Communicating with admission counselors

[aaghomeschool]

Hello. Quick question for parents with more experience since we are first timers for college admission. Do the counselors deal with the students directly or can parents call/email with questions. I know at our Comm College where DD17 does DE, they college does not communicate with us much. Should I be pushing the kiddo (who is overwhelmed with classes and ACT) to call with questions? Many thanks and appreciate what a wonderful resource the college board at WTM forums has been for us. Regards, Ann

[8filltheheart]

Depends on whether they are student questions or guidance counselor questions.  I do make calls if they are related to my role as guidance counselor.  

[Lanny]

OP I agree with 8FillTheHeart.  If it has to do with you being the Guidance Counselor, probably OK for you to contact the school. For other things, your DC should do that. If a parent contacts the school, IMO, that shows a lack of interest on the part of the applicant. 

ETA: Instead of calling with questions, I strongly suggest writing the questions, clearly, and sending them via email.

Edited August 28, 2020 by Lanny
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[Bootsie]

What type of questions are they?  Are they questions that can be answered by looking at the website?  Are they questions about whether the school is a good fit for this particular student?  Is it a question about application procedures and requirements?  Also, what type of school are you considering?--the answers would differ some if you are talking about a local state university with high acceptance rates versus a private school with low acceptance rates.  

[Farrar]

If it's about your role specifically as the counselor, you. If it's a question any applying student could ask, the kid. Every time. They have to take charge of the process to a large extent.

[BusyMom5]

I've called 3 places today to get specifics on homeschool transcripts.   All 3 were OOS, so their websites don't have info that works with my DIY transcript.  Dd is filling out the applications,  but if you have a transcript question I think you should call.   

[easypeasy]

In a normal year, I'd lean into my kid to do all the phone calling/questioning.

This year? Heck, all bets are off. Things are crayyyyzy and if I have a question, I'm gonna call and ask someone. My kid would know the "normal" questions, but we don't have "normal" questions right now. lol

(and if you're calling a public or large U, I can promise you that they aren't keeping track of that phone call even a little bit.)

Edited August 29, 2020 by easypeasy

[aaghomeschool]

OP here. Thank you for the guidance. We have been working through the common app together and sometimes we need quick questions/ clarifications. I will try sending emails if they are counselor questions and will encourage DD (who is also not the best when it comes to communicating by phone calls) to make scripts for her questions. Regards. 

 

 

[whitestavern]

My son emailed instead of calling. He likes to think things through and make sure he has all his questions down. Since he was dealing with many colleges, he also liked to have the written answers so he could refer back and make sure he had the right info for the right school. 

[Sebastian (a lady)]

16 hours ago, aaghomeschool said:

OP here. Thank you for the guidance. We have been working through the common app together and sometimes we need quick questions/ clarifications. I will try sending emails if they are counselor questions and will encourage DD (who is also not the best when it comes to communicating by phone calls) to make scripts for her questions. Regards. 

 

 

You might also look at the Common App help topics. When you are on a page in the Common App, related help topics are on the right side bar. They open up and can answer a lot of questions. 

This will be more useful in the general section than in the College specific questions sections.

They also have a solutions center with articles and a guide to applying.