<p>I've uttered the same plaint amid other threads before but I think I'll call it out here for a separate discussion: why, when a question is time-critical and/or can be reasonably expected to have at least 2-3 iterations of back-and-forth discussion to clarify things, do students either a) ask the question of people who can not possibly give them the answer or b) not just pick up the phone and CALL the appropriate admissions office? Particularly with the latter, this is the first generation for whom the cell phone is a natural appendage and used for every conceivable social purpose...what's the mind-block that keeps a phone being used for business purposes?</p>
<p>TheDad,</p>
<p>It's not only the phone. I see questions being asked here when the answers can be easily found on the school's web site. We know this generation knows how to use the internet, correct?</p>
<p>I have felt frustration with my D over this issue but at certain point I started trying not think about it and to keep my mouth shut (incredibly difficult for me). D is getting better about having her ducks in a row as she gets older but has missed an opportunity or two because of exactly what you write about. There have been times when I wondered about her brain power because she would accept as gospel information from a friend about a program - even when the friend had not participated in or researched the program being discussed. An appropriate phone call (or even a little online research) would have gotten her much further. Oy.</p>
<p>I am pleased and surprised that my D is getting her life organized for the spring and summer with e-mails and applications as we speak. You might be feeling like a long distance head smack is in order but from what you have written about your D over the years I suspect that she is better than most about these things.</p>
<p>And it's not just students! I see many parents who ask questions here on CC that could easily be answered by making a search. Amazing what you can find here on CC that way . . . ;)</p>
<p>Ellen, no, I don't feel like giving D a long-distant headsmack. In fact, I'm pleased and, I hate to say it, faintly surprised at how far along the curve she suddenly is. True, she had assistance from the campus career center, but her resume was so good that I had only some formatting nits. And they were nits.</p>
<p>Now, we still had an instance of Dad Was Right. I suggested that she apply to a couple of places for internships. "But they don't say anything about internships on their website." </p>
<p>My answer was: "Apply anyway. It's called 'developing an opening.' Many jobs are like that...if they see what they need in you, they can create a space for you." Somehow she felt this was almost like cheating. Until she found sample letters for exactly that purpose at the career development center.</p>
<p>All: amen to using the Web. Though I will confess to instances of sloth: I've sometimes figured I'll get the answer faster and just as acurrately here, though I admit my questions are seldom school-specific.</p>
<p>And don't forget email. It's incredibly easy to do that and get an answer from someone who actually knows.</p>
<p>I dislike using the phone, and only do it when necessary. I have a friend who hates the phone and almost never uses it. I wonder if that sort of "phone avoidance" is common?</p>
<p>FWIW, I'm not fond of instant messaging either--unless it's an emergency, I much prefer to wait until I can speak to someone in person. I have called admissions offices in the past, though, when I've had questions that couldn't be found elsewhere.</p>
<p>Anoel, my mini-rant is actually <em>against</em> e-mail. There are times when it's far too slow, that the answer produced will be far too random, and it goes gah-gah if either side requires clarification of a question/answer.
E-mail is fine for some questions, but the telephone is usually better.</p>
<p>TYG, individual dislike of using a phone notwithtstanding, it's a life business skill, like hailing a cab, purchasing a plane ticket, or consulting a building's directory to find what suite you need to go to.</p>
<p>^It's funny, actually, because I've no problem calling someone with a specific purpose (e.g. "business"), but I'd never call a friend or family member "just to talk" or to see how they're doing. It just makes me uncomfortable.</p>
<p>[/tangent]</p>
<p>My d won't pick up the phone for almost anything! I've asked her to call Friend A to ask a scheduling question - half an hour later, she comes down and says, "I couldn't ask - she wasn't on line." </p>
<p>I think another thing is that there's a fear of authority - my d doesn't even want to talk to her teachers about issues unless I push. </p>
<p>Finally, I think that there's the fear of an answer - if you don't like the answers you get here, you know they're not definitive, and you still have a chance for whatever you want. Sort of like the folks who post medical questions rather than just going to the doctor!</p>
<p>I think the reluctance to use the phone is sometimes due to concern that the admissions office will give the caller a black mark on their application if they call with a stupid question. And so the alternative is to ask the question anonymously to people who might have the answer. Go figure.</p>
<p>Dear TheDad,
I agree it is a life skill we need. I cannot begin to count the number of times a co-worker "wonders" about something and I want to scream "why don't you call". Last week it was a "gosh I hope xxx got my fax, everything depends on it".</p>
<p>Dealing with authority is also a life skill and even high school is late to start learning (I pushed D into dealing with some things on her own behalf in 6th grade or so...if things didn't work out, we could either review or <em>then</em> I could step in after she'd made the initial effort). By the time they get to college, the impersonal world at large is playing with "live ammunition" and they darn well better be able to cope.</p>
<p>Mackinaw, that's a variant on a theme, taking stock of a situation in a reasonable manner: are there these mysterious robed figures working in admissions that have the time and trouble to make irrelevant judgments and note them in a folder with indelible ink? Or maybe there's just the big red "DUMB!" stamp.</p>
<p>Right, I think applicants ought to assume that the goal of the admissions office is to get as many good applications as possible, and if they can hand out timely and correct advice that improves the quality of applications, they will. (In my profession I find people who are reluctant to call foundation program officers whose main job is to solicit and shepherd good applications for grants. Too many people think the main purpose of those program officers is to serve as gate-keepers. Far from it!)</p>