ABSTRACT
The admissions unit of a college typically operates on its own calendar and in isolation from the remainder of the campus although its actions affect every aspect from basic operation, through budgets to academic quality. Two issues facing many senior admissions officers, perhaps more often than they care to admit, are political influences and economic influences in the admissions process. Nearly every school with even moderately selective admission standards is faced with that borderline student whose success or failure at the institution is difficult to foresee, and often predicated on individual maturity and motivation rather than preparation and past performance.
