4 Things Admission Counselors Wish You Knew
After spending the past 11 Fall seasons in a handful of roles that all essentially boiled down to being an admission counselor, I have to admit, it feels strange to view them in anything other than the present tense. But in a way, this feels cathartic because I can speak from the heart, having spent nearly a third of my life bridging the gap between prospective student and institution. In my role as an IEC, I still do that, but “institution” becomes plural. Here are some of the commonalities I have observed that are not unique to one institution, ones which I feel are fair to say ring true for the majority of colleges.
That text message may have been automated, the next one might not be.
Last summer, I had a very unpleasant interaction where a student responded to one of our text messages with some extremely insensitive language. Though the first message originated from our marketing department, my response to the student expressing disappointment did not, nor did the word that got back to their school counselor. Hopefully this goes without saying, but if you wouldn't want your grandmother to read it, it's best kept to yourself.
Relationships matter.
Despite every effort, I would estimate that 95% of the students in my territory (all of whom I personally reached out to multiple times), did not elevate the conversation beyond "one-way." Anytime I ever had an opportunity to advocate for a student, for more scholarship dollars, a spot off the wait-list, etc., the easiest students to do that for were the ones I had interacted (pleasantly) with. If your admissions rep doesn't recognize your name, it's a missed opportunity.
Choose your email carefully.
Beyond the inappropriate email handles every admissions rep has a story about coming across, a common mistake students often make is using their school email address. Often, once they graduate, they no longer have access to this email. It could cause your college of choice to have trouble reaching you. A great practice is to create an email for the specific purpose of applying to colleges. Something containing your name, the word "college," and your graduation year is a great way to compartmentalize.
We read a lot of essays.
In a given year, I think it's safe to say admission staff each read more essays than there were people at Taylor and Travis's wedding. Extrapolate that over multiple years, and my "essays read" is probably enough to sell out Madison Square Garden. We know this puts a lot of pressure on the student, but the reason I share this is applicants often fall short in differentiating themselves. I've read more essays about a torn ACL cutting soccer season short than you can believe (it is devastating, I know! I do not mean to minimize that). But I have only read one where the student walked me through their favorite pasta recipe and how the three simple ingredients represented their identity. Every student has something so uniquely "them," it just needs some coaxing. Stick around long enough and there will be plenty more essay tips, believe me!
Thank you for reading my first blog post. I hope you were able to find an action item, or maybe some reassurance. You got this!
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AK
