Colleges receive thousands of applications every year, so you may be wondering what you can do to stand out. One of the best ways to help your admissions counselor learn about you is through direct communication. I always encourage students to stay in touch throughout the college search and application process, but what does that actually look like? Here are just a couple of ways you can stay connected with your admissions counselor and make a good impression.
Send Us an Email
Emailing your college admissions counselor directly is a simple way to help us remember you. I recommend contacting your counselor to ask questions – after all, they are the expert. For specifics on how to ask a good question, you can check out my previous blog. Reaching out not only shows that you’re interested in the school. When you ask questions that you can’t easily look up online, it shows how invested you are and that you have done your research. Later when you apply, we can remember you as the student who asked us lots of questions that we enjoyed hearing from.
One of the downfalls of emailing is that sometimes students make simple spelling and grammar mistakes that leave a negative impression. Please make sure that you read your email at least twice, just to make sure that everything is coherent and accurate. We aren’t expecting perfection, and a small spelling mistake won’t have an impact on your application, but you always want to come across as prepared and professional as you can. If you have an admissions counselor with an unusual name, such as myself, be sure that you spell it correctly. It’s also important to remember that tone is often hard to read in emails. Personally, I would always rather be too polite and formal rather than risk being seen as inappropriate. Always write a subject line, greeting, introduction, and a small thank you at the end.
Give Us a Call
The dreaded phone call! I know many students have an aversion to talking on the phone and to be honest it’s not my favorite thing either. However, it’s sometimes easier to talk on the phone, especially if you’re asking multiple complex questions. If you try to call your counselor and they don’t answer, please be sure to leave a clear message. Tell us your phone number and name twice, and if you have an uncommon name like I do, spell it. Also, try to avoid wind or a lot of background noise so we can hear you clearly. Sadly I’ve been unable to return a few calls because I couldn’t understand the person’s message. On the flip side, be sure to set up your voicemail. If we’re trying to return your call and you don’t answer, we still would like to leave you a quick message to let you know we called.
Colleges will do a lot to contact you because we want to make sure that you know all about us, but you can do the exact same. Even one quick email can be enough to make an impression on your counselor – just make sure it’s a good one!
