The admissions process can be stressful for both student and parents, that we know. While admissions counselors are sometimes seen as salespeople for their college or universities, ethical admissions counselors are also concerned with attracting the right students to their schools. Right in this case might mean attracting students who want the majors their school provides. For example, a smaller school that focuses on the arts, shouldn’t try to attract a student who wants an economics degree. And colleges that don’t offer engineering shouldn’t in my view try to attract students who want to be chemical engineers by telling them they can always try to design their own major — it’s just isn’t that easy. So an important part of the admission process from the perspective of the admissions counselors is matching student to school, and one of the best ways to help you and your student in that process is for both of you to ask questions.
Make a quick search on the interview on “questions to ask admissions counselors.” Go ahead, I’ll wait here. (cue the elevator music). Okay. By now you’ve seen lots of questions, some of which you thought didn’t make sense, and others you thought were spot-on. Excellent. Here are the categories of questions I think really matter in college choice.
First, do they offer the academic program or programs your student wants? Do they have the major or majors she wants to pursue? These are perfectly reasonable questions and ones that can help students screen a school on or off their list. It’s also important to ask about the percentage of freshman courses taught by regular faculty as opposed to graduate assistants. Ask about the ratio and see what they say. While graduate assistants can be perfectly good teachers, most of us don’t envision paying graduate students to teach our students when we pay their tuition. So one course or maybe two is not big deal. If your student is enrolled in five courses all of which are taught by graduate students, on the other hand, you might want to take a step back. Also ask about the average size of classes, but also ask what is a typical small class size and the largest classes students are likely to encounter.
Second, how about the social life? No college calls itself a party school, yet lots of them are famous for a very active student social life. Is that what your student wants, or is he more oriented toward academic clubs or a quiet social life? Are they interested in fraternities and sororities? Do they want to attend large college football games, or would they prefer a creative writing club? Before speaking with the admission counselor about social life, encourage your student to answer two questions: first, what’s one activity you’ve always wanted to try, such as playing the drums, rowing or horseback riding? The reverse question is what activity do you want to be sure to maintain while you’re in college. These two questions give students two lists of activities or clubs that they would like to join. If the college they’re looking at has both of those, that’s a nice indication of a good social life fit.
A third category to ask about are campus services and academic support. Ask about how academic advising happens, such as will they be advised by faculty or other advisors. How often can they expect to meet with their advisors? If they need help in courses, how accessible is tutoring? What’s the cost for tutoring, if any?
A sub category of support is the availability or services for physical and mental health. Ask the admissions counselor about what we often call “wellness services” which includes a health center and counseling center or both. Most college students need emotional support at some time during their college years, and college counselors are trained to help with such issues as roommate conflicts, depression, homesickness, or bigger challenges. Often, these services are free or free up to a certain number of sessions. Ask about these as well, but try to ask that when you don’t embarrass your student. Your student will appreciate that. Generally if you ask about wellness services, an admissions counselor will touch on counseling as well as physical health, so you’ll at least have an idea of what the institution offers.
The physical environment has a lot more to do with success in college than students or parents realize. Some students prefer quiet natural surroundings, like access to mountains, or the water, while others prefer environments close to the city with all that that offers. Somehow you need to determine with your student if the physical environment of a particular institution is where they’re going to thrive.
What about student success? Be sure to ask the percentage of students who graduate in four years. When you ask this, you might be shocked. The national average is about 50%, though that will vary widely by institutional type. Smaller independent colleges tend to have higher rates of graduation in four years than medium or large public universities. Since you can verify these statistics easily using the internet, ask the question of the counselor to learn how their college tracks its students. You should also ask about job placement and career services for students in addition to the percentage accepted into graduate school. And part of the career questions should also focus on the opportunities for real work experiences on campus and beyond, through internships, practicum experiences and study abroad.
Finally, you may want ask how and when a colleges communicates with parents. Is there a parent newsletter, or other communication they can expect? If not, how will parents learn about things such as career services opportunities, or about changes in tuition?
Ask some of these questions to current students as well, not just the ones who work in the admissions office. This can be part of your question arsenal during you campus visit.
Above all, this is not a time to be shy. A lot is riding on your student having all the information he or she needs to make the right choice. Make sure they and you are ready to be active, not passive with admissions counselors.