In its Winter 2013 edition, The Yield, an SSATB publication, interviewed Venable partner Caryn Pass on the salient legal issues affecting admissions for independent schools.
Pass pointed to the application form as one of the most common areas in the admissions process where “there are always questions and concerns” about what you can and cannot ask. She said “I find that not asking questions on the application in the ‘right’ way is really what schools want to avoid. Imprecise wording in a question provides candidates with an opportunity to omit crucial information. Instead of asking what schools the candidate previously attended,” she explained, “schools need to ask families to specify by date/months/year all the institutions attended by the applicant. If you are a family looking to hide something, like a student’s dismissal, imprecise questions help you to do so.”
SSATB is a nonprofit dedicated to the advancement and support of admission professionals around the world.
Pass pointed to the application form as one of the most common areas in the admissions process where “there are always questions and concerns” about what you can and cannot ask. She said “I find that not asking questions on the application in the ‘right’ way is really what schools want to avoid. Imprecise wording in a question provides candidates with an opportunity to omit crucial information. Instead of asking what schools the candidate previously attended,” she explained, “schools need to ask families to specify by date/months/year all the institutions attended by the applicant. If you are a family looking to hide something, like a student’s dismissal, imprecise questions help you to do so.”
SSATB is a nonprofit dedicated to the advancement and support of admission professionals around the world.