Every year in late winter, a slew of applications are available for students to apply to for the numerous leadership programs at Choate. Previously, staggered application deadlines and the need to answer questions for the various applications made applying to multiple positions strenuous. To combat this, the faculty advisers of the various programs created the Choate CommonAPP, a streamlined application system in which students complete only one application even if applying for multiple leadership positions.
The idea was suggested last year by Ms. Courtney Destefano, a faculty adviser of the Prefect Program. “I floated the concept by Andrew Speyer, the Director of ITS, who told me it was something that his department could program,” said Ms. Destefano.
Official planning began last winter, with a joint meeting of faculty program advisers, including those of the Peer Educators, Assessment Team, C-Proctors, Pathways and International Mentors, Prefect Program, and Bystander Education Program. Together, they wrote questions for the CommonAPP. The application will be implemented this term.
The student questionnaire will be separated into two sections: one for general questions answered by all applicants and one for program-specific questions. Ms. Destefano said, “Centralizing the application helps students really think about the various leadership positions they are applying for, which may help them be more selective with their choices based on their strengths and interests.”
Program coordinators are given complete access to the form so that they can gain a comprehensive view of an applicant, even if the applicant answers fewer questions than he or she would have last year. This will also ensure that there will be no scheduling conflicts between programs were a student accepted into multiple groups. “Students will be able to rank their preferences so that they can apply for conflicting programs and be considered for all of them,” said Ms. Katrina Linthorst Homan, Director of C-Proctors.
The CommonAPP will not only simplify the process for students but will also save time for faculty members. “With the CommonAPP, I envisioned a place where both the faculty and student side of this application process would be streamlined,” said Ms. Destefano.
This new form will no longer require faculty references for each program; instead, it simply requires one per applicant. Ms. Homan said, “The faculty giving the recommendation will also be aware of all of the programs the applicant is applying to so they can add specific supplemental information that will help give a better understanding of the applicant.”
The Choate CommonAPP is currently being programmed by Mr. Speyer and one of his colleagues in ITS, Ms. Yuhong Tian, and it will be ready for use on February 1. The deadline for submissions is two weeks later, on February 15. Decisions will be released on March 29 for every program except the Prefect Program (which releases on March 18).
Although the written application is shared among programs, interviews and other additional steps will be conducted separately.
