Which Degree Best for Admissions Officer Career?

Graduate School
1

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>I am a dinosaur very preliminarily exploring the idea of returning to grad school after enjoying careers as an attorney and in publishing. For years now, I have grown increasingly interested in the college admissions process, particularly issues of holistic evaluations, diversity, etc. I'm also intrigued about the process of helping link low-income/less privileged kids with some of the higher-end opportunities at well-endowed schools. Honestly, the idea of being on the college/university side seems most appealing to me, but I wouldn't rule out working for high schools or more directly FOR kids through a foundation (like Questbridge?) either.</p>

<p>I recruited law students for nearly a decade at my firm so do have some experience reviewing resumes/transcripts, interviewing, assessing fit, and working with schools. I've also helped shepherd my own kids through various admissions cycles at the high school, boarding school, and college levels so I am fairly savvy about what that entails. Mainly, I'd love to be part of higher education on a campus I respect and can see it as a nice career to shift toward as I finish out my forties, nest emptied, and move forward. My college and law school grades were mixed, sometimes amazing sometimes not, but it's been more than two decades! I did work for a high-end international firm and well-regarded publisher so maybe that's helpful. Assuming I perform alright on the GRE I am hoping that my life experience would help my application at selective schools. But maybe I'm kidding myself.</p>

<p>Any insights are appreciated but I am wondering if there are particular degrees that are more/less marketable if one is looking for jobs in the admissions officer realm at the more selective colleges or high schools. A masters in higher education seems obvious, but I see all sorts of other programs out there and notice admissions officers at many colleges and competitive high schools often have degrees in things like the "Sociology of Education" and so forth. Geographically, I am really aiming for California or New England, BTW.</p>

<p>Thx in advance for any thoughts. This is obviously new territory for me!</p>

2

<p>You can work as an admissions counselor without a master’s degree, but the best degree for working in college admissions would be a master’s in higher & postecondary education. Your mediocre grades from 10 years ago won’t matter as much; your work experience will be much more important.</p>

<p>At high schools, the answer’s a little different - you may need an M.Ed in guidance counseling or something like that, or maybe educational leadership.</p>

<p>Higher ed is the most straightforward path, but you don’t need a specific MA to get a job in admissions counseling (or student affairs in general). I work a paraprofessional job in student affairs and my supervisor has a master’s in mental health counseling. We’ve also had a former restauranteur (she ran the office of residential programs), and HER boss - the associate dean of student affairs - had an MSW. We interviewed a job candidate doing SA work at a small college and he had an MDiv. And our academic advisers have PhDs in Germanic literature, English literature, early modern British history, anthropology, and Slavic languages; an MM in clarinet performance; MSs and EdMs in psychological counseling; an MA in European studies; a JD; an MA in education policy; an MSW; an MPH; and an MTS in medieval Christian literature. For the record, I attend an Ivy League university.</p>

<p>So I think you can work in student affairs with a degree in pretty much anything, lol.</p>

3

<p>This is helpful, Juillet. Thank you. And apologies for the tardy reply.</p>