parents calling colleges.....

<p>My mom wants to call the colleges that wait listed me...... i'm just not very sure if it's a good thing to do... do colleges have anything against parents calling and asking about things like a student's chances of getting off the w/list? please advise....... Thanks....</p>

<p>My gut reaction as a parent is that if anyone calls, it should be you. </p>

<p>College students are adults. Adults make their own phone calls. Having your parent call would not make a good impression, I think.</p>

<p>The only situation in which I would call my kid's college is if the bursar's bill got screwed up. The financial aspects of college are as much my problem as his. The rest is his business.</p>

<p>I find it refreshing when the student makes the call. It's actually quite rare.</p>

<p>Your mother's calling will hurt you. Colleges want to accept students who are independent, mature, and clearly want to go to their colleges. If your Mom calls, the college might think that you're too timid/immature to call or that your mom wants you to go there, but you're not that interested.</p>

<p>I wouldn't say a parent calling has a negative effect on the student's application at all. BUT when the student calls, we definitely take notice.</p>

<p>Thanks for the quick responses, is it appropriate to ask colleges about my chances of getting in? And at this time, is it ok to tell them again that i'm still really really interested? I want to be careful not to be annoying.......</p>

<p>Email Vs Phone Call. Which is better?</p>

<p>Call. Talk to a live person. Sell yourself through your personality. The more personal, the better you'll be able to get a connection to have an advocate for you.</p>

<p>Follow-up with an e-mail, emphasizing your strong points and your interest in the college and your appreciation for the phone call contact.</p>

<p>I favor renting a plane, and doing some skywriting, followed by an ultimatum stating that, if they don't accept you, you'll never speak to them again! ;)</p>

<p>
[QUOTE]
followed by an ultimatum stating that, if they don't accept you, you'll never speak to them again!

[/QUOTE]
I got a "you'll regret this" email this year. </p>

<p>I guess the anonymous nature of email and lack of real time interaction can be problematic. :)</p>

<p>Boy Dean J. I hope that person never applies as a transfer student...my advice to the kids out there would be: be polite and don't burn your bridges...no reason to act immature like that.</p>

<p>I would not let your mother call. They want to hear from you. I do alumni interviews for Williams. I know the admissions office there wants to hear from the student.</p>

<p>While agreeing with all those who say the kid should call, I wonder about the value of GC also calling?</p>

<p>Student call would be to say "I'll definitely come", indirectly sell himself/herself, ask if there is any additional information which might be helpful and, if comfortable, ask what the chances appear to be.</p>

<p>GC call might, depending on the relationship between GC and school, ferret out information about what's going on as well as pitch the reasons why this student should rise to the top of the waitlist in a way that the student perhaps could not effectively do.</p>

<p>GC's calling are very appropriate. The admissions officers will be able to get extra and unbiased info from the GC that they can't get from the student or the student's parent.</p>

<p>i have a close friend who is an admissions counselor, and she said the worst thing that a parent could do is to call and ask why their child wasnt accepted. these "helicopter parents," as they are known in the admissions office, are ridiculed by the adcom, and only give the adcom further reason to deny their child.
however...if the student calls and asks, it can push someone who was waitlisted over into the acceptance pile.</p>

<p>I was always more reluctant to share critical information with a parent than I was with a guidance counselor. </p>

<p>To a parent, it can sound like "This is how your child messed up," which is hard to hear. To a guidance counselor, it's information about the kind of students that a school is looking for. That may be useful for the guidance counselor in working with future students. The guidance counselor can judge how much of that to pass on to the disappointed student, and in what form. And if there is something else the college should know when it comes to the waitlist placement, it is sometimes more credible coming from a guidance counselor (who has an ongoing relationship with the college, and a bigger-picture view) than from a parent.</p>

<p>I can't speak for all counselors, but when I was doing it I'd be more bland with a parent ("It was a competitive year....") than with a guidance counselor ("Given her math scores, the student needed to take that fourth year of math for the committee to feel confident....")</p>

<p>For this, I think the student should call, not the parents. This is college, not high school. As a parent, the only times I called colleges were for more logistic reasons....lining up an info. session or tour or audition appointment with a receptionist. More direct contact is to be done by the student. I also agree with JMmom that a GC making a call in this situation is appropriate and could be beneficial but should not substitute for a student expressing interest through a form of communications with his/her admissions rep. </p>

<p>As far as after decisions are rendered.....I recall when we were on a college visit in March for a tour and that particular day had no information sessions and when we were there, I asked how come. The receptionist said that the adcoms were very busy with phone calls from parents asking why their child did not get accepted! The idea to do that would NEVER occur to me! I was amazed and naive. I can't imagine doing that. First of all, what does it matter after the decision is rendered. Also, going INTO the admissions process, we knew it was a strong possibility to not be accepted at selective schools so if it didn't happen, it may be disappointing but clearly in the realm of expectations. I have a feeling there are a lot of parents calling admissions reps, though I think it is wrong.</p>

<p>I agree with the consensus that the student should make the call. That said, maybe you and your mom could sit down before the calls and make a list of questions to ask so that everything that both you and she want to know about gets answered. (how many on the wait-list, how many came off in previous years, will they accept add'l materials, etc.)</p>

<p>Texas...good suggestion. Parents play a role in this. But I see them as facilitators and support personnel, not the ones who do it for the kid. So, of course, a parent can discuss with a chlid what the child may do, suggestions of how to go about it, and so forth. Then the child does it himself. Parents are involved, but to guide, not do.</p>

<p>"The receptionist said that the adcoms were very busy with phone calls from parents asking why their child did not get accepted! The idea to do that would NEVER occur to me! I was amazed and naive. I can't imagine doing that. First of all, what does it matter after the decision is rendered."</p>

<p>soozievt, </p>

<p>I was amazed by this too! When I called a school that accepted my son to find out about deposit info, I got a recording. The recording actually said that if you have a question for an adcom regarding an admission decision push #____. It must be quite common! I guess it may matter though, b/c I have read one post on cc where a parent questioned an admissions decision. Clearly the stats posted indicated that this student was well above average for the school. When mom brought this to the admissions counselor's attention and wanted an explanation, they did apparently admit an error, and this student was accepted.</p>