Day 21: Tuesday, September 24, 2013 Days left: 6 Location: Ithaca, New York (home of Cornell University) Over the weekend, I traveled to Toronto to attend the
National Conference for the National Association for College Admission Counseling, or better known as
NACAC. Brief background about NACAC: NACAC was founded in 1937 as a professional organization to support and provide guidance for professionals who are dedicated to helping students make choices about post-secondary education (i.e., schooling after high school graduation). Boasting over 13,000 members worldwide, NACAC is essentially the
Who’s Who of College Admissions.
Book table at NACAC National Conference - Books mainly focused on college selection and successful admittance (Photo credit: Chenggang Zhou)
College Choice Dilemma At the national conference, one of its main attractions is the
Counselors’ College Fair. With over hundreds – maybe
close to 1,000 – of schools and admissions officers
(AOs) in attendance, my head started to spin and as I started walking down the lengthy aisles, passing table after table of colleges and universities – brand names alike… ...Carnegie Mellon…Oberlin…Cornell…Dartmouth…Stanford…Harvey Mudd…Michigan State University…Pomona…Rice…UC Berkeley…University of Edinburgh (yes, there were schools from other countries)…Chicago…George Washington University… Harvard…and on and on… I felt like a child in the largest candy shop in the world ready to shop, with the only limitation being time… As I stood in the entrance of the enormous exhibition hall and saw the hundreds of people walking around and stopping and talking, and laughing and with high school counselors in search of the best schools for their students, I thought…this is what college choice must be like for an international student, or for any student who is making a potentially dramatic decision. How exciting…and how daunting! Where do I begin? What do I ask? How do I make sure I can leave a strong impression?
De-mystifying the Admissions Officer As I started planning out my strategy, I watched the frenzied and enthusiastic crowd before m and realized:
admissions officers are humans too. And boy, is the College Admissions world small. Everyone knows everyone who knows everyone. Talk about 6 degrees of separation.or in this case, potentially only 2 or 3 thanks to LinkedIn. Besides the normal hubbub of information exchange, it was quickly apparent that this event, served as
areunion, a homecoming…where old friends and former colleagues from all expanses of the world join together at this annual momentous event to catch up.
One row of schools during the Counselors' College Fair (Photo credit: Chenggang Zhou)
A Few Lessons I Learned about AOs At NACAC, and in the previous weeks of meeting with several AOs and their team members, I made a list of 5 key lessons I gained from my interactions and discussions: 1.
AOs are knowledgeable not only about admissions, but passionate about what they do and happy to share it with you. Many of them enjoy their jobs and have been doing it for many years – they are generally very passionate and very energetic about the school they represent, and in meeting students who
are knowledgeable and interested in that school. They want you to know that their school/institution is a leading player. Find out why. 2.
Do your research BEFORE you contact an AO. If you have an opportunity to meet and/or talk with an AO (whether face-to-face or through other means),
be purposeful in your discussion. Ask questions with answers that can’t be found on a school web site. Find out about the experiences of similar students, or about the school culture, or achievements or areas in which you have an interest. Don’t waste their time and you won’t waste yours. 3.
Be genuine in getting to know the AOs – in my very obvious point above, they are human. They have interests and hobbies, and can be quite helpful in areas beyond admissions. Through
smart small talk, you can find more information about those at the university which may help you build a connection. Will it guarantee acceptance? I don’t know, but certainly it can’t help to be authentic in building a relationship. Example: When I was in St. Louis, I spoke with an admissions staff member at Saint Louis University. I found out that she enjoys running as much as I do. We started talking about our runs, and she invited me to join her on an early morning run. I jumped at the chance, and during it, I learned much more about her, and our conversation never touched on admissions. While I don’t necessarily think you have to run or actively join in on an invite; I do think, that being able to find common interests is an important way to build a connection. 4.
Don’t burn bridges. The College Admissions World is a small one. As I eluded above, many AOs have been in their field for many years, and have worked at multiple schools. Combined with professional and industry conferences and events each year, these AOs get to know each other very well, and share information. Therefore, it is essential that you treat people with respect and fairly. You don’t know who knows who, what, where, when, why, and how. 5.
Stay in touch. Again, going back to point #4; an AO’s network, especially if you get into your dream of choice, can help with opening many doors. I say ‘help’ here, not ‘guarantee’. Although life and/or school and work get in the way, it’s always nice to stay in touch. For more information about the
National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), please visit http://www.nacacnet.org/. 更多精彩>>
新东方前途出国探寻美国名校之旅
