MEMORANDUM
TO: Professor Nelson
FROM: Sarah Lau and Ronald Diu
As requested, we have looked into the current McIntire undergraduate admissions process. After
detailing the process and interviewing a current student, we recommend that McIntire (1)
implements peer-to-peer advising, (2) merges its advising and application committees, and (3)
releases registration earlier. We outline below our analysis of the current process, conclusions
from our interview, and key recommendations for improvement.
As-is model (Exhibit 1): reveals opportunities to improve communication and transparency
Little integration between the application committee and the advising committee, shown
by lack of links between these respective pool lanes
Lack of different outlets for advising
Wasted time between awareness and registration; time crunch between registration and
application deadline, shown by timers
Current student: transparency and advising are key issues
We interviewed Patty Lin, a current third year student who went through this process
unsuccessfully last spring. He provided the following insights:
Disinterest in academic advising leads to uninformed and ill-prepared applicants
Applicants peers play an integral role in advising and how they experience the process
Applicants value thorough transparency in the process, even if they do not actively seek it
out
Recommendations: emphasize guidance and feedback throughout the application process
Please see the attached Exhibit 2 for a visual of the following proposed changes:
1. Moving registration earlier will provide time to find a peer-to-peer advisor and help
identify issues regarding prerequisite course fulfilment.
2. Peer-to-peer advising with a current student, who has similar interests and a similar
background, (1) capitalizes on the significance of a students peers, (2) creates more
casual and personalized advising, and (3) encourages more diverse students to apply.
3. Merging the advising and application committees will help increase transparency in the
review and decision process.
If you have any questions regarding the content of this memo and the supporting exhibits, please
feel free to email us. We look forward to receiving your feedback on our findings soon.
Exhibit 1: As-is Model
Exhibit 2: To-be Model