Guide to the Office of Admission Records RG 4

Summary Information

Repository

Sarah Lawrence College Archives

Title

Admission Records

ID

RG 4

Date [inclusive]

undated, 1928-present

Extent

5.5 linear feet 4 record cartons, 3 document boxes, digital objects

Language

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Administrative Information

Publication Information

Sarah Lawrence College Archives April 2005

Revision Description

 Additional material added, finding aid updated and entered into the Archivists' Toolkit November 2012 by Sarah Pinard November 2012

Conditions Governing Access note

Administrative records are closed for 20 years from the date of creation. Partially restricted or restricted folders are labeled as such and are usually restricted for 75 years from the date of creation or death of the individual(s) mentioned. The Archives reserves the right to deny photocopying. See Archivist for further information.

Acquisition note

This collection was transferred to the Archives throughout the years by the Office of Admissions. In addition, the Archives actively collects publications from the Office. Includes accession 84-1 and loose material from the Prints Collection. Also includes portions of accession 2012-022.

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Scope and Contents note

These records document the function and activities of the Office of Admission. The collection is broad in scope, ranging from personal correspondence to committee meeting agendas to polished publications for public consumption. The collection is comprised of materials from 1928 to the present. Many of the internal documents are dated during the tenure of Admissions Director Alice Bovard (1939-1970).

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Series description

These records are organized in five series:

Series I. Administrative

Series II. Admission Committee

Series III. Events

Series IV. Financial Aid and Student Employment

Series V. Printed Material

Series I. Administrative is further organized in two sub-series: Sub-series A. Applications and Sub-series B. General. Of particular interest are the collection of application forms dating 1928 to 2008. These are blank first year and transfer student application forms. There is also a copy of the common application. Many of the applications, especially the earlier forms, include detailed health history questionnaires and high school record forms. Also in Series I. Administrative is a folder of correspondence and memos both internal to the College and with external college administrators discussing early admission. In this instance the term early admission refers to both admitting high schools students who have completed their junior year (records dating 1953-1975) and the policy now commonly referred to as Early Decision, wherein a college admits a number of students prior to the spring semester under the agreement that when students apply Early Decision and are admitted they will accept and enroll (records dating 1957-1989). The Experimental Program folder contains memos and a draft proposal dated 1970 about a similar plan to admit freshmen drawn from high school junior classes.

Series II. Admission Committee houses material generated by the Admission Committee form 1941 to 2010. It includes reports, agendas and minutes, and a folder of policies, procedures and criteria developed by the Committee on topics such as folder reading, interviews as a requirement in admission procedures, and rating systems.

Series III. Events has folders for events held on campus and organized by the Office of Admission. This includes brochures, invitations, schedules and limited correspondence. Of particular note are the folders for The Fall Collective and The Spring Collective. These events, started in 1997 and held in conjunction with Prospective Students Day, offer students of color the opportunity to participate in panel discussions and stay on campus overnight. In recent years these events have become multicultural celebrations.

Series IV. Financial Aid and Student Employment contains materials produced by the offices that manage financial aid and student employment. Of note in this series are two folders. "Self Help" has early correspondence and memos (1949-1958) about the College's "self help" program which was a forerunner to student employment in exchange for financial aid. Correspondence in the folder titled "Correspondence and Memos - Student Employment" provides documentation about the development of student employment on campus after 1957.

Materials produced by the Office of Admission for promotional and recruitment purposes are located in Series V. Printed Material. This series also includes packets, folders, and other literature distributed to prospective students and families, admitted students, and guidance counselors.

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Controlled Access Headings

Corporate Name(s)

• America Reads Challenge (Program).
• Hahnemann Medical College and Hospital (Chicago, Ill.).
• Sarah Lawrence College. Office of Admission.

Genre(s)

• Annual reports
• Application Forms
• Brochures
• Clippings (information artifacts)
• Correspondence
• Minutes
• Newsletters
• Surveys (Documents)

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Collection Inventory