We wont be able to visit all colleges my son is interested in. Should he email all of the admission counselors? Should it just be an introduction with his intended study field? Or do you just apply and wait for them to make contact?
Do you mean admissions officers (AOs) at each of the colleges? Or a private (you pay for) counselor?
If you mean AOs, does your son have an actual question to ask or are you asking if he should just email the AOs and say hi?
@milee30 - I mean AO. I don’t think we have any specific questions, so just an introduction
I’m not an AO, but my suggestion would be not to email with general introductions. AOs are busy and have a keen sense of when someone is wasting their time or trying to make an artificial connection. If/when your son has a very specific question about the college that can’t be answered with a quick Google, that might be a good time and way to make contact. Otherwise, your son’s app will be the contact.
OP - Have your son scour the websites of the schools on his list that you can’t visit. Some offer virtual tours that require a sign in (where the AOs can track interest). He can also follow the admissions offices on social media, sign up to receive more information, etc… Also be sure to have him checking to see if the schools are doing any presentations or college fairs in your area. I agree to not bother the AOs with “intros”.
If your son cannot visit, then he needs to look up his regional admissions counselor and see when they are hosting events in your area. Or perhaps he could see if his school is having a college fair and is inviting that (those) school(s).
He should sign up for mailings from the school, and open any emails he receives. Visit their table and sign in if the college comes to a nearby college fair. Don’t pester the AO with introductory emails.
If the AO’s conduct interviews, and the school is of real interest, start with an interview. You can look on the website or search for the Common Data Set to find out if they do interviews, and also what is important in the admissions process. Some schools have interview listed as Very Important, at some it will be Not Considered.
My S18 applied to 5 LAC’s, where interview was listed as “Important” to admissions. Three were in-state and he visited/did interview in person, and two out-of-state that he did not visit, so he scheduled phone interviews.
He emailed first to introduce himself to his admissions counselor (either found correct person on website or emailed the Director of Admissions first to find out correct AO). He let them know he would be applying, and that he wanted to set a time speak with them over the phone. After the interview, if there were any further questions, he knew who to ask.
I would not contact the AO unless you are inquiring about something specific or setting up an interview.
No to introductory emails. However, it makes sense to email the admissions officer if he has a question about the school that can’t be answered by reading through the website. He might also do things to express interest (if the school looks at demonstrated interest) such as : signing up on the email list, requesting a local interview (see if available first), visiting the school’s booth if they come to a local college fair, attending a local presentation (if there is one), etc.
So do all the above and yes, no introduction emails. But… It also depends on what size and type of school you are applying to. My daughter applied to small liberal art colleges (Lac) and my son applied to large colleges like Michigan. At the small Lac private schools they tend to like the contact. If it’s a small school I would reach out to the program head and cc the admissions counselor. If a large school then the regional admission person. Even at large schools my son set up his own meetings with professors and or head of departments. When he sent a thank you email he cc d the regional admission counselor. He didn’t need to let the regional person he was interested in the school. It was evident. At a small school the admissions person can really advocate for him also if needed. Yes to all the fairs, school meetings etc. But as someone suggested a great question is the one about when will the school be in the area. Also have a back up question. Great to do this now in the summer. At our school we got a list of schools that were visiting for the entire year on a weekly basis.
I agree with everyone advising against just an introductory email to AOs. But when my daughter applied this past year to schools that had no supplementary “Why ___ ?” essay, she was advised to do the equivalent (a bit shorter) in emails to the regional AO and send it in when she submitted the Common Application for each school. Several AOs responded quite nicely and one even called her afterward to chat. Our hope was that it planted her name in their brains–it certainly didn’t seem to hurt.
@citykid were these schools smaller schools and not state flagships? As I stated the smaller and usually private schools reaching out to the AO led to great experiences as well. My daughter would reach out to the AO and we would reach out to financial aid and scholarship departments. Many times at small schools the two would talk and let one of us know they did so. They do talk to each other to gauge true interest. You can use this to your advantage.
@Knowsstuff Sorry, I should have specified. Yes, these were all smaller schools, 1600-6000 students, and all private. Her college advisor tells students to do the same thing for larger and public schools that don’t have the “Why?” essay, but they probably have less effect and response.
@citykid that is what I thought. Smaller schools their admissions and other departments do talk. Even if you have appointments with department people everyone will find out which is a plus for you. This can help in getting accepted also and getting funds from the schools later on.