Imagine you want to contact someone at a college to learn about some aspect of it- a coach, a student leader of a club, a professor…
You can find their contact information on the website.
Should you just reach out to them directly?
Or should you go through the admissions office, in order to “demonstrate interest”? Or does it just make you look dumb to ask for contact info you can find online?
I think your best bet is to reach out on your own. If you are meeting in person with this person during a visit, sign in at admissions on the day of the visit (and note in book “visiting Coach abc” and/or let your adcom know so it can be coordinated with the rest of your visit. Reference the visit in your supplemental essay. “When I reached out to Prof. Xyz, she told me…” You can mention it in an interview as well. Demonstrated interest is specifically this - you are interested enough to have made the effort to lean about the school and having done so, have decided to apply.
My D’s experience with trying to demonstrate interest with admissions officers was pretty much a bust, even at schools that considered interest. She would absoutely say not to contact adcoms unless there is a very specific reason to do so. She did have real questions, not just “easy to find on the website” ones. For example, she had to contact a college after she realized her essay hadn’t downloaded properly. She got a quick response to that. Of the several colleges she contacted, there was only one that ever responded to other questions. She just felt stupid contacting the others and worried she was annoying them, because of the lack of response. Those colleges all admitted her, too. So I would say it’s best to directly contact who you want to talk to. Requesting interviews, meeting reps, and visiting are all good ways to express interest. Admissions officers are busy people.
So are coaches, students, professors. I certainly would not suggest contacting anybody solely to demonstrate interest, particularly if the answer is available on the website. Additionally, unless one is a potential athletic recruit, I can think of no valid reason to contact a coach.
Also, nobody likes to be cold called, so don’t be surprised if you get no responses to your questions.
Agree with @skieurope My D applied to LACs and demonstrated interest by visiting the school, interviewing, being on the mailing list etc. and she did very well in terms of admissions.
The reason for contacting people would be to receive pivotal information that would aid in making a decision whether to apply to the college.
In the case of the coach example (not the other examples), it would also allow the student to be considered for inclusion on a Division Three sports team, and he was advised to contact the coach by his admissions interviewer at one college.
@skieurope – These actions are NOT just to demonstrate interest.
The answers are NOT available on the website. The CONTACT INFORMATION is what is available on the website.
It is only the aspect of whether to let the admissions office know that the contacts are being made that I am asking about. That’s where demonstrated interest comes into play. He will be making the contacts regardless of whether he notifies admissions.
Sorry for the capitals. I appreciate everyone’s help and do not mean to sound like shouting, just to use emphasis to clarify meaning. It just seemed that what I was asking was not clear to some posters, so I hope this clarifies things.
@TheGreyKing Relax. Your reasons for wanting to contact coaches etc. were not clear from your original post. No need for caps. In that specific case I my gut feeling is that the most expedient thing to do would be to reach out to the coach directly. If a positive contact is made (ex. coach is interested) that information can be worked into a supplement, put in an email to admissions etc.
To all posters so far: Thank you all for your helpful advice.
If you are interested in being recruited to play a sport, contact the coach. If the coach ultimately decides he/she wants you on the team, and you’ve made it clear to the coach that you want to apply to that school, he/she will let admissions know. If the school is reasonably selective you will probably be asked to submit academic information for a pre-read by admissions before you apply.
My kid contacted different professors at different universities and asked to meet with them to find out about their undergraduate programs. They got responses from virtually all the schools. They sat in on classes at a number of schools including a number of ivies. One of the professors said to tell admissions they met with them and they can contact them for further information.