Emailing schools...? Good/Bad idea?

<p>My parents want me to email schools about visiting, info about the school, etc… but this info can EASILY be found on the website. I told them this, but they said emailing makes me look “more ambitious.” I think it looks more like I’m too lazy to navigate a website. What do you guys think?</p>

<p>For example: I found the Yale info pretty easily and it even has a place to sign up for tours online.
<a href=“http://www.yale.edu/admit/visit/tours.html[/url]”>http://www.yale.edu/admit/visit/tours.html&lt;/a&gt;
It even says DO NOT CALL! I wouldn’t even know who to email but it seems to me that they want minimal contact about stuff like this.</p>

<p>Not really sure if it’s needed yet… but bump
This is kind of important because my parents are REALLY mad at me about this and are threatening to take away my computer and clothes and stuff like that and telling me about how “they’ve saved up all their lives and don’t want me to go to a crappy school” and their definition of crappy is pretty much below top20 USNWR (but BU is fine for some reason which is pretty much a safety for me… I guess cuz some of my family has gone there and been successful but that happens with all schools if a person is ambitious enough).</p>

<p>There’s a time and place for emailing schools. But in general, asking questions easily found on a college website, and particularly for schools like Y who have so many highly qualified applicants that they don’t care if candidates show interest, it is not a good idea. </p>

<p>What shows your ambition is the information on your application, not an email message.</p>

<p>Ugh! Parents know NOTHING about technology (or at least mine don’t). I showed my dad the fill-in reservation form online and he’s like “That’s what I meant by email.” He’s still mad at me though >.<. There is no pleasing my parents.</p>

<p>As a parent myself, you gave me a laugh for today! Best of luck :).</p>

<p>Do you know what happens if I put in… say a 3:00 tour but actually show up for the 12:00 tour? My parents are being really roundabout with times. They’re like “put the time in the afternoon.” By the way, I’m planning on visiting like 3 schools in the Boston area. Oh, by the way they weren’t clear about whether we would do Yale/Wesleyan on the way (I live in NY). I guess we’re not.</p>

<p>You would think I’m first generation if you saw how they were approaching this whole process. They just don’t get it… They seem to think I can easily go to Brown and that Tufts is a “match/safety” (you can stalk me and find out my stats… clearly none of this is so).</p>

<p>Sign up for the time you want and make sure that you get there at this time. Like my father used to say to me “This is your baby.”</p>

<p>UTPG1234 what do you mean by that? Do you mean force my parents to take me wherever I want at the time I sign up for since they refuse to do any of this for me yet won’t give me any straightforward answers about times and things?</p>

<p>What I mean is they gave you a timeframe by saying sometime in the afternoon. Find out what day they can take off and make it for that day. If they wont give you a solid day schedule it at least 4 weeks out and remind them at least twice a week. What I am saying is you need to make it happen if you want it to happen and that it isn’t their job to make it happen for you.</p>

<p>We already have a day picked out. I just asked which times they would prefer to go and my dad kind of screamed “I don’t know! AFTERNOON!”</p>

<p>Just sign up for the later time, if you get there early, ask if you can join the earlier group. Most tours I’ve been on are pretty informal, with people often joining and leaving along the way. If for some reason they don’t want you to join the earlier group, go have a coffee or check out something else around campus.</p>

<p>You can’t get into Brown easily, they have one of the lowest selectivity level of any college last year.</p>

<p>The admission rate for the undergraduate class of 2014 was 9.3 percent. 96 percent of accepted students were in the top 10 percent of their high school class, and 38 percent were either valedictorian or salutatorian.</p>

<p>Tell your father that if you don’t show up at the time you signed up for, you will look bad to the admissions office. Tell him that pushy people with pushy parents get a special note in the file for being ‘pita’s’. Asking dumb questions that are on the website does make you look dumb.</p>

<p>Sounds like you know best, sorry for you… {{{{{{{{{{{{hugs}}}}}}}}}}}}}
Stay calm, write things down.</p>