The student news site of Peddie School

The Peddie News

The student news site of Peddie School

The Peddie News

The student news site of Peddie School

The Peddie News

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Honsel, Yisrael explain Peddie’s admissions process

Caroline Wenzel
Staff Writer

The Peddie News: How would you characterize the incoming freshman for next year?

Kristin Honsel, assistant director of admission: They are an extremely well rounded group of kids. We wanted students who wanted to be involved in as much as Peddie has to offer. They are academically strong, and also athletic. We were looking for students with excitement, curiosity, and character.

Mikael Yisrael ’06, assistant director of admission: They are very diverse and very accomplished young students. There is a wide range of interests, hobbies and backgrounds. They also seem to be more extroverted than introverted. I anticipate them to have a lot of school spirit and a strong sense of community involvement.

TPN: If an interviewee is very nervous, how do you handle that?

KH: If a kid is quiet and nervous, I don’t give up on them. I try to make him comfortable and try to find common ground.

MY: My number one priority is to make sure the interviewee is comfortable. I need them to feel at ease to really get to know them as a person. I try to be as transparent as possible so they don’t have any uncertainty. You want to find something that peaks their interest and really gets them talking.

TPN: Is it ever difficult to overcome language barriers within the interview?

KH: Oh yeah! More often than not, students speak English but their parents don’t. So when it comes time for the parents’ interview, the child must sit and translate back and forth. That’s always interesting to see because you can observe how the child interacts with their parents. I just hope what they’re translating is what their parents are actually saying!

MY: If a student has a hard time speaking English, we struggle through the language barrier together. But I never hold their difficulty speaking against them just because they can’t speak English. It’s not like I can speak their language!

TPN: For prospective students that cannot travel to Peddie, you often hold interviews via Skype. Are Skype interviews difficult?

KH: A Skype interview is really hard. Kids don’t get the whole vibe of the school by just staring at me through a computer screen. They can’t see all that Peddie has to offer. And sometimes the technology malfunctions or the connection breaks off. But at the same time, it is so cool to be able to see the kids in their everyday habitat. Whether that’s sitting on their bed, their desk, or at the kitchen table with their dog barking in the background. And it’s also amazing to be able to interview them even though they are thousands of miles away.

TPN: What do admissions officers do when the admission season is over?

MY: [We do] a lot more than students, and even some faculty, could even imagine. We travel, we recruit, we attend high school fairs, we go to theater schools and we host receptions for prospective students. We also all gather to sit and examine recruitment strategies and numbers from previous years to help guide us through the present admission search. We look at other boarding schools – our competitors – and create a plan.

TPN: Any stories you would like to share about this past admission process?

KH: One of my favorite stories was at the activities fair this year. After Dynasty came through and did their dance and Asher Baron gathered everyone to do the Ala Viva, I saw one of the boys I interviewed. His eyes lit up and his mouth dropped. He saw me and said, “Wow. This is really intense.” I just thought it was so great to see how thrilled he looked.

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