A Long Path to Admissions

By Tracey Breese

Greg Grauman never planned a career at a university, least of all being a director of admissions.

“It is very interesting in speaking to people in admissions because very rarely do people start their undergrad saying I want to go into admissions,” said Grauman, dressed in a sharp gray suit with a purple tie, as he sat in his roomy office on the third floor of the Hamilton, a stone building on the south side of campus.

Grauman who has been director of admissions at American University since October 2008, came to his calling via Notre Dame, Texas and Australia. But he started out at American University.

“Working at your alma mater is great, you feel very genuine in talking to prospective students and their parents,” said Grauman.

Grauman majored in political science and public communication, graduating in 1999.
Just nine years later Grauman manages all that is admissions at AU, seeing over application reviews, prospective student events and crunching numbers about the incoming freshman class.

The college application process is under scrutiny in the past years because of the influx of young people applying and controversial issues such as affirmative action. This year AU kept a high number of applications even with a new $60 application fee.

“The AU application process has actually been not stressful at all,” said prospective student Derek Perry, of Palo Alto, Calif. “We just have to send the Common Application and nothing else.” The Common Application, which requires student grades, extracurricular activities and an essay, is a standard application on a web site that many universities use.

Admissions counselors will read up to 200 applications a week between the months of November to March. The Common Application is comprised of a student’s general information, extra-curricular activities and a personal essay. According to Grauman AU uses a holistic method in selecting new students, looking at grades, SAT scores, classes and recommendations in addition to the application.

“There is no one aspect of your application that will make you admissible,” said Grauman.

The counselors read every word students send to the university. According to Grauman certain personal essay topics such as “my summer camp experience,” come up frequently.

“There are some groan topics that are repeated over and over, but I don’t really care what they write about, as long as it is well-written,” said Grauman.

It was the appreciation of good writing that first prompted Grauman to investigate a career in admissions. Immediately after graduation Grauman enrolled in the Alliance for Catholic College, part of Notre Dame University in Indiana. He spent time teaching and taking classes in Texas, during the summer, where he met the woman who would eventually become his wife and expecting mother to their first child.

“I got swept off my feet. It was one of those chance encounters and pretty quickly after that we were engaged,” said Grauman.

In another twist of fate the new couple moved to Grauman’s wife of Perth, Australia, his wife’s hometown.

“I took a very unconventional path,” said Grauman.

He first taught Australian politics to high school students.

“In Australia I had been teaching for about three years and it wasn’t for me. They typically say if you can stay for five years you’re in it for your career otherwise the profession loses a lot after the five-year mark.”

After ending his high school teaching career Grauman went to work for Edith Cowan University, in Perth, as an international student advisor, helping international students with problems ranging from keeping up grades to paying rent.

“It was really a jack-of-all trade position,” said Grauman.

In the mean-time he began reading “The Gatekeepers,” a book by Jacques Steinberg that revealed the behind-the-scenes story of the admissions process at the highly selective Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn. On a whim, Grauman decided to attend a traveling road show of admissions counselors, from the United States, who were staying at a hotel in Perth.

“I went kind of as a prospective student just to get an idea of what they do,” he said. “I talked to them when they were not busy. They probably thought I was a bit odd, but after talking to them I decided it was something I wanted to go into.”

The first place Grauman looked for a job was his alma mater.

“One of my funnier memories is as part of the review process,” he said. “I interviewed with some AU people over the internet, because it wasn’t economical for AU or me to fly to America. It was probably 3 in the morning, Australian time,” said Grauman.

Grauman started as an admissions counselor the February of 2004. He flew to the states on a Sunday and started work still jet-lagged that Monday. By the summer Grauman had already moved up to assistant director and began to enjoy the traveling perks of his job.

“I’ve probably seen most of the country on the university’s time,” said Grauman.

Part of the job included representing different regions and recruiting and informing students in these regions about AU. Assistant directors travel about three weeks in the fall and one to two in the spring. In winter 2007 Grauman applied for a director of admissions position at the American University of Rome. He started in March 2007, though he was based in Washington D.C. He frequently traveled to Italy.

“I had about one person working for me, so I had to cover the entire United States,” he said. “It was a lot of work.”

In the summer of 2008 Grauman applied for the director of admissions position at AU and got it. His co-worker Kristen Schlicker worked with Grauman before and after his time in Rome.
According to Schlicker Grauman manages the other counselors based on his experience in these lower positions. He listens to opinions but knows when to make a decision.

“[Grauman] is very passionate, extraordinarily hardworking and never gets worked up, making a calm work environment,” she said.