The College's admissions process is performed behind closed doors. Typically nobody outside of the admissions committee is present when the committee goes through each application, discussing its strengths and weaknesses and ultimately deciding whether to offer admissions.
"The administration felt [the show] would help to demystify the admissions process for parents and students," said Paul Statt, director of media relations at the College.
According to Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Tom Parker, the producers of the show were particularly interested in the actual methods used by the admissions committee in order to determine whether to grant or deny admission to an applicant.
"I think that the way we really are and how we really conduct ourselves was captured," said Parker. "We got pretty used to the cameras quickly." Camera crews sat in on admissions committee meetings and filmed the committee discussing each aspect of each applicants' actual application.
The three students whose experiences and decisions were profiled were selected with the help of the College's admissions committee. "We gave the show the names of a few high schools in New York City. People from the show went to the schools' guidance counselors and asked them if there were any students applying to Amherst," said Parker. "The guidance counselors gave the names of students who were subsequently asked to participate in the show."
PBS chose students with diverse backgrounds in order provide a representative sample. "The students came from all different schools-private, public and parochial-to capture all kinds of students," said Parker.
The admissions committee ultimately granted admissions to two of the three students whose applications were profiled in the piece. Of the two who were accepted, one decided to go to Harvard University and one chose Yale University.
For Parker, watching students decide whether or not to attend the College was a complete role reversal. "It is the day of the great reversal," he said. "We have been judging kids for all these months and now they are judging us."
Parker said that he has received overwhelmingly positive reaction to the show, and that he was glad that the show accurately reflected the admissions process at the College.
Laura Trigeiro '06 noted that such a piece on the College's admissions is crucial, particularly because the College is currently tied with Swarthmore College for a number two ranking in U.S. News and World Report. (See College stays in second spot rank in U.S. News, page 1).
"There are a lot of people who only apply to colleges because of their ranking in that magazine. In Virginia [where I live], they thought it was a community college," she said. "I started looking at Amherst because of its ranking."
Dean of Students Ben Lieber agreed that the show portrayed the College in a positive light, yet questioned the actual usefulness of such a program.
"I thought that the show presented a fair picture of the College's approach to admissions. It made clear how scrupulously the admissions committee does its work," said Lieber. "But, it is a complex process and there is only so much you can actually capture in a short piece."
PBS will continue to feature the College throughout the upcoming academic year. John Merrow, the education reporter for the NewsHour, is working on a long-term project about higher education in the U.S..
The program features four schools nation-wide. The College represents the small liberal arts category. Also featured are the University of Arizona, Western Kentucky University and Denver Community College. The program will provide in-depth information about the differences and nuances of the different types of campuses.
According to Statt, the program will depict the overall experience at the College. "They plan to interview the President. They plan to go to an alumni event in New York City and they plan to attend some first-year classes," he said.
The admissions piece aired promptly after filming because the producers intended for current high school seniors and their parents to view the program shortly after they received their acceptance or denial letters from their various institution. However, because the longer program is an open project, Statt explained that there is no air-date set for the longer piece.