My D’s experience with contacting AO’s with legitimate questions was mixed and very off-putting to her. College websites often state “feel free to contact us anytime! We love to hear from you and we will respond!” Most of the time, they didn’t. She emailed a very selelctive LAC that asked students to “tell us what books you read this summer!” No response. She emailed a a moderately selective LAC, specific question, no response. Other attempts to email with legitimate questions were met with silence, even though these colleges in fact either accepted or waitlisted her. The one rep she found to be very responsive was at William and Mary. He was great, but in the end she didn’t apply there. She certainly wouldn’t recommend emailing reps.