The College Counseling Office welcomed Mike Drish, the executive director of undergraduate admissions at Vanderbilt University, to St. Margaret’s campus this week. 

 

Mr. Drish is a seasoned higher education professional with more than 20 years of experience in university admissions. During the school day, he led two sessions with Upper School sophomores and juniors about their upcoming college-admissions process during the school day, sharing insight into how selective colleges review applications and answering questions from the group both on Vanderbilt specifically and the college-application process in general. 

 

On Thursday evening, Mr. Drish presented to more than 150 Upper School parents of freshmen and sophomores in Hurlbut Theater. He covered recent trends in college admissions, from increased selectivity, the test-optional landcape and the role of artificial intelligence, and gave parents practical advice on how to best support their students in the process. 

 

Before leading undergraduate admissions at Vanderbilt, Mr. Drish worked in admission leadership roles at the University of California, Los Angeles; the University of Massachusetts Amherst, as well as roles at Northeastern University and Purdue University.