By Jeremy Tiers, Vice President of Admissions Services
2 minute read
At NACAC last week I was talking with a Director of Admissions and she told me her counselors had done a good job communicating and building relationships with their inquiries and applicants who had visited… but lately the engagement had slowed down and she wasn’t sure why.
We ended up identifying something that most of her staff were doing that they needed to stop in order to move their conversations forward.
There was a lot of checking in, over and over again.
On the surface that may seem helpful, but please understand that checking in is a bad habit that needs to be broken.
Questions like “How’s senior year going?” and “How’s your week been?” are too surface level and not intentional enough.
While students appreciate that you’re reaching out, emails or text messages like those leave nothing to be excited about. They also unfortunately sound a lot like the outreach that students receive from most other colleges and universities.
There should always be a clear purpose to every conversation you initiate.
As a counselor, always be thinking, what can I learn about this student that will help me help them figure out if our school is the right fit.
Or, what can I ask to better understand the student’s mindset on something, or how our school compares to their other options.
For example, you could ask out of state students who have applied:
“How do you feel when you think about going farther away from home for college?”
And you could ask inquiries, applicants, or even admitted students:
“How do you think college classes will be different from high school?”
Or, “What do you see yourself needing help with most when you get to college?”
A final tip – Always be prepared to ask one or more follow-up questions based on the feedback you receive.
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