There seems to be a consensus in splitting admission officers into two general groups: Temps and Lifers. First, lets talk about Temps. These are usually recent graduates. Admission officers try to hire students who have just attended their college, because of their sense of the school’s student body gained from experience. Temps often look at work in admissions as an interesting break before they enter a graduate school.
Lifers were usually once Temps who got caught up in admissions. Few people dream of a job in admissions. Often it ‘just happens’. Lifers read fewer files, but have a greater say in overall policy. This means your file is more likely going to be read by a recent graduate of that school than anybody else. I will cover what this division means for your application in my next post.
