I occasionally receive a random calls sometimes, from places I don’t even recognize. This has been occuring from before the time in which I applied to college. However, recently, I got a call from an unfamiliar number with a familiar location: Moraga, California. I instantly recognized it because I applied to a college there. I picked it up, and sure enough, it was St. Mary’s College of CA. We had a nice talk, but I began worrying that some of the other calls I had neglected to answer (out of lack of time and safety reasons, obviously) would also be from colleges I applied to.
I may add colleges on to my contact list to know who’s calling, but I don’t think it happens so frequently that I need to add all of my 17-20 colleges to my contacts. Long-winded rang aside, would colleges be angry that I don’t answer the phone? Does anyone have thoughts/advice they’d like to impart?
(Edit: I placed this thread in College Admissions because I am a bit worried it may affect college decisions if, for some strange reason, they call before my decision is released?)
Not really - e.g. you could be busy with something (running errands, interview, cooking dinner, driving), and they shouldn’t assume you will always be available. About a month ago, I missed a call from a prospective internship since I was working intently on a coding project. They should either email you or leave you a message, but if neither occurs, call them back (in my case they emailed me).
There is no answer that covers all circumstances. LACs, for example, tend to care more than larger U’s about finding students that are a fit for them. Talking with a student on the phone can lead to some positive feedback to admissions. Its not they’d be offended if they don’t talk to you, but its a potentially missed chance to boost your app.
But by and large these are recruiting calls. People hear the numbers from colleges like Berkeley or Harvard and worry they won’t get in anywhere. Actually most colleges admit most of their applicants; St. Mary’s for example admits about 70%. They know that if you are a student they admit, you are going to have lots of similar choices. An outreach program of having students contact their applicants, they figure, will raise the odds you pick them.
So who are they recruiting? Only the colleges know. Some may call just about everyone who applied, figuring it helps raise their visibility. Some may call stronger applicants only. Some may call based on zipcode, trying to get more students they figure will be full-pay to accept.
But these calls can be helpful to you in understanding the school. Colleges differ in more ways than many HS students imagine; class size, housing, career center, advising, etc. With a current student on the line the call is your chance to get a better idea of what it would be like to attend. I wrote a post a few years back with some questions I found online; it may give you some ideas of things you’d want to ask. That post is at http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/431878-phone-calls-from-students.html