SST UG Program – Admissions Shortlisting & Interview Scheduling

Goal / Objective:
Design a scalable, data-driven process to shortlist applicants and schedule interviews efficiently for the UG program at SST.

Tools & Technologies Used:
Excel / Google Sheets, formulas for filtering and ranking, conditional formatting, scheduling templates, pivot tables.

What I Did:

Shortlisting Criteria:

Defined criteria based on academic performance, extracurricular achievements, personal statement quality, and alignment with program values.

Categorized applicants into Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3 based on merit and program-fit assumptions.

Applied criteria to a dataset of 24 students and designed a scalable framework to handle 1,000+ applicants.

Interview Scheduling:

Scheduled two rounds (R1 & R2) across three interviewers with 3 hours/day availability.

Factored in buffer times, equitable distribution of students per interviewer, and constraints like availability and interview duration.

Created a clear, visually structured schedule for both rounds that is easy to consume and adaptable for larger cohorts.

Challenges and Learning:

Balancing fair assessment with interviewer availability and workload.

Learned to design flexible, scalable frameworks for both shortlisting and scheduling that can handle large applicant volumes.

Gained experience in combining data analysis, operational planning, and process design for admissions workflows.

Result / Outcome:

Developed a robust shortlisting framework to identify top applicants by tier.

Delivered a structured interview schedule ensuring optimal interviewer utilization and student coverage.

Created a scalable and reusable process ready to manage larger applicant datasets efficiently.