<p>I interview potential students for my college, and I am amazed that a portion of the students don't return calls or emails. This year, I reached a student on the phone to set up an interview time, and he said he would have to check with his parents and get back to me, but I never heard from him again. (I also email the students.) </p>
<p>I'm assuming that these kids are maybe no longer interested, even though I always ask them if they are still applying when I reach them, but I am still floored by this; it seems common courtesy to at least inform someone that you are no longer seeking an interview.</p>
<p>When this happens, I still submit a form for them, informing the college that they did not respond to repeated contacts.</p>
<p>This year, I had a girl ask me if we could meet closer to her house instead of where I had suggested (a central location for all of the interviews which would have been a half hour's drive for her and is also a half hour's drive for me). I was a little put off by that as well.</p>
<p>Those of you who interview for your college - have you found similar responses (or lack thereof) and how do you handle? Do you think some of these kids just think the interview doesn't matter very much? </p>
<p>Lots of kids (and young adults) don’t get the common courtesy of keeping people informed of their plans any more… Could the young woman who wanted to meet nearer to her house have transportation issues? Many young people do not have driver’s licenses these days, or access to a car even if they do. Or like on another thread out there this week, if their parents drive them to the interview the parents also want to participate… kid may be trying to avoid that scenario.</p>
<p>Yes, transportation issues are a big problem for many young people, especially when both parents work and they don’t have ready access to any transportation. They may be embarrassed to tell you that is the reason for their difficulty in having an interview. Perhaps a phone interview might serve if transportation is an issue?</p>
<p>As a practical matter, many people do not check email on any regular basis. The best way for me to reach my kids by far is text messaging. The only emails they knew about for college is if the emails went to ME and I printed it out and gave it to them. Many people–young and even my age don’t check emails much any more–it’s loaded with spam and they figure the people they want to keep in touch with will text or facebook them.</p>
<p>As a student, I check my email often so I would respond if it was an email. However if you called, I wouldn’t answer because the number would be unknown; and unless you leave a voicemail, I assume it wasn’t important enough.</p>
<p>I interview for my college and rarely, if ever, have run into the problem that RtR reports. I am notified by my alma mater that they’ve assigned me a student to interview, but it is up to the student to contact me - they get my email address and phone number. Virtually all first contact is by email, that that is how I set up the interview time and location. </p>
<p>It is not uncommon for students I’m assigned to interview never contact me. I assume that is because they’ve decided not to apply. I did have one of those students contact me this year, letting me know that they decided not to apply, which was a very nice courtesy.</p>
<p>My kids do NOT answer if they don’t know the number calling and would only return the call if there is a message explaining who is calling and why, and the kids want to connect. They would return your call if you left an appropriate message.</p>
<p>I feel the same way. Normally I check my email twice a week which I know is not a lot, but if I know that I have applied to a college I will check it more often (almost daily).</p>
<p>My son doesn’t even have his voicemail set up to take messages and rarely answers the phone. He also has several email addresses and doesn’t check them often. The best way to reach this age group seems to be text message, though I know that is not a very formal way to set up an interview. On the other hand, these kids do need to learn that email and phone are still a part of normal adult communications and will be needed in business situations.</p>
<p>Ready, there’s a flip side to your experience. My daughter emailed a school to try to set up an alumni interview. She received a response and was told someone would be contacting her. After six weeks, nothing. So she sent another email, and the local alum finally contacted her. After agreeing on a time/date to meet, my D emailed him two days prior to the meeting, asking if she needed to bring anything (resume, transcript, etc.). No response. I drove her to the interview, and the guy did not show up. He sent her an email about 6 hours later explaining the reason he wasn’t there, and that his absence was unavoidable. It really has soured her on the school, which is unfortunate, as she really loved the school when we visited this summer.</p>
<p>I am not amazed at all. Not one bit. I am all for common courtesy, and kids need to have it and learn it, but these are kids. They are juggling so much these days it’s a wonder they remember their backpacks in the morning. My head is spinning with all they have to do. Yes, they should return your calls if they solicited an interview, of course. But if they don’t, cut them a break. Don’t get sanctimonious. They have a lot going on. They are just beginning to enter the world of making appointments, returning phone calls, etc. It’s not tough, but they also have essays to write, tests to study for, practices to get to, lines to memorize. I think one really must reserve judgement. And I certainly don’t think these kids are any different than we were.</p>
<p>Folks also need to check their spam folder. DD waited several days to hear back about an apartment deal - she was not sure if she’d qualify w/o parent cosigner. Eventually she discovered that they had approved her in a matter of hours, but the email got kicked into spam folder.</p>
<p>Just to clarify, for the two kids I haven’t heard back from:</p>
<p>1st one: Reached him on his cell phone and spoke to him, asking about a tentative date. He said he had to check with his parents and never phoned me again. {I also emailed him in case he had somehow lost my contact details.) (Actually - I see that I already mentioned this in my initial post but wanted to mention again since there was some commentary about spam folders and unknown numbers.)</p>
<p>2nd one: Left a message with her mother, who was very pleasant and seemed excited that I was calling, so presumably she did give the message to her daughter. However, in case she didn’t, I also emailed. Never heard back.</p>
<p>The college gives me one phone number for each student (I imagine it’s the number that the student lists as their contact number, hence the cell phone for the one student and the home phone for the other) and their email address.</p>
<p>So in both cases, I know the person knows I tried to reach them (unless the 2nd student never got the message from her parent AND didn’t get the email).</p>
<p>Dadx3 - it sounds like you may have had a similar experience in that some students just never contact you in the first place - but since in your case it is up to them to make the first move it may not feel as “unmannerly” as with a student who has been contacted and not responded.</p>
<p>I don’t believe I’ve ever been given a student’s cell as the phone contact, so I’m calling the home phone which means either leaving a VM or talking to a parent. I guess I’ve been lucky. I’ve been able to contact all my interviewees, although some have told me they are “too busy” to interveiw. I do pass that along to the school, but I don’t know whether they care or not.</p>
<p>sschickens - it’s too bad that the alumnus did that to your daughter. I might consider calling the school to discuss. When I went through training to interview, there were some folks who were young and maybe weren’t really ready to conduct interviews, in my opinion. It’s good for the school to know of your experience.</p>
<p>qialah - I’m assuming it was the student’s cell but it actually could have been him answering his home number now that I think about it and look at the number again. There’s nothing to suggest to me that it’s a cell phone number. But - I suppose students are asked for their phone number and whatever they list is what it’s going to be, right?</p>
<p>I should mention that the other students I contacted were lovely and had wonderful phone manners, and interviews were set up in a timely manner.</p>
<p>I always make sure I get back to school officials or representatives in a timely manner. </p>
<p>I check my email multiple times a day. At least once a half hour. My cell phone is a little bit more difficult to reach me. It’s usually on silent or dead if the day has been busy and I haven’t been able to check it.</p>
<p>I cannot imagine ignoring a call because you don’t already know the number. Why on earth? Isn’t there ever a time when someone calls you for the first time?</p>
<p>I think transportation issues are very real. My S did not get his driver’s license until he was in college, so if he was going to an interview someone–usually me–has to be available to drive him there. Plenty of kids don’t have a parent at home or the use of a car or access to public transportation. </p>
<p>Blowing off appointments and failing to respond to alumnae interviewers is just rude, though. Not to mention dumb. :)</p>
<p>My kids didn’t get their licenses until they were in college–S was 20 and I coerced him into getting his over Christmas break. D was 21 and I coerced her into getting hers. I wanted them to have valid IDs, as their permits were due to expire when they were 2500 miles away in college. Transportation is a HUGE issue for kids, especially if there isn’t good mass transit in the area.</p>