Myron Burney walked into the lower level of the admissions office, a tightly-packed space of cubicles and cabinets in Peele Hall.

“This is the magic room,” he said, with cabinets behind him stuffed with folders holding applicants information and workers sorting through even more stacks of applications.

While many N.C. State-hopefuls may not consider the admissions process to be a magical one, Burney, assistant director of admissions, was enthusiastic about the task of reading some of the 18,000 applications he expected to receive by today, the final deadline for freshman applications.

Online applications account for 85 percent of those sent, according to Burney, and each of these is printed and placed in a student’s personal folder.

Another component to this folder comes in transcripts and recommendations, which are sent through the mail, and come to the receptionist at the front desk.

On a typical day, the receptionist will sort through one or two large mail containers, according to Allayna Lopossay, a sophomore in accounting and one such receptionist.

But in a week near a deadline, she said the front desk can receive up to six or seven mail buckets a day.

According to Burney, it takes about two to three weeks before an applicant’s information is all accounted for.

After acquiring all the information the University needs, the folders are sent to one of the 13 employees who look over applications.

“I try not to read more than 75 per day,” Burney said, though he typically likes to read 50 at most.

Burney scanned through an application, in which an applicant had around a 3.2 GPA, but made an 840 out of 1600 on the SAT. The applicant had numerous extracurriculars, including two sports and several clubs, and a ranking in the top 20 percent of the senior class.

According to Burney, he would probably waitlist this person. The applicant goes to a small school with few opportunities, completed what he considers a “solid schedule,” and is a minority, providing an opportunity for further campus diversity.

With the low SAT score, Burney said they may be bad test-takers, and the other facts help to balance everything to a waitlist status.

Scott Andrews, a freshman in communication, said that while applying last year, he thought the SAT score had minimal effect on his acceptance.

“I don’t think the SAT has as much to do with it as people think,” he said. “It’s just one test, and the GPA is what you’ve done with all your time in high school.”

And while Burney said the student’s minority status would not be a determining factor in his decision, he said Admissions has to make sure the incoming class is well rounded.

“I don’t go in looking for ethnicity,” he said.

After years of looking at transcripts, Burney said he could tell this was a “small-town, minority kid” without seeing information acknowledging that.

Since the applicant chose the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences as a first choice, Burney said there was a better chance at acceptance in this college than a more competitive area, like the College of Design.

Comparing a weighted and unweighted GPA can also show the rigor of the student’s schedule, he said, and essays can show background to explain any academic shortcomings.

And Admissions assigns certain employees to review all applications from one territory, so staff members can be familiar with the schools in the area and understand what opportunities are available therein.

According to Burney, people complain a lot that student-athletes get special treatment from Admissions, but he said all athlete applications are handled by Athletics, so he has no part in their acceptance.

“As long as they meet the NCAA [minimum requirements], they’re fair game,” he said.

After Burney or one of his contemporaries has looked over an application and filed their decisions on their computers, he said Director of Undergraduate Admissions Tommy Griffin or another administrator will look over it a second time to ensure the decisions are fair.

Then, regardless of the decision, the folders are placed back on the shelves, just in case any applicant not initially admitted decides to transfer to NCSU.

And the “magic” cycle begins again.