Just a quick question. I was speaking to someone who mentioned the other day that its NOT advisable to reach out to Admission Counselors. Yet, when my kids were going through the process (four years ago and prior) it was very much an accepted practice. Have things changed that much? I specifically remember the regional admissions counselor for Duke even stating to reach out to her so that she can remember you and it helps to make your application stand out. Of course she mentioned not to become a nuisance, but to keep in touch and let her know if anything new had come about since you had completed the application.
Also is it common for kids to mail in a separate resume. (I know the Common App has a place for activities but when you have many more activities than there is space in the common app, should you mail in the complete resume?)
That advice is still valid. Don’t contact them with questions that can be found on the website. Don’t contact them with mindless questions (How’s the dining hall soup?). Don’t contact them just to contact them.
That said, there are some colleges where the process is to update through the admissions portal, or through the general admissions email, so unless the AO says to contact him/her directly, follow directions.
For the most part, once the application is submitted, the AO has everything s/he needs to make a decision,so any updates need to be meaningful. An update on grades - not meaninful (unless ginormously improved). An update on awards - not meaningful generally. Every applicant will continue to receive awards. So an Academy Award is worth an update. A good citizenship medal is not.
The question you need to ask is not “Is it common?” but “Should one?” In most cases, I say no. Aside from my feeling of the absurdity that a 17 year old has a resume (athletic recruits being a notable exception), in almost all instances it duplicates the application. here needed, the applicant should either edit (my preference) or use the additional info section. My feeling is that more ≠ better and that the thicker the file the thicker the kid.
Now, this is a general statement. There may be really good exceptions (but very very few. But in those cases, the kid should seek a GC’s advice on the merit. A 17 year old will by default think that s/he is the exception; the reality is that s/he’s not.
My daughter only reached out to a few of her regional ad coms when she had a question that couldn’t be answered elsewhere (and after a ton of searching to be sure it wasn’t lingering on their website).
Skieurope, we live in an extremely competitive area of the country. So to be honest for the high achieving students you have to have a 3 page resume or your not competitive enough with your peers. In the past, my kids all cut and pasted their resumes into the Common App free section. But I didnt think that that free section allowed for that much of a large cut and paste. I thought there was a word or character limit now. So then what happens? Do you mail in your resume? Also when I say to reach out to the Admission Officers, I mean to update them on new ventures that the student has begun after they submitted their application and resume (To show that they aren’t just sitting back, getting senioritis. To show they are still proactive, go-getters.) In the past, I was told to send an email and update them on whats new (if indeed there was something new). It should be a short email. Short and to the point. But enough to demonstrate the students persistence.
I also come from a competitive area of the country. But that doesn’t change the fact that admissions officers are swamped and are not looking for more to read. If your student has something MEANINGFUL to add to the application it is fine to do so – but any update should be short and sweet and I would not send more than one update.
In terms of the resume, it is likely that the admissions officer will have everything he/she needs on the application. If your student interviews he/she can offer the resume to the interviewer.
You never know the background of the AO, s/he may come from one of those places filled with rubes who feel a three page resume for a 17 year old is just plain silly. There are highly qualified applicants from every part of the country. The fact that people from a specific region have bought into the idea that anyone wants to read a three page resume from a 17 year old does not make them any more qualified; in fact, it may show the opposite.
And I attended a very competitive HS and I certainly did not have a 3 page resume then, nor did anyone of my contemporaries.
A transcript is competitive. Solid ECs/Leadership positions are competitive. The ability to stretch a resume to 3 pages - mmm, nope, not a measure of competitiveness. Now,having a resume may be valuable e.g. to give to teachers to write LoRs, but even then 1 page is ideal, 2 pages at most. But sending a resume that duplicates the application is not a good idea.
An applicant will not dazzle an AO with more “stuff.” The reality is that an AO will spend about 10 minutes going through the application. More “stuff” does not equal more time; it means some parts will be skimmed or not read. The applicant runs the risk of being remembered, but not in a good way.
I am with @skieurope on this. It doesn’t matter how competitive you think your area is, the AO is going to take the same amount of time with each app, and the more stuff you throw at them, the more likely you are going to dilute what is likely to be important. If a regional AO visits your school and encourages the student to contact them, I think that is fine within the parameters discussed above, otherwise I think there is a real downside risk the applicant will be perceived as a nuisance given the volume of applications they have to handle.
For the institution I have the most familiarity with, Yale, each AO (if they divide the work evenly) has to handle about 1400 apps (1100-1200 in the RD round). There is a second reader if the applicant makes the cut with the first reader (so each AO may have to review 2000 plus app’s, depending on how many second reads they have to do). Both readers have to recommend the applicant to go to Committee (about 6,000 applications make it there). The Committee starts to meet in February and decisions are made before the end of March, so you can see how compact the schedule is. The regional AO (usually the first reader) then acts as the advocate for their candidates that make it to Committee. In terms of time management, this is going to be a pithy and to the point discussion. I just don’t see how a three page resume on top of everything in the app helps focus the discussion. If you have 3 pages, it means to me you are either repeating something already in the app, elaborating on something already in the app (in which case what is the difference between an applicant from a competitive region from one in another region?) or have more activities/awards than the app allows, which puts into question the quality of participation in all of the activities.