So, I am just beginning to show interest to schools I may apply to in the fall. I have requested information, now I was told it would be a good idea to contact the regional counselor for each college and ask a subjective question.
I have emailed a few, and think I have come up with some good questions that cant be answered using the website.
Now, though, I am stuck and without any ideas for questions and not sure where to go. I probably will start repeating questions, but thought I’d ask in here.
What questions/interactions did you, or your s/d, ask/have with regional admissions counselors via email?
I plan on applying to many LAC’s and mid sized universities
Ask them something personal regarding anything you are interested in. As long as you don’t make it a generic question, you’re good. When I interacted with admissions counselors, I talked about my prospective program, grad school opportunities, sports, etc.
Generic question: “What’s your biology program like?”
Good question: “What is the percentage of biology students that pass the MCAT/go on to medical school?”
Totally agreed with TheDidactic’s response. Asking detailed questions NOT listed on the website is key.
Another great thing to do is ask personal questions about their background based on what they reveal to you during any interactions you have or what they might provide in their bio. However, you may not want to reveal details you discovered when googling them (don’t want to cross that line!) I read something about this on the college admissions subreddit recently during the Duke alumni interviewer AMA.
@hsalem32 I would just poke around there and use the search function. I’ve seen a lot of good tips and AMAs since I joined that sub.
Yeah, asking about greek life is important. If you think you’ll love it or hate it, you want to know how much of a factor it is! The answer may be somewhat subjective, but I’ll bet after asking a handful of people or doing some online research as well, you can get a pretty good idea.
I would not ask about Greek life unless it is a huge priority for you and the numbers are not obvious. As in if 75% of people belong or 15% of people belong, it is not a great question. I would hesitate about asking personal questions unless there is something REALLY interesting or the person mentioned it themselves. Too much weird stalker potential and they want to be perceived as professional but I tend not to do that so take my advice with a grain.
Depends on the type of school. If it is a very ivory tower school I would not ask that. If it is a more nuts and bolts place that touts their employment placement and you cannot figure it out from their web site, then yes.
Another idea; you might also ask for examples of internships related to a particular major that students have gotten, as well as any specific internship programs / recruiting.
In isn’t uncommon for a college to have 10/20/30,000 applicants-even more. Can you imagine if every applicant bombarded the Admissions office with bogus questions?
Such questions aren’t necessarily bogus, if they are asked only after reflection and forethought, and the applicant is legitimately interested in the answers to such questions.
Of course, if every applicant took the time to pose detailed questions to these offices, they might have to expand their staff and/or include more information on their websites in order to handle/reduce email volume
@hsalem32 Did you find our advice helpful and manage to come up with some good (and legitimate) questions? Please let us know if you need anything else. We’re here to help!
