Hello!
I’m new here, although I’ve been reading threads on this board for the past few weeks. This is our first time going through the boarding school admissions process, and its a bit overwhelming as a parent! My son has interviewed at a few different schools in the Mid Atlantic area - not the ones that you see most often on these boards (i.e. we’re not looking at any New England schools). The schools on our list are all in PA and NJ, and I see some of their names pop up on here.
Anyway, we’ve been getting phone calls from current parents at these schools and I’m wondering if that means anything. Is this a standard marketing thing? Or does it mean the school may be very interested in your child? Do all of the (hundreds) of parents who tour and apply get phone calls from current parents? Just curious to hear a perspective of someone who has done this before (or is a current parents making these calls.) For the record I do find them helpful, and the parents have been lovely to speak with. It is a nice touch, even if it is just for marketing and doesn’t mean that the school has some kind of special interest in my kid. Thanks!
I’ve been asked to make these calls and as far as I know it didn’t indicate anything about likelihood of acceptance, but that could vary by school. I think these calls are mainly meant to be helpful and to let the prospective family ask questions they may not have been comfortable asking in the interview and of course to connect the prospective family with another family excited about the school.
Agree with Sue. I am a parent admissions volunteer for our school, and I am asked to call prospective parents who have requested to be put in touch with current parents. It is meant to be helpful only…if you have questions about the school or the admissions process, , we’re here to answer them. I also call accepted families in April to see if they have questions. I enjoy it…I get to share my love of the school with potential families.
Thank you for the replies. Do you ever report back to the Admissions office about the conversations? I had a parent ask me if XYZ school was my sons first choice and I kind of stumbled over the answer. It’s not #1 on his list but I didn’t want it to make it sound like he didn’t want to go. I know AO’s want to know if an applicant wants to be there, so I just felt uncomfortable with that question and was unsure about how to answer.
@dramakid2 It’s mainly a recruiting tool but done by those who can empathize with others going through the process. Having another source of information can only help in the decision-making process. Be careful with answering questions. Stay in control of the conversation and be the inquisitor.
Like @hellomaisy, I made those same calls while our son was at BS. The purpose was to be helpful and answer questions that parents might not feel comfortable asking someone in admissions or that they didn’t think to ask when visiting the school. And, of course, to be a cheerleader for the school.
I always submitted notes on the calls, mostly just that I connected with those on my list and was able to answer a few questions, or to ask for answers to anything I couldn’t address so I could call them back with that info. However, over the years, I had conversations with two different parents that caused me to be very specific in my notes with red flag comments that I felt admissions would like to know about. Not anything that anyone here would say, of course.
I never asked questions of the prospective families I called, just offered to be there as a resource for them. Some never took me up on my offer, and that’s fine. Some have called me back 3, 4, even 5 times with additional questions. One family, who was admitted and enrolled, continued to ask me questions as a “BTDT mom” well into their kid’s first semester. I got to meet them face to face at family weekend, which was fun.
I certainly wouldn’t ask about whether our school was the applicant’s first choice, but I do report it if a parent offers that information. I think everyone is called who indicates that they are open to the contact.
