<p>A few months ago, after taking a college campus tour, I obtained the business card (and email address) of the admissions counselor in charge of applicants from my area. (I decided to ask the admissions counselor who led the information session for it, rather than dig through their dumpster.)</p>
<p>Several questions about that college have arisen since then that I believe an admissions counselor would be most able to answer (such as, what are the school's "selling points." Colleges want to hear you reason for attending besides the prestige, location, academic reputation, etc., but rarely do they actually give us, the applicants, reasons for attending besides the aforementioned.) Another boon of emailing the admissions counselor is the one that everyone instantly thought of when they read my thread title, which is to "attach a face" to my application. </p>
<p>What are people's thoughts on this? Will the admissions counselor automatically assume I'm just trying to get the "admissions boost" (despite the fact that I really would like to know the answer to my question) and dismiss the email? What's the etiquette of this kind of thing?</p>
<p>Don't worry about the 'admissions boost.' If you have an honest question, then ask it, or else you won't know the answer, and I think you'll regret it later.</p>
<p>I would say something like, </p>
<p>Hi,</p>
<p>I recently visited ____ college and was really interested. I have a few questions regarding the college that I haven't been able to find the answer to in my research. Could you tell me about the ________ at this school? Where can I find more information about this? ________</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<ul>
<li>(your name)</li>
</ul>
<p>Then write out some of the questions in a nice, paragraph format (don't just list them out). Make it like a conversation, but not too lengthy, because they're really busy. You don't have to be incredibly formal about it, but I wouldn't call them by their first name (they probably won't mind, anyway). Don't ask a question that you can find on the website, so don't ask 'What makes this school distinctive' when the website probably screams the answer.</p>
<p>Also, some schools have a program of admitted students who help answer your questions. The fact that a school has that suggests that they'd rather have people ask the students rather than the admissions officers (some admissions officers haven't even graduated from the school they're in!). </p>
<p>Yeah, don't worry about the admissions boost, where some people just bug the admissions officers because they think that will show 'interest.' A load of garbage! If you genuinely have a question, that shows interest. Don't just e-mail something because you think that'll boost your chances.</p>
<p>Also, a lot of people constantly e-mail admissions right before or during or after the application season to 'show more interest.' But really, students can come out sounding desperate.</p>
<p>Erm, instead of saying Hi, and thanks, I would format it like a business letter. You can't be too formal- some people prefer a business format. </p>
<p>Dear Mrs/Mr. _____,</p>
<p>(body of letter)</p>
<p>Sincerely,
Your name</p>
<p>And I completely agree with the rest of dchow's post- probably not the best question, and you don't need to email unless you have a specific reason.</p>