Developing Relationships with Admissions Officers

Developing Relationships with Admissions Officers August 1 You dont have to develop relationships with admissions officers in order to earn admission to your dream college. Were often asked how college applicants should develop relationships with admissions officers. This usually raises a red flag for us. We often want to ask, What have you done? Can it be beneficial if a student develops a relationship with an admissions officer? Yes, weve seen it work and weve helped our students develop these relationships. But relationships is probably the wrong word. If youre thinking that its important to contact admissions officers every Friday to wish them a great weekend, weve got two words for you: oy vey. For our readers who need a translation of Yiddish, we shall translate it for you as: dont be that crazy person. Perhaps this is not the exact translation but we ad-libbed. Deal with it. If youre communicating with an admissions officer, these communications need to be strategic. They need to not be annoying. They need to not be sycophant because thats so transparent. Nobody likes that kid. Nobody likes the teachers pet. People want to fly paper airplanes at the teachers pet in the front row. You know youve thought about it. And admissions officers dont like the sycophant teachers pet either. Theyd probably fly paper airplanes at that kid, too, if they could. So dont be this crazy person. If you have a genuine question, by all means ask an admissions officer. But that question better be appropriate and worthy of emailing. If youre emailing an admissions officer to find out what the Residential Colleges are all about at Yale, consider reading about it in a brochure instead. Do your homework. Asking a Yale admissions officer such a question reflects a certain laziness and failure to do your homework. And if youre wondering if a student needs to cultivate a relationship with an admissions officer in order to get into his or her dream college, absolutely not. Has it been helpful for some of our students in the past? Yes. Do all of our students do this? No. Dont force it, especially if it doesnt mesh with a  students  personality. Its not necessary. It can backfire on a student. But, yes, if done properly (as our students always do it since they run every proposed email or question by us and we help them refine every last one), it can benefit an applicant. Rememberjust dont be that crazy person. Oy vey. Remember, the Tina Fey-starring movie Admission was a work of fiction! Fiction.