Kristen BixbyFor the purposes of this blog post, “the call” refers to an actual phone call (or email) to an Admissions Office. Let’s discuss the reasons why.
First thing to note is that in most cases, the Admissions Counselor you call or email will be the first one to read your application. Most colleges divide their Admissions Counselors up by territory. So, the Admissions Representative assigned to Massachusetts, for instance, will be the first one to look at your application.
Keeping that in mind, one of the jobs of the Admissions Counselors is to get to know the applicants before they apply, so that when the application comes in they have a face, or experience, to put to the name. So, when a student picks up the phone and has a conversation with their Admission Counselor themselves, it allows that connection to be made or fostered.
Picking up the phone or writing the email themselves also demonstrates maturity, a must-have for any student who wants to be accepted to college. Maturity is a sign that a student can handle the work-load and pressure of college, so Admission Counselors take notice!
Here are some other times students (not parents) need to take the lead:
- At a college fair (student: smile, introduce yourself and ask thoughtful questions)
- On a college tour (no, the person giving you the tour probably wont be your counselor or evaluating you in any way, but since the student is the one who may attend, they should be right up front asking questions and taking it in)
- At a high school visit (parents shouldn’t go to this at all, this is a time for Admissions Counselors to meet with students)
- However, it is common for parents to call a college or university with a question about Financial Aid. Students can make the call themselves, but typically parents are the ones with most of the relevant financial information.
We know it can seem intimidating or scary, but students, YOU need to make the call.