Q&A With Whitman’s Vice President for Admission & Financial Aid

Adam Miller got his start in college admissions reading applications part-time for his alma mater, Claremont McKenna College, while working as a Resident Director at the University of Redlands, where he went on to pursue a master’s degree in Higher Education. Today, as Whitman College’s Vice President for Admission and Financial Aid, he helps talented students open the door to the transformative opportunities of a Whitman education. 

We sat down with Miller to ask him about his work—and what it’s like for students applying to college today.

1. What do you like best about your job?

Through college admissions, I’ve been able to travel to 15 or 20 different countries. I’ve gone to almost every state in the United States to recruit students. Getting to spend that time on the road is a fun part of the job! I’ve seen how education works at the high school level, the really inspiring ways that 17-year-olds think about their futures, and the stark realities of inequality and the way it can affect access to a college education. 

I also love the application review season. Students show you such vulnerability. I get transported to being 17 years old and feeling like I had momentum toward a future, but that future was unknown. You’re trying to figure out: What really matters to me? How much of what I’ve been good at in high school is actually who I am or just the things that I’ve been trained to be good at? I love that I get to have that window into students’ lives at that phase.

But I have to say my favorite time of the year is March and April, when students have the weight lifted about “Will I get into college?” and they get to think about “Where am I going to thrive?” It’s inspiring to be on this short list for so many students. Trying to help them make that choice to come and join this community is really fun and rewarding.

2. What sets Whitman apart from other schools?

The real answer is, it’s different for everybody. I think part of what makes Whitman so amazing is that we don’t have one type of student who thrives here. It’s a community that welcomes people from all over the world, where we have such a range of academic options. It could be the chance to do hands-on research in STEM or our amazing Theater program or the Music opportunities. It could be varsity athletics or the Outdoor Program. It could be the way that this community feels like such a supportive and inclusive place. 

When I think about what really benefited me in college, the coursework was meaningful and the opportunities I had were important, but really, it’s being surrounded by people from such a range of backgrounds and identities and realizing just how small my world had been before I got to college. Whitman is a place that makes your world bigger and can help you see the vast opportunities and options ahead of you. 

So the pitch is: Come to Whitman, be inspired by a community that’s going to push along with you to help you achieve your best, whatever that might be.

3. What do you look for when you’re recruiting the next class of Whitties?

First and foremost, intellectual curiosity—students who are asking big questions and have that desire to explore and dig deeper. I think of Whitman—and liberal arts colleges in general—as being a place where we explore these complex questions. So academically, yes, we want to see good performance in high school coursework. But even a student who’s run into some challenges in terms of grades, if, as we get to know them, we can see a mind at work and a willingness to push through adversity because they’re intrinsically motivated to learn, that’s exciting for us.

Another thing we really value is meaningful commitment and contribution to a community. The idea that a student understands that it’s not all about them, that in some way, they need to be part of something bigger. That can come through a music group or playing a sport. It can come through community service. It can come through paid work. I really love to see students who are not just going through the motions. They’re already starting to think, even at 15 or 16 years old, “How can I be part of something bigger?” That is an exciting truth about Whitman—our students really do want to make a difference.

4. How is Whitman poised to meet the student recruitment challenges of the future?

Ultimately, Whitman is a place that values things that actually matter: learning and transformation through asking difficult questions and learning how to engage around difference with peers. The skills that our students develop in the classroom and being a part of this community are the skills that will continue to be relevant in the years ahead. The fundamental nature of a college where students are being challenged academically and being mentored by faculty who are highly accomplished in their fields is going remain valuable moving forward.

Whitman also has programs and resources that help students think about this very complex world. Everybody’s coming here, and they’re a little bit out of their comfort zone in one way or another. I think growth comes through that kind of discomfort. That’s such a critical piece of helping students graduate in four years with the type of foundation that’s going to make them successful in life, however they want to define success. If we can do those things well, we can trust that what we’re doing here is really meaningful.

Understandably, students and families are also concerned with cost and value. I’m really proud of the ways that we’ve tried to push the envelope through our Early Financial Aid Guarantee program. Finding ways to invest in financial aid and scholarships has been such an exciting development in my time here—but we’re also finding a better way to help people understand what that means from the beginning. We’re flipping around the whole admission process to give cost clarity at the beginning. I imagine a day where almost every student applying to Whitman has already figured out the finances in advance, so that we eliminate uncertainty and they can really feel confident moving forward.

At a time when colleges are under a lot of scrutiny, having places like Whitman that have a clear understanding of what our values are is so critical. We can’t be blown back and forth by the winds of outside forces. And thanks to the support and generosity of so many people over the college’s history, we have a foundation that’s really solid.

5. What is your advice to parents preparing their kids for the college search?

If I had to give one piece of advice: The college search is a chance to see your child with new eyes. Be curious and let them lead the process. Enjoy watching how they navigate what might be their first major decision about their future and who they’re going to be.

I think the college search can function as a sort of coming-of-age ritual—and that can be really beautiful for parents. It can deepen that relationship between a parent and their student if you look at it like, “This is a chance for me to be curious about how my child thinks about themselves and the world and their future.”

6. What is the best question a prospective student has asked you?

I always appreciate when they ask questions like, “What is something that you think matters in college that most people my age don’t understand?” I love it because it shows a certain level of humility and introspection.

I often say: Don’t focus on the best conceivable experience you could have. Think about the everyday experience. What is life going to look like when you’re not on a tour? When it’s just day-to-day life? What is it going to look like getting up and getting breakfast in the morning? What is your walk to class every day? Where are you going with your friends between classes or on the weekends? What is that actually going to look like? Day-to-day life in college is something you’ve never experienced so you’re choosing an experience that you don’t actually have a good framework for thinking about. To the extent you can, imagine the mundane parts of daily life. I think that’s really important.

7. What do you like to do outside of work?

My family loves to explore the outdoors here. We do some hikes on the weekends. I love cheering my kiddos on. My 11-year-old is really into theater and dance right now, so it’s so fun to see her on stage. My 8-year-old really enjoys sports, and she’s playing softball right now.

I also do a lot of gardening at home. I think there’s a part of me that feels like I’m tapping into the Midwest farming roots on both sides of my family when I’m out there harvesting corn or planting beets.

We also love tabletop board games and strategy games. We’ve been playing a lot of 7 Wonders, Carcassone and Dominion recently. We have a lot of fun playing together.

It’s been a good 12 years at Whitman. It feels like home. Walla Walla feels like a community where connections happen so easily. We wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.