<p>Although there are many good reasons not to tour colleges on weekends, S got a personal tour of a college on Superbowl Sunday and fell in love with the college. </p>
<p>S is not a football fan or a partier, so was happy to see that there were some students actually in the library studying on Superbowl Sunday. That was one of the things that convinced him that even though the college had a party school rep, S could find people there that shared his interests.</p>
<p>And he has done exactly that at that school, Rollins College.</p>
<p>patc- I’m with you, I’m wracking my brain, but can’t think of anything that I would ask in an email to an admissions office. The Common Ap site sent emails saying the apps had gone through, so what else do we need to know?</p>
<p>Judging from friends kids experiences, the LAC’s where D is applying will send US a note if they are missing a piece of the application.</p>
<p>Thinking back 4 years…I am recalling that there was one time when there was a question that was not clearly answered on the web sites (something to do with a variation in planned 2nd semester schedule? not sure. It seemed inportant at the time.), the action or decision was required right away, son’s school did not allow cell phones or LD calls from the office, and he was travelling to an away game after school. So he asked me to call to a couple of schools and I did. I’d do it again. I don’t think it is so awful!</p>
<p>We had to make calls about the logistics of visiting classes/overnight visits. Website did not list or was unclear (one class met 9a-5p???). I made the calls to make sure the logistics were accurate. Spending lots of money for a weeklong college trip across the country, I did not want this to be a ‘oops, I guess you’ll learn from your mistakes’ event.</p>
<p>During the admissions process, anything that really and truly needed “following-up” on was done by my son, via e-mail. I’m the first to admit some of it might have been at my prompting, but he needed to compose and send the e-mail. (He had some issues with test scores and variations on his name that caused some confusion and needed to be addressed.) </p>
<p>During the “visiting” stage, if a phone call needed to be made (for a quick answer that wasn’t readily available on the website or elsewhere) I would make that call. Usually, there’s not even a need to identify yourself for this type of call. Just call, ask your question, say “thank you very much” and be done with it.</p>
<p>I, personally, would NEVER pester the admissions department about my child’s application or anything else. I wouldn’t encourage my child to do so either (yea, like there’s any universe where my laid back son would EVER make a call to the admissions department unless it were a matter of life and death!!)</p>
<p>Hi,
A couple of the items I was “pestering” the admissions rep with were:
it is a college in a BIG city, and I am in a smaller city and I had/have concerns about the level of security and safety. It was a “mom” issue.
the rep offered to help me coordinate the trip to NY and figure out transportation, hotels, etc. which I gratefully accepted and probably will place one more “pester” call before we leave to make sure the itinerary is set.
I made the initial contact with the college because I thought my D might be resistant but I believe this might be a good choice for her - and wanted to run some of the thoughts i had by someone in the know - and the person who answered the phone asked if I wanted to talk with an admissions rep and I said sure!<br>
I DID follow up with a question about whether or not the school had received the entire app (this was over the line now I see in hindsight) and with another question about the student body. The students in some cases on certain blogs/forums were saying “don’t come here to this school, and here is why”, and I shared my concern with the admissions rep. Not sure if that was right/wrong/didn’t matter, but it is done and I can’t undo it
Had to reschedule the trip and contacted this person again to make sure the new date would work for her - she took awhile in getting back with me but we are now set to meet.
also asked the rep about my daughter’s chances of receiving a merit scholarship - since her criteria were sort of on the edge. She, understandably, could not tell me for sure. I asked more because I didn’t want to spend our limited funds visiting a college that might not be able to make attendance possible.</p>
<p>SO, all that being said, I have read the postings and replies and I realize now that I may have been too involved. The term Helicopter Parent is new to me, and it makes me chuckle a bit but does have a ring of truth. </p>
<p>I have ‘learned my lesson’ and will not bother the rep(s) again, unless absolutely necessary. </p>
<p>When I hit the send button on the last email I sent the rep, I thought…hm, maybe I am too involved here. Which is what led to my posting this thread. </p>
<p>What is done is done, in my heart I don’t think it will affect her chances really, but then again I don’t know.</p>
<p>Thanks for your replies and all the learning has been very helpful to me.</p>
<p>Our staff (who already works over 40 hours Monday - Friday) often works a weekend or two each season. Essentially the office is open at least one of the two weekend days to accomodate for those families who need to visit. I rarely recommend a weekend visit, unless it is a large program that involves the entire staff and some faculty, because it is important to see what campus is like when students are in “class mode.” </p>
<p>I understand, as many of us in Admissions understand, it is important to be available for families on weekends. I think society has fundamentally shifted to expect instant communication in all areas. Unfortunately many smaller liberal arts schools like Saint Michael’s has small and overworked admission teams that are truly doing the best they can. We can’t be available 24/7, but we sure wish we could! I always appreciate a family who understands that. That is why it is so important to call or check the website to see when things are being offered BEFORE visiting!</p>
<p>Mallory Wood
Admission Counselor
Saint Michael’s College</p>
<p>Thanks for the update and explanation. It’s great that you have found this site and are using it now to get the answers to some of your questions. Warmest wishes to you and your D.</p>
<p>Wow, I would not do this in the future. Very inappropriate to point school officials towards private blogs, IMO. (Not private in the “locked” sense, obviously, but private in the “this is my personal opinion, not the school’s official position” sense.) Any school is going to try to present themself in the best light and at any school, some kids are not going to like it for whatever reason. You should determine the amount of trust you have in the students’ statements on your own.</p>
<p>While “pestering call” mostly likely hurts child’s chance, how about making one call? I called the admissions office after my child got deferral notice. I didn’t get to talk to an admissions counselor, but a receptionist. He told that it won’t hurt if my child sends in a statement He didn’t elaborate on what kind of statement I presume it is kind of stating the desire of my child to get in through regular admissions process. Is that really helpful?</p>
<p>Is this a myth or simply untrue - if you call the office, you help make your child’s app more outstanding in case your child’s qualification is as good as the many top candidates for only a much smaller number of slots?</p>
<p>After D1 was deferred, her GC asked her to write a one page statement as to why school X was still her first choice. Her GC also updated her application - transcript, additional recommendation letters, awards (if any), and she also wrote another recommendation for D1.</p>
<p>Your contact only matters if it’s information your child is not able to provide. In our case it was when D1 was waitlisted and adcom wanted know for sure D1 would go if she was admitted - our commitment was more financial (D1 had a full ride to a LAC)</p>
<p>There are a lot of calls one can make without identifying oneself. So if you have a shy or busy kid I don’t see a problem in calling to ask if it’s okay for a deferred student to send in more materials. Usually the deferral letters tell you that though. (Especially if you only talk to the receptionist.)</p>
<p>I don’t think calling once either hurts or helps your child. I doubt it makes their application stand out more. However, sending a brief statement from the child explaining why X school is still their first choice and they think they make a good candidate for X reason and they hope the school will consider them as a serious applicant, probably could help. If nothing else, it’s one more piece of information for the admissions officers to have that reflects your child’s serious, thought-out attitude towards the college.</p>
<p>Admission Counselors are like any other person who has to deal with customer relations type inqueries and will most likely be irrated by someone calling repeatedly.</p>
<p>Ms s called the admissions office several times because is app was showing as incomplete. First he got the “give it a few days” like, then the “it must be downstairs” line and finally someone actually looked and discovered thay had 2 incomplete files on him. They put the files together, his application was complete, and his acceptance was posted on line a few days later! Calling isnt a bad thing, if there is a reason for it.</p>