<p>Hi- I'm not the best at networking, but I know it's important...we visited a private school recently, and after an info session my d and I had a great conversation with a prof in her area of interest. Since we were coming back the next day, she was invited to one of his classes and then even to lunch afterwards! We were so grateful for all the personal attention and would like to keep in contact. Any ideas as to the most appropriate way to go about this? She has emailed a thank you and received a nice reply to that...</p>
<p>she can no longer get an interview at this school as the appointments are all full...I'm wondering if somehow the informal contact she had with the prof could be factored into her application though..what is a nice way to ask about this?</p>
<p>Well, I was going to say to be sure to ask for some piece of advice in the thank you email in order to open up a professional dialogue!</p>
<p>Seriously though, don't just view this connection as a ticket to this particular university. If your daughter is heading into that field, she should send another email in a few weeks to ask for career advice regarding course selection or internships etc--or even book recommendations. My son had an long interview with a Dean of a school he did not get in to--and that interview changed the course of his life--very happily.</p>
<p>My father always told me that everyone loves to give advice--and he was spot on about that!</p>
<p>wecandothis, I would suggest that your daughter make the admissions office aware of her communication with the professor. She can do this in several ways:
1.E-mail to the professor and cc her admissions representative
2. E-mail to her admissions representative and cc the professor
3. Ask the professor to contact the admissions office on her behalf</p>
<p>I’d recommend #2 as I think it gives her the most control and also is the opportunity to make a personal contact with someone in the admissions office.</p>
<p>Of course, your daughter’s qualifications will need to “admissions worthy.” If they are, a nod from a professor can only help. This sounds like a win-win situation for all three parties.</p>
<p>cheers and momrath- thank you so much! fantastic ideas...I especially like the book recommendation request and email to admissions rep w/ cc to prof. </p>
<p>Not sure how to go about just coming right out and asking prof to put in a word for her, but it seemed obvious by the royal treatment he gave her that he saw her as a viable candidate...her stats are basically a match with her GPA above the midpoint and ACT one tick below the midpoint..but this year, who knows?</p>
<p>How important is it to send a hard copy snail mail note, as opposed to the email route? Also, we were given a small gift while there, is it appropriate to reciprocate and if so, with what? A friend suggested enclosing with a note a photo of us beaming with pride in sweatshirts with the school logo...is that too tacky/personal? </p>
<p>I hate coming across as too aggressive and therefore "desperate to work the system"...</p>
<p>Not to put a damper on any of this, but when my D was applying to colleges last year she visited and spoke with a faculty member in her dept. of interest at three different schools. All were delighted to speak with her, encouraged her to apply, etc., but all were very realistic about the fact that they had absolutely zero say in admissions decisions. She did e-mail each of them afterwards to thank them, and got nice replies back. When she was admitted to one of the schools she let the other two know and thanked them again for the time they took to speak with her...who knows, she might be going to grad school at one of their institutions one day. :) (And cheers is spot on about career advice, etc.)</p>
<p>Now perhaps at the school you're looking at the faculty has more say in the process, in which case I like momrath's #2 idea as well.</p>
<p>I'll have to agree with Booklady. These days, at many schools, especially those competing heavily for students, faculty members are strongly encouraged by admissions/enrollment management types to "sell" the school to prospective students by meeting with them, having them sit in on classes, and encouraging them to apply.</p>
<p>That's not the same, however, as faculty having any desire to "pull" for students with the admissions department, and, indeed, there are very few schools where faculty have significant influence over admissions decisions for students who aren't academic superstars. The only "good words" from a faculty member that might matter are if the faculty member has directly taught the student, or worked with them directly in some academic capacity.</p>
<p>So, I wouldn't read too much into the contact with the faculty member beyond this being a good sign about the school having accessible faculty. Nor would I advise your daughter to start sending gifts, or deluging him with phone calls or emails. A polite thank you email, and perhaps one other later email with a few pertinent questions about the department is appropriate, but more than that will likely just be seen as being a pest. If she wants to use this for admissions purposes, her best bet is to bring up how the meeting helped convince her to apply when she writes her "Why this college?" essay.</p>