<p>All I know is what the admissions people at Wellesley told us when my daughter and I were there for junior open campus a few weeks ago–yes, it does help, but only if it’s the applicant making the contact. They don’t want to hear from parents and they don’t want to hear students asking questions they can easily resolve by looking online! </p>
<p>I imagine that it’s good to talk to the admissions people at small LACs (as long as you’re not pestering them), but I doubt they’d remember you at huge schools where admission is largely a numbers game.</p>