As you are shaping your holiday card list, it may be wise for a student to send a holiday card to the admissions representatives on their college list.  After all, admissions representatives are the “behind the scenes” advocate for a student’s application and will look out for the student’s best interest when a relationship is established.  I always encourage the families that I consult to build a genuine, professional relationship with an admissions representatives at their colleges of interest.

Additionally, in the competitive college admissions world we live in, a majority of colleges still use demonstrated interest to track a potential student’s likelihood to matriculate.  As noted in previous blogs, demonstrated interest helps colleges identify students who are sincerely interested in attending over those who merely submit an application.  Colleges may track numerous demonstrated interest factors such as attendance at regional college fairs, official campus visits, phone calls and email interactions with admissions representatives. The following are a few additional considerations regarding the value in developing an admissions representative relationship:

Admissions at its core is people to people interaction – As families can gather volumes of information online about colleges, there is still no substitute for a campus tour and meeting an admissions representative.  The personalized attention and having questions answered by an expert helps to determine campus fit and continued interest.  Also, a point of contact will be established for future conversations and questions.

Students build the first college relationship with the admissions representative – It is an important relationship for students when initially considering a college and also when making the final decision.  Additionally, the admissions representative can be an important resource when a student matriculates to campus and has early questions in adjusting to campus life.  

Admissions representatives are more than transactional partners – Many admissions representatives are alumni or dedicated professionals with a wealth of institutional knowledge.  Many students and their families view admissions as the gatekeeper or interact only when they have application questions.  By building an effective relationship, students may learn about additional institutional scholarships and campus amenities over those students that choose only to interact when an application question arises.  

As a former admissions professional, I always enjoyed holiday cards from students and their families.  Building effective admissions representative relationships can be the gift that keeps on giving all year.  Now that I am an independent educational consultant, I take pride in sharing insider knowledge such as, building effective admissions representative relationships, which will help a student standout as a distinct applicant.