Queen Prawn Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 How would you react? I have to call 5 students to congratulate and welcome them to my alma mater and answer any questions they might have (the Alumni Assn. has supplied me with sheets of facts and a how to sheet for answering more difficult questions). All 5 students are supposed to be new incoming freshman (just graduating high school) and of the 5, four are going into engineering and one is a biology major. Do you think I should be prepared for the quick hang-up/non-answer or is there a chance these students might actually ask questions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soxy Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 I'd probably have politely said thank you, taken a name and e-mail and then said if I had any additional question I would ask them. But I might have asked a few questions. But I wouldn't think it was too odd. My admissions officers (from a few of the schools I applied at) would call me at least 3 times a week to see how my thoughts were coming and to see about offers from other schools. I think more and more colleges are realizing they're a business and this is like a costumer service thing. So, yeah, you might have to answer a few questions, but maybe more later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 How would you react? I have to call 5 students to congratulate and welcome them to my alma mater and answer any questions they might have (the Alumni Assn. has supplied me with sheets of facts and a how to sheet for answering more difficult questions). All 5 students are supposed to be new incoming freshman (just graduating high school) and of the 5, four are going into engineering and one is a biology major. Do you think I should be prepared for the quick hang-up/non-answer or is there a chance these students might actually ask questions? They did it to me also. I had no idea what to ask. In retrospect, I wish I had talked to more of the ordinary students to see what they had to stay, instead of the people who were being paid to promo the college. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapkomet Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 Most serious college students would welcome it. But if they're going to partee' then it doesn't matter much. It's kind of hard to know what questions to ask if you think about it. What would you have asked? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kapkomet Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 They did it to me also. I had no idea what to ask. In retrospect, I wish I had talked to more of the ordinary students to see what they had to stay, instead of the people who were being paid to promo the college. If I were you, I would have asked what dumbass was going to live across the hall from you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen Prawn Posted January 20, 2004 Author Share Posted January 20, 2004 Most serious college students would welcome it. But if they're going to partee' then it doesn't matter much. It's kind of hard to know what questions to ask if you think about it. What would you have asked? That's what I was thinking. When I was graduating from HS, I had a ton of questions, but couldn't figure out how to ask them. I am hoping that they have some real questions. From previous experience with this, the most popular question I get about UIC is the class size question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 If I were you, I would have asked what dumbass was going to live across the hall from you. Yeah, and then "how can I get into a different room" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 I would spend a moment talking about my experience first week/month/semester and explain why I had volunteered to make these calls. I would make certain that they took down my name and number (maybe not the guys) in case they had any questions down the road. Finally I would follow up around the first day of classes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen Prawn Posted January 20, 2004 Author Share Posted January 20, 2004 I would spend a moment talking about my experience first week/month/semester and explain why I had volunteered to make these calls. I would make certain that they took down my name and number (maybe not the guys) in case they had any questions down the road. Finally I would follow up around the first day of classes. UIC suggests handing out email and if they don't have email, it is my discretion. If they have no email, I'll give them my cell number. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BridgeportHeather Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 When I knew I was going to ISU, I decided to seek out information about the area of which the university is situated (Bloomington/Normal). I'd imagine that a great deal of soon-to-be college students are interested in the area they're going to be joining the community of (especially if they're living ON campus), so you might want to be aware of those types of questions. In addition, prospective students are probably going to be interested in the difference between living on and off campus, as well as clubs they can get involved in. Good luck in being a "mentor" for these soon-to-be college students. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texsox Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 Do not forget to tell them which bars are easiest for underaged drinking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flash Tizzle Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 How would you react? I have to call 5 students to congratulate and welcome them to my alma mater and answer any questions they might have (the Alumni Assn. has supplied me with sheets of facts and a how to sheet for answering more difficult questions). All 5 students are supposed to be new incoming freshman (just graduating high school) and of the 5, four are going into engineering and one is a biology major. Do you think I should be prepared for the quick hang-up/non-answer or is there a chance these students might actually ask questions? This must be something new added to UIC. Going into this year I never got a call from an alumni welcoming me to college of LAS and willing to answer any questions. I had no idea about anything at that school until orientation; which sucked and dragged on for 2 days. They must of read my angry, profanity filled opinion card and decided it was time for change. Because I'm lazy I would just call them, say welcome to UIC my name is Fanof14 and if you have any questions make sure to ask counselors this summer at orientation. Then I would hang out and move on to the next person.....I would be done in no time. None of these students are going to ask any difficult questions. If someone would of called me I would of asked about the party scene and how classes deal with people who are tardy. I'm sure its going to be questions you can handle......and even if you don't just evade the question and tell the student to call someone else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen Prawn Posted January 20, 2004 Author Share Posted January 20, 2004 That's more of what I am expecting. I went back to my high school a couple years ago and did a presentation on women in engineering and in spite of the fact several of the seniors I spoke with were accepted to engineering colleges, none of them seemed interested in asking questions of any sort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnB Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 I'm a senior in HS, just got accepted to my first choice, U of I. I would welcome the call. I probably wouldn't be able to think of any specific questions off the top of my head though. Just give them or should i say "us" what to expect from the school. Maybe tell them something for your personal experience, something that we dont' see in the brochures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperSteve Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 Um, they sound like they are actually quite smart kids -- engineering and biology. I think these kids will be nice about it and probably are more nervous about their new school than you are to call them. I got alot of these calls from the University of Iowa (it came down to Iowa and Michigan State for me). They would ask if I had any questions, I'd say nope...and they'd reply that if I did, drop them or Iowa an email (or something like that). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greasywheels121 Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 Um, they sound like they are actually quite smart kids -- engineering and biology. I think these kids will be nice about it and probably are more nervous about their new school than you are to call them. I got alot of these calls from the University of Iowa (it came down to Iowa and Michigan State for me). They would ask if I had any questions, I'd say nope...and they'd reply that if I did, drop them or Iowa an email (or something like that). Yeah...IU and Ball State have done the same for me. It has to be weird for the other person on the line, but it is nice that they try to make it a little more personable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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