Many students in their junior year of high school will begin their college search by creating a list of potential schools and going to visit the ones they find the most promising or interesting.
While this is a perfect opportunity to really explore a college or university, it is also an excellent time to begin building relationships with other students and key or critical staff at each school.
Why should a student build a relationship with anyone at a school they have not enrolled in? The best answer to that question is simply that it just makes sense. Many colleges and universities are incredibly competitive, and more and more students are finding it difficult to get into their first or even second choice of schools.
Building a relationship with someone attending the school can keep a student up to date with any important or critical information about current events and happenings at the college or university, and can give them insight into the criteria that needs to be met for acceptance.
Building a relationship through a well organized college search with the admissions office and staff can demonstrate a student’s commitment to selecting the best educational experience available and present a stronger chance of gaining acceptance to a school of choice.
A college search should be a highly organized system, a student should keep a written track of correspondence, essential deadlines and the status of each school they are interested in attending. This means a good follow up on every communication, whether it is a telephone call, email or written correspondence, is very important. Keeping track of these communications will let a student see how responsive the admissions office is to their interest and also present a chance to communicate directly with an admissions officer.
After a short period of time a student doing their college search will be able to narrow down their list of potential colleges and universities and really direct a great deal of attention and persistence to the schools they have chosen.
College officials and staff agree that students who show dedication and persistence in their application and interview process tend to attract the appropriate amount of attention to succeed in their bids for acceptance. An organized performance, where communications are responded to promptly, all deadlines are met, and a great deal of interest and enthusiasm about a particular school is displayed can really payoff.
Generally, accepted students and college professionals all agree that a good foundation for success occurs when a student takes the time to develop a working relationship with an admissions officer early in their college search. By meeting a few enrolled students and getting a “feel” for the school a student is also increasing their chances of understanding what a school wants from an applying student and if it, in turn, is the correct school for their needs.