dialogue with all of the students who come to my
website.
That being said, if there are questions/topics for future discussions on TheAdmissionInsider.com please
email them to me at theadmissioninsider@gmail.com.
Also read…
• 10 Colleges Where Early Applicants Have the Advantage (PHOTO GALLERY) (News)
• The #EarlyDecision in Admissions Advantage (TWITTER PHOTO GALLERY) (News)
• Plymouth State University Will No Longer Require SAT/ACT Test Score