Calls to College Admission Offices

Calls to College Admission Offices April 20, 2013 Calls to college admission offices arent all a good thing. We came across an article in The NY Daily News about how rejected college applicants and their helicopter parents have been calling into the New York University admissions office after receipt of their denial. Theyve got the data of how many phone calls theyve received and everything. Its very common practice for folks to call into offices of admission throughout the country to question why you (or your child) was denied admission. Its common practice for principals and headmasters as well as guidance counselors to call in as well if, say, the high school didnt do as well this year with a particular college as they did in past years. And guidance counselors and principals should be making these phone calls, if nothing else so that they can improve the odds for next years batch of applicants hailing from that high school. But parents should not be making these calls. Its, frankly, ridiculous. Parents should not call into college admissions offices after their child is rejected. That is just plain pointless. In the piece in The NY Daily News, one call goes something like this: Caller: Well we were wondering because her friend who had a lower GPA, SAT score, and [FEWER] extra-curricular activities got in to NYU. What makes him better than my daughter?  Admissions Ambassador: explains that he/she cannot answer the caller’s question.  Caller: Well this is SO unfair! My daughter deserves to go to NYU more than her friend!  Another call was from a little boy who explained that NYU was his older brother’s dream school. Oy vey! First of all, angry parents, more extracurricular activities is not necessarily and probably isnt better than the real dedication and achievement in one or a couple of extracurricular activities. Also, admission to highly selective colleges like NYU isnt all about the numbers. Its not just about SAT scores and grades. If admission to NYU were all about grades and SAT scores, why would the admissions office even ask for essays, teacher letters of recommendation, a guidance counselor letter of recommendation, extracurricular activities, etc.? They, quite simply, wouldnt. So dont bother with these angry, senseless calls. They do no good. They only embarrass you and/or your child. Nothing good can come out of them. Its the absolutely wrong approach. But readers of our college admissions blog would never make these sorts of phone calls. They know better.