Martha Allman
Dean of Undergraduate Admissions | Wake Forest University
Winston-Salem, NC, UNITED STATES
Allman has become an expert on test-optional admissions, interviews in the admissions process and other admissions trends.
Biography
Allman led Wake Forest through the process of making college entrance exams, such as the SAT and ACT, optional for admission in 2008. Wake Forest was the first top 30 national university to adopt such a policy. Allman has become an expert on the test-optional admissions process. She can speak on the reasons behind Wake Forest’s decision and the ensuing results, as well as the use of interviews and short-answer questions in the admissions process.
Allman has been the Dean of Undergraduate Admissions for Wake Forest since 2001. She has been in Admissions for more than two decades, and established both the Alumni in Admissions Program and the Presidential Scholarship for Distinguished Achievement Program. She also oversees the administration of Wake Forest’s merit-based scholarship program. She frequently represents Wake Forest nationwide at the National Association for Admissions Counselors (NACAC) and other conferences, workshops and on admissions panels.
Areas of Expertise (1)
Test-Optional Research Policies
Media
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Education (2)
Wake Forest University: M.B.A., Business Administration 1992
Wake Forest University: B.A., Undergraduate Studies 1982
Media Appearances (2)
The ins, outs of applying to test-optional colleges
U.S. News & World Report
2015-09-11
"We want to remove fear and frenzy from the application equation," says Martha Allman, dean of admissions at test-optional Wake Forest University in North Carolina. "We’re more interested in who you really are."...
June 6 SAT mistake complaints continue amid debate over standardized testing
International Business Times
2015-06-24
Martha Allman, the dean of admissions at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, said reviewing applications became a truly holistic process after instituting a test-optional policy in 2008. Students can answer more written questions instead of sending in college entrance exam scores, which gives staffers a more in-depth understanding of each applicant. Less reliance on test scores also slightly reduces the anxiety of applying to college, Allman said. “What you do on four hours of a Saturday morning shouldn’t outdo what you’ve done in four years of high school,” she added...
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