When college admissions officers appear in movies, they sit behind mahogany tables in tailored suits, listening to classical music as they sip espresso and deny applicant after applicant. They don't exactly look... approachable. In fact, they look like the enemy. After working in undergraduate admissions for two years, I can happily tell you that in real life this is not the case. Actually, college admissions officers are some of the most upbeat, interesting, and down-to-earth people I've met. Our backgrounds vary, academically, professionally, and demographically, but we all have one thing in common—our dedication to supporting students. Don’t be afraid to reach out to us! Connecting with an admissions officer will help you learn more about a school, demystify the admissions process, and give you some peace of mind as you navigate the college admissions landscape. Here’s how to do it.
Start with the website of a school you’re interested in. Look for their admissions page and find the links that say something like “Visit,” “Connect,” or “Meet the Team.” Most institutions offer you both in-person and virtual options to get to know their school, including information sessions led by admissions officers and meetings with current students who are ready to share their authentic experiences about student life. Taking advantage of these options can even, in some cases, be helpful to your application, because some institutions track demonstrated interest, which means that they will keep a record of the number and the types of events that you attend, which will be visible to the admissions team as they read your application. Schools track demonstrated interest because they want to admit students they perceive as truly interested in their school and likely to accept admission and enroll. For institutions that do not track demonstrated interest, how often you interact with their admissions team has no impact on admissions decisions—but these interactions still might help you understand better what a school is looking for, which might help your application.
If you would like to speak with an admissions officer outside of the school’s scheduled offerings, navigate to that “Meet the Team” page. Many institutions share brief profiles of their admissions officers with their contact information. You’ll also be able to find out from these profiles whether the institution practices territory management, which means that individual admissions officers manage applications from a particular state, region, or country. If you are unsure of which admissions officer you should reach out to, start with the one who manages the region where you attend school. That person will read applications from your region, make high school visits and attend college fairs in your region, and will serve as the subject matter expert in their office on your region. While some institutions practice territory management very strictly, others are more fluid, meaning that the admissions officer who typically reads California applications might also travel frequently to New York. Don’t worry too much about this, though: in most cases, any admissions officer you reach out to will be able to answer your questions or direct you to the member of their team who can best support you.
If you have an urgent question, call the admissions office’s main line–but otherwise email is a great way to connect with an admissions officer. If you cannot find email addresses for individual admissions officers (not every institution puts that information on their website), write to the general admission email address. Don’t forget to introduce yourself, share what high school you attend and where you’re from, express your interest in the school, and state what type of information you’re looking for. Most admissions officers will be glad to answer your specific questions, but remember that if you’re looking for more general information about an institution, they might encourage you to attend an information session or other offering first, and that’s okay! To increase your chances of getting a specific answer, try to learn as much as you can about the school before emailing, and turn to an admissions counselor for information that you would like more clarification about.
If you happen to be on campus attending an admissions event, you can follow a very similar method. Once the event is over, the admissions officer might stay back for questions. Step right up and say hi! Don’t be afraid to be yourself and ask authentic questions, and remember that as much as you would like to learn about the institution, admissions officers are there to help you and connect you with other administrative professionals, faculty members, or student representatives who can help you, too. The higher education community is tight-knit, intellectually curious, and oh-so-fun—they’ll be glad to extend you the warmest greeting.
