Hear from Rekha Puri, Assistant Head of School for Admissions and Enrollment, and Andrew Prince, Head of Upper School, about the novel approach to admissions they developed for Collegiate School’s (NYC) 9th grade. Rekha and Andrew reimagined the 9th grade admissions process and developed a “lesson” to screen for the kinds of attributes and characteristics that would make a student better suited for the Collegiate community. Landing on the goal of “Smarts with Heart”, each newly admitted 9th grader demonstrated an ability to think critically, act with empathy and compassion, and deal with “the abstract”, all tools that are essential for success in Collegiate’s rigorous Upper School community. Moreover, students and families received clear signals about what Collegiate values in students and this resulted in a markedly higher yield and a genuinely excited group of new “Dutchmen.” In this workshop, you will hear from Rekha and Andrew the power of collaboration between the admissions and academic offices. Rekha and Andrew leveraged their admissions and academic perspectives to create a process that moves beyond traditional silos in ways. You will then become an “applicant” and take part in the Collegiate process while reflecting on both the information that the admissions team receives and what the process communicates to applicants. Finally, you will have time and space to think about how you might collaborate, innovate, and enrich your admissions process in ways that will benefit both your community and all prospective students.