mooooom Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 I am trying to set a college visiting week - 6 colleges in 5 days for 2 kids - not anywhere near our house - major road trip. Because it is far we are trying to make special arrangements for the kids to sit in on a class and meet with a professor (they both know exactly what they want to do). Four of the schools were lovely and easy to deal with. The other two.... aren't returning phone calls or emails. Any ideas for what I can do to move things along? The visit is 4 weeks away - but we have to do specific schools on specific days as we move on down the coastline. There is no flexibility. Thanks for any ideas, I am not the kind of person that will push normally - I'd probably have crossed them off the list if they were MY schools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janice H Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 "I'd probably have crossed them off the list if they were MY schools" Yep, me too. I think it could be a warning sign of ongoing organizational problems. But since these are dc's schools, could you put them in charge of calling the department head's administrative staff or admissions staff again? They can show their enthusiasm for the school, ask for help/advice from any person that may ultimately pick up the phone. Even a student office worker might know if calls usually do/do not get returned, best time to call, more direct telephone extension, whatever info your student detective can get out of them. Just curious, are these large public uni's that are not returning emails and/or calls? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Photo Ninja Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 When that happened with my ds, after he phoned and emailed several times a week for a few weeks, with no response, we decided to cross the school off the list. If a university won't return a phone call or email requesting a tour, how much worse will communication be once your child is a student there? We opted for schools that were more communicative and welcoming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candid Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 If you want to go the distance with the remaining two AND your kids know which professors they want to meet, why not call the professors directly? On the other hand, it is bothersome that no one has replied. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted September 12, 2011 Share Posted September 12, 2011 Are these colleges that have had severe weather issues recently? If so, I'd keep trying. Are you trying to get an adcom who might be on the road doing college fairs? If so, I'd see if I could contact someone else. (This one did affect us and we got instant attention when contacting someone else. The adcom later apologized too.) Are you asking for at least one senior (soon to be freshman)? Colleges are spending a bit of time recruiting this year's class that they may put younger kids lower down a bit on the "to do" list. Many colleges only allow a sit in for classes with current seniors. (That surprised us, but it's evidently pretty common.) Are they larger colleges or colleges who get so many applicants that they have a low acceptance rate? Both of those types traditionally are less responsive. If none of these are issues (or if just the last one is) I second the recommendation to try to contact a professor in the chosen department and seeing if that works better. It may or may not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooooom Posted September 13, 2011 Author Share Posted September 13, 2011 One is pretty darn small and the other is somewhat larger. I will look into contacting professors directly - which means I need to find class schedules to figure out what is running those days. I think this is harder than transcripts. And yes, I am concerned about the lack of response. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 I'd call and speak to someone in person during normal business hours and tell them that you've been waiting for a response. Different schools can handle scheduling very differenty - I found some that were super-efficient and others that were awful! Some had students doing a lot of that work and in those schools, results were always iffy, LOL.... I'd try to speak with the admissions rep for your area of the country directly and get them to provide yes or no answers while you're on the phone with them - with details.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 I'd probably have crossed them off the list if they were MY schools. That's what I did, back in the day. I like the idea of having the student do the contacting. Maybe after he tries calling a few hundred times, he'll decide to write them off too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 Unless they are your kid's first choice schools, I'd cross them off my list ...then send emails to the head of Admissions and the College Pres. stating WHY you are not visiting (lack of response). They need to know that whomever is supposed to handle visits is dropping the ball. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 Dd emailed professors directly and set up time to talk with them. She scheduled admission interviews to follow so she could talk about how much she wanted to study with said professor. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
distancia Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 This happened to us. DD was interested in 4 state schools and she tried--in vain--to sit in on a class in two of the four schools. One state school with an undergrad body of 1,200 and graduate body of 2000+ actually asked dd why she wanted to sit in on a class, as they had never had a potential student make such a request. The other school is a large state school 20,000+ and the admissions office said that it was not their policy for potential students to sit-in on a class. As one rep pointed out, there are more applicants than there are openings for incoming students, so during a downturn in the economy like there is now, where classroom seats are at a premium, "potential students can't afford to be picky." In other words, it is a seller's market. Needles to say, we crossed that school off the list! Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooooom Posted September 14, 2011 Author Share Posted September 14, 2011 Success! Yesterday I found course schedules online, picked a few lower level classes going on the day we would be there and found the professors' email addys. Had son email one from each school, letting them know what day he was coming to visit (and how far he was coming from) and asking if it would be possible to sit in on the specific class. One teacher emailed back almost immediately saying of course, and he would be happy to meet with my son afterwards as well to chat. Of course the admin emailed back an hour after that (after an ENTIRE week) to say she would be happy to try to find a teacher for him to speak with but not to expect to sit in on a class - I think we'll wait awhile to get back to her. Hopefully the other schools' prof will get back to us as well. This school has the most annoying kid (I'm guessing student) answer the phone at admin and gives us false information every.time.we.call! I would love to register a complaint, but I can't see how it would be advantageous to us in any way at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mooooom Posted September 14, 2011 Author Share Posted September 14, 2011 I think this is the way to go for any school where admissions or the dept is less than helpful. Just find a class yourself, email the prof and ask. I don't know if an unhelpful Admissions is that much of a detriment or not - do you ever need them again once you are accepted and enrolled? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Glad you're finding success! I wouldn't let an unhelpful admissions dept be a deal breaker, but I would keep it in mind just in case the final decision needed to come down to nit picking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janice H Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Of course the admin emailed back an hour after that (after an ENTIRE week) to say she would be happy to try to find a teacher for him to speak with but not to expect to sit in on a class - I think we'll wait awhile to get back to her. :lol: Guess employment is a sure thing for this administrator, unlike the way it is for so many other folks. I am so pleased to hear professors are responsive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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