<p>Does/Did this happen at your house? Kid is doing homework, phone rings and it is student ambassador checking in from X school. They always ask if the girls have questions and I hear "uhhhhhh no, not right now," Then I of course worry that on the other end of the line someone is taking notes on my D and what looks like a lack of an inquiring mind</p>
<p>Yesterday Twin E got the call and not 4 minutes after Twin K got hers from the same ambassador at the same school. Twin K was prepared with her question...something about intramural soccer but Twin E had a hard time coming up with something. </p>
<p>Did your kids arm themselves with questions ahead of time in anticipation of these calls? What sorts of things did they ask? I can't help but assume, having been in question and answer sessions, that many kids are like my DDs and are sort of unprepared. How do/did yours handle these calls.</p>
<p>Don't worry about it. I've done many of these calls, and students usually can't think of any questions right away. Sometimes I try to chat for a minute or so first which gives the student time to relax and think of questions. A lot of the time the kid will say they have no questions and then will think of one right when you're about to hang up, which is fine. We want to have conversations, so feel free to ask about absolutely anything. Even a quick question on the weather can easily lead into something more substantial. When we were running into problems getting students into conversation because they didn't have questions, some of us paired up and called students together on speaker phone. For some reason this really, really helped get conversation going. I guess it wasn't so intimidating for the student since on the other end we were happy and joking around with each other. </p>
<p>Anyway, it's not something to worry about, but this is a great opportunity to get questions answered honestly without mom looking over your shoulder (no offense :)). This is a good time to ask about social life, dorms, dating, diversity, or anything else that you want a good authentic answer to. Remember that you're only talking to one current student, though, who may or may not have opinions or views representative of the common student population. </p>
<p>The only information we were asked to record was who we reached, if anyone, and whether the conversation was great, fine, or somehow bad (didn't have any of these). We were also asked whether the student was definitely attending if we managed to find out.</p>
<p>Oh, and here's a funny story about this:
My brother got a call from a current student at a college in the middle of Thanksgiving dinner during his senior year. I guess the student just took a list of names home to call and found some free time on the holiday. Anyway, I guess my brother is a little more skeptical than he should be, and when my mom handed him the phone, telling him it was someone from this college, he assumed it was a friend calling him and opened with "You a--hole!" :eek: </p>
<p>Moral of the story: Your sons and daughters will all handle this call far better than my brother did! :D</p>
<p>Better yet, just reply "Thank you for calling but I don't have any questions right now. Can I call you back when I do?"</p>
<p>No pain. No gain.</p>
<p>LOL corranged. Thanks for the advice. I now know not to worry. Don't you worry either. I am not offended by the fact that they may not want me hanging over their shoulder when they are talking on the phone. </p>
<p>ticklemepink that's a great response. Thank you!</p>
<p>Sort of OT, but similar-
I got a phone call (as a parent) from a student, and Honors Ambassador, at my kids' college, asking for money for the Honors Ambassadors Program. We got to talking and I told her that my kids were both in the honors program. She enthusiastically said, "Wow, that's great, your son should join the Honors Ambassadors!!". I told her, "He tried, but didn't make it." She was completely caught off guard and couldn't respond. Didn't know what to say. Speechless. I felt sorry for her, but then again I didn't (after all my son didn't make it, so...). I told her it was OK, he was doing fine. And I gave them money anyway!</p>
<p>OP - I agree with the other posters who say "Don't worrry about it!" I have to admit my kids are appalled at some of the reponses I give on the phone, so it might be hard to "prep" them. But I like the Latin theme when college "ambassadors" call during dinner.</p>
<p>"Why yes I do have a question. I want to pursue my passion for Latin during college. Can you tell me what classes, other than Latin language classes of course, are taught in Latin? And what year abroad programs feature Latin?"</p>
<p>Here is a story about calls my S got last year. After he got accepted into this big city Ivy, he started getting lots of e-mails and calls, students, profs, etc. One night H and I are in the kitchen when S gets a call in the next room. We hear S say "And don't call me again". We were horrified thinking it was the school, only to find out it was the US Army calling (once again) about his post-HS plans.</p>
<p>Off topic, but the best way to handle unwanted and continual calls from the armed forces (as long as you don't mind a little lie--if it is a lie) is with a simple "I'm not eligible to serve." It will get you erased from lists very quickly.</p>
<p>Having three sons, we learned that accepting anything, even the phone call, from the armed forces recruiters did not work. They just told them they were going to college and were not interested. </p>
<p>One of my sons was invited to a prospective students weekend. After he returned, he received a call from the school where they said "although we cannot guarantee admission, we really hope you apply." He informed them that he already had been accepted. I think the different departments need to communicate.</p>