<p>Are there any legitimate reasons a parent should contact Admissions or should all contact be done by the student?</p>
<p>I think it depends on why you are contacting admissions. For general questions, setting up interviews, getting application status updates - that should be done by the student. But there are some things (involving money/financial aid or just general logistics) that might be better handled by a parent.</p>
<p>Because we needed to have transcripts sent from an overseas school, I contacted the admissions offices of the schools my son is interested in to see if there was anything specific they needed/wanted on the transcript or from the school before I made the transcript request. I also wanted to make sure that it was okay to have the transcripts sent now (due to the potential mailing time involved I didn’t want to wait until Sept).</p>
<p>Other than contacting financial aid about things that the parent, not the student, would know about, I think in virtually all instances, it’s best if the student contacts admissions.</p>
<p>if the parent wants to work the alumni card</p>
<p>Working the alum card may just irritate admissions, who can see from the app whether the applicant is a legacy.</p>
<p>D1 did all the leg work. But at the end, when she was waitlisted I contacted the admission.</p>
<p>Oldfort, did you call help?</p>
<p>I would say yes, she is there now. Her GC told me what two things they wanted to hear from us, and I assured them in my email. They let me know they appreciated the email, and she got the call in two days.</p>
<p>My kids will usually try to contact their teachers or school adminstrators first, but if they are ignored then I have no issue in stepping in. D1 has gotten much better over the years because we will rehearse what she should say and discuss how it went afterwards. As a raising Junior, it is very rare I need to pick up the phone now, but she knows I am always here if she needs me.</p>
<p>Recently my daughter’s good friend got accepted as a transfer student at her school. The father did play the alum card, he called.</p>
<p>Glad things worked out for your D and her friend, oldfort.</p>
<p>Since you get your child to college, I think it’s time to teach them some independence and responsibility to help preparing them for real life experience. Let your child do all the works, but be there to help whenever they need advice or friends to discuss about things.</p>
<p>Unless you have major issues like problems about payment that you actually have paid but they didn’t receive, requesting financial aid (actually, your kid should first ask the application himself), etc, you would want to trust your kid to do their job themselves.</p>
<p>I believe the admission department of the colleges would appreciate your kid for being independence as well.</p>
<p>One school had an on-line application that had lots of glitches (they’ve since replaced it.) Son was never home when their help line was open, so I worked through those issues.</p>
<p>I hope this is related. I am not experienced with this. Honestly, I don’t know. Anyway, here is a question that puzzles me. My D is applying a school of which I am an alumni. Will it help or hurt if I call the admissions office before decision day to express that I, as an alumni, strongly wish that my D will be accepted? Any advice is appreciated!</p>
<p>" Will it help or hurt if I call the admissions office before decision day to express that I, as an alumni, strongly wish that my D will be accepted? "</p>
<p>It will hurt. Since the college can tell from your D’s app that you are an alum, the college would assume that yes, you believe your D should be accepted. Heck, even if you weren’t an alum, presumably you’d want your D admitted by the college since you’re allowing her to apply there.</p>
<p>Your calling might make them fear that once she’s in college, you’d be pestering the administration about other things involving your D. </p>
<p>Now, if as part of your call, you’re offering them at least half a million dollars, then probably the college would welcome your call. :)</p>
<p>if they want to donate a crapload of money and get you in (:</p>
<p>"It will hurt. Since the college can tell from your D’s app that you are an alum, the college would assume that yes, you believe your D should be accepted. Heck, even if you weren’t an alum, presumably you’d want your D admitted by the college since you’re allowing her to apply there.</p>
<p>Your calling might make them fear that once she’s in college, you’d be pestering the administration about other things involving your D.</p>
<p>Now, if as part of your call, you’re offering them at least half a million dollars, then probably the college would welcome your call."</p>
<p>Thanks, Northstarmom! </p>
<p>It makes sense.</p>