Introducing the Admissions Committee III: Shannon Miller

Name: Shannon Miller

Territory: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon (doesn't get much better than that!)

Education: Gettysburg College - B.A. in Spanish

Johns Hopkins Start Date: August 2005

Years in Admissions: 2 years

Why did you choose to enter the profession of College Admissions?: At Gettysburg, I spent almost all of my free time in the Admissions Office: giving tours, coordinating day and overnight visits, answering phones, working the front desk, interning. You name it, I did it. When it came time to graduate, I realized I really loved the work I did there and thought that Admissions would be a great place to start after graduation.

What is the most enjoyable part of reading college applications? And the least enjoyable part?: Most Enjoyable – Finding an applicant that really wows you! I love getting an applicant that I’m excited about – not only do they get lots of stars on their decision sheets, but I will also run to another counselor’s office or call another counselor to tell them about the applicant. Even better is when you find that the student you loved actually enrolled and he or she stops by to visit you! Least Enjoyable – By far, evaluating the GPAs for the students – Math and I are NOT friends.

What is your personal approach to reading an application?: My favorite place to read is at home on my couch. I start off by evaluating all of the GPAs for the applications I am going to read for the day…that means anywhere from 40-60 GPAs!! I find that I don’t enjoy math, and it generally slows me down, so I can go quicker if I get the GPAs out of the way first. I then sort my applications randomly into piles of 10. After each set of 10 I complete, I do some sort of activity – go for a run, bake cookies, watch an episode of Will and Grace, eat cookies…you get the idea.

What is your favorite thing about Johns Hopkins University?: By far, the students. I work with the tour guides here, and my favorite part of the day is when they come in to tell me stories about what they are up to, a project they are working on, something they’ve done in the city. They are without a doubt, the highlight of each day. Oh, and I love the taco salad in Levering Food Court.

If working in College Admissions wasn't an option, what would you be doing as an occupation?: Event Planning – I totally get sucked into shows like “Whose Wedding is it Anyway” and would love to be the one helping to plan the big day. Not to mention all the cake testing you get to do!!

In your personal opinion, what is the top issue facing the field of higher education currently?: Financing Your Education – With the increase in tuition from year to year, this can be a real pain. I think that if you can get into a college, they should find a way to help you pay for it.

What is your top Johns Hopkins University memory to date?: Stuffing acceptance letters. Right before we mail in the end of March, the staff and some of our students get together to stuff our acceptance packets. It is a great time of year because we all get a chance to relax, and talk about how excited we are about the incoming class

What book, what movie, and what album should all students have read, watched, and listened to before enrolling in college?:

• Book – I LOVE CRAB CAKES! – If you’re headin to Bawlmore hon, crabcakes are going to be your new best friend.
• Movie – This is a tough one, but I would say an essential before you go to college is Animal House.
• Album – Bon Jovi’s Cross Road – Yes, I’m from Jersey!

Comments

[Cindy Bigeh]

Hi Shannon,

Our daughter has applied JH and is currently waiting for the decision letter. Is there a location on the JH website where we can check her admission status ie. materials received? If it is here we haven't located it yet.

She had asked for an alumni interview but never heard back. The whole college application process sure is interesting! Any information you can offer would be helpful, especially if she gets accepted. Do you do alumni interviews in Oregon where we are located?

[Daniel Creasy]

Johns Hopkins University does not have an online system for tracking application status nor to check one's admissions decision when notifications have been released.

Regular decision admissions notifications will be released by April 1st. No official date has yet been selected for the release of decisions. Decisions will be released by postal mail as well as emailed to students who listed an active email address on their application for admission.

Your daughter can check about the alumni interviews she requested by sending an email to NASC@jhu.edu.