Best and worst admissions offices

[Anonymous]

Virginia Tech has made a mess of things for the last 7 years.

[Anonymous]

The were super nice at Fairfield and the t-shirt was a nice touch

[Anonymous]

Occidental was wonderful, kind, warm, welcoming.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wait what? You’ve had more than one interaction admissions office at each school??? Like, beyond the school tour??? What in heavens sake for?!!

+100
I have kids at two different colleges and we have never once interacted with the admissions office at either school, or any of the others they applied to. This thread is hilarious.

[Anonymous]

This is the weirdest post on here right now. Says a lot about you guys. You’re focused on the wrong thing people

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: Virginia Tech has made a mess of things for the last 7 years.

Just because you like to repeat this every year doesn't make it true. They do an excellent job with tours, ASDs, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is the weirdest post on here right now. Says a lot about you guys. You’re focused on the wrong thing people

Odd take. Most people would agree that how prospective customers are treated very much matters in any industry.

[Anonymous]

JMU after the tour a random professor was walking by and say the bag (so knew we were prospective students) he stopped and spoke with us for 20 minutes and showed us around. It really was a ‘hold the door school’- everyone super nice

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Williams and Middlebury were impressive.

Bates was very good too but Colby much less so.

Totally agree on Bates vs Colby admissions office. Went to visit all 3 colleges in Maine this past summer and Bates went out of their way to answer every question and put us in touch with professors to follow up on a discussion. Gave us a ticket for a free lunch too. Bowdoin was alright but no free lunch. Tour guide was amazing. Colby clearly was only interested in the athletes in our group. Could care less about the other students who were non athletes. They couldn’t even be bothered to turn around and talk to the whole group. Also, becomes obvious when first stop is the gym.

Was surprised that Bowdoin College admissions was not good. Same for another small LAC in Ohio.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is the weirdest post on here right now. Says a lot about you guys. You’re focused on the wrong thing people

Some might view your post as the weirdest post in this thread. What's your point other than to insult others while in a condescending manner ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is so weird.

Very little interaction with the two top 10 schools my kids ended up at.

Same for every school we visited. I truly do not understand this question or the basis for the responses. (Other than the poster who shared about offers to connect the kid with professors and the free lunch ticket.)

Could people be more specific? Otherwise this is just throwing around school names.

[Anonymous]

Carleton, Vassar, Dartmouth were great! Amherst a bit stuffy. Kept going on and on about exceptional students…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is the weirdest post on here right now. Says a lot about you guys. You’re focused on the wrong thing people

Odd take. Most people would agree that how prospective customers are treated very much matters in any industry.

How much of a range is there with this variable?

You sign up online for a tour. Your kid checks in at the desk. You listen to the presentation. You walk around the campus with a tour guide.

In terms of differences: Some schools give out a little swag. And apparently one provides a lunch ticket. In my experience, all have provided free parking, but maybe there are some with pay-to-park garages??

I’m genuinely curious. What exactly do you think these tiny “customer experience” differences on your day say about the relative value or experience of a four year college education at these schools?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is the weirdest post on here right now. Says a lot about you guys. You’re focused on the wrong thing people

Odd take. Most people would agree that how prospective customers are treated very much matters in any industry.

How much of a range is there with this variable?

You sign up online for a tour. Your kid checks in at the desk. You listen to the presentation. You walk around the campus with a tour guide.

In terms of differences: Some schools give out a little swag. And apparently one provides a lunch ticket. In my experience, all have provided free parking, but maybe there are some with pay-to-park garages??

I’m genuinely curious. What exactly do you think these tiny “customer experience” differences on your day say about the relative value or experience of a four year college education at these schools?

Are you really this obtuse? Let’s try to make this easy. Mom and Larlo visit college A and are greeted by a cold receptionist and the AO seems snobby when Larlo asks a question. After the visit Larlo emails the territory AO and gets a curt response. Mom and Larlo visit college B and their experience is the opposite.

See how small interactions with staff members can shape feelings towards a college? If they want tuition dollars they can at least be friendly to people interested in giving them business. Even selective colleges care about yield and first impressions matter.

[Anonymous]

When DS was accepted to VCU, staff was very responsive about answering our specific questions. DS ended up attending another school, but we were very impressed with how VCU treated us. Very friendly, helpful people.