Shaped by discussions among educational leaders across the nation, the Character Collaborative is national in scope and includes 74 member organizations and 300 active participants. The Collaborative includes important constituencies committed to our common goal of elevating elements of student character in the admissions process.  Now, with the impact of COVID-19, renewed focus on access and equity, and rapid alteration of the testing world, there is an accelerated movement toward holistic admission, including the elevation of character attributes. We invite your involvement in our work. 

ANNOUNCING THREE  COURSES: Overview, Recommendation Letters & Essays

Recognizing the challenge and opportunity that a vastly increased number of test optional applicants presents to admissions staff, the Character Collaborative in partnership with NACAC announces three on-line courses.  Assessing Character in Admission: Essential Elements reviews the challenges in assessing character, the core principles of character assessment, selecting tools for evidence of character, determining effective ways to rate character, and developing a sound decision-making process. Writing and Evaluating Letters of  Recommendation for Character gives school counselors important guidance on advising teachers and non-school references on how to emphasize character attributes in their letters, and gives admission officers options in evaluating these attributes in a consistent way.  And our newest course, Application Essays: Evaluating and Advising with Character in Mind where 25 experts in college advising, teaching and college admission share insights into how to best prepare students for the application essay and how to discover character attributes through the written word.

THE 7th ANNUAL MEETING of the CHARACTER COLLABORATIVE – September, 2022 

Character and Admission: Shaping the Future  was the theme of our seventh annual conference, and the first to take place in-person since 2019.  As was our custom prior to the pandemic, we met on the Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning prior to the NACAC conference in Houston, Texas on September 21 and 22, 2022.  We began the conference by reviewing the tools that can teach us about our own character strengths and about how they help in the school and college search process.  We presented a series of case studies from our colleagues that showed how theory becomes practice and we reviewed some exciting new opportunities for our collaboration with NACAC.  A Wednesday evening dinner, which was free for members, featured a conversation with Erby Mitchell, dean of admissions and financial aid at the Hotchkiss School. On Thursday morning, we explored issues of ethics in admission and the challenges we face around including character as a factor in candidate evaluation. This was a “hands-on”  meeting, where attendees participated actively in the proceedings.  A summary of the meeting can be found on the “News and Articles” page of the website.