When we toured a highly ranked school, a mother was in out group who was a lawyer for Disney. The guide eas prelaw, applying to law school within the year and was looking for a summer internship in law. The mom said what kind of law and she said she loved contracts and entertainment law. The mom gave her her card and cell number and said to text her about that internship. But I suspect it is rare…

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:interesting because the position affords the opportunity to demonstrate confidence, presentability, communication skills, intelligence, listening skills, thinking quick on feet etc. For the duds referenced above, probably isn’t a thing. But 100% could see this for the good ones - we had the biggest dud at Duke - disinterested, arrogant, and generally unlikable. But the kids at Bucknell, Vandy, and Princeton wowed us, and I would gladly have connected with them after the tour..

at Vandy there are 500+ applicants a year for the role, and only a handful chosen - it’s a highly coveted role, seen by the student body as more prestigious than any of the weirdly exclusive and self-selecting business frats lol

Our tour guide at Vandy was lousy.

yep happens all the time

Anonymous wrote:my DC says it’s a well known fact that tour guides at her T20 make hella connections during the high tour season - she said it’s not unusual for kids to land interviews (and jobs) directly from connections made leading tours. At first i was shocked - but makes sense when you think about it - anyone else hear this at their DC’s school?

I would have hired our tour guide at UCLA in a nanosecond. She was terrific. Totally understand whey they'd get interviews.

Well, I once was so impressed with a tour guide who was interested in my particular field, I left her my card and told her to reach out (and I work for one of the top companies in my field - I wouldn't give her a job but I would be happy to give her some pointers in the right direction which I frankly could have really used when I was her age). So I guess it happens.

Anonymous wrote:interesting because the position affords the opportunity to demonstrate confidence, presentability, communication skills, intelligence, listening skills, thinking quick on feet etc. For the duds referenced above, probably isn’t a thing. But 100% could see this for the good ones - we had the biggest dud at Duke - disinterested, arrogant, and generally unlikable. But the kids at Bucknell, Vandy, and Princeton wowed us, and I would gladly have connected with them after the tour..

at Vandy there are 500+ applicants a year for the role, and only a handful chosen - it’s a highly coveted role, seen by the student body as more prestigious than any of the weirdly exclusive and self-selecting business frats lol

At my school there were tour guides in the admissions office and tour guides in the advancement office.
I was an admissions tour guide. I couldn't tell you at all who was on my tour - definitely didn't make any connections or anything.
I can imagine the advancement office tour guides maybe gave tours to more affluent and well know people, so perhaps some of them could turn it into a connection. I'd imagine that's a really quick way to get yourself fired from being a tour guide though

Anonymous wrote:I find this unlikely. I was a tour guide. But certain guides did get to meet and give tours to VIPs like the First Lady and her daughter. That guide got a nice White House thank you note.

I was, too! We had a few celeb kids. But the message from the admissions office was to not make a fuss, just do our usual good job. It was usually a senior tour guide and no additional guests.

interesting because the position affords the opportunity to demonstrate confidence, presentability, communication skills, intelligence, listening skills, thinking quick on feet etc. For the duds referenced above, probably isn’t a thing. But 100% could see this for the good ones - we had the biggest dud at Duke - disinterested, arrogant, and generally unlikable. But the kids at Bucknell, Vandy, and Princeton wowed us, and I would gladly have connected with them after the tour..

Anonymous wrote:I haven't heard that. But I have heard that tour guides are a highly coveted positions at some universities, including maybe Dartmouth. I know everyone loves to share horror stories about terrible student guides, but the ten or so I've met while touring with my DD were consistently affable and charming.

Our tour guide at Dartmouth was amazing. They chose him well!

A billion years ago we gave tours to the recruiters who came to school and then ate lunch with them… so yes, then was entirely possible to make connections. If your kid hoping for something like that should check with whomever running career office/tours.

Unlikely that this is a thing.

But there are people who are natural born connectors who would undoubtedly make the most of that situation and make connections. Those folks make connections everywhere though. The average kid isn’t going to fall into consulting job offers as a result of guiding tours; or any job offers.

I find this unlikely. I was a tour guide. But certain guides did get to meet and give tours to VIPs like the First Lady and her daughter. That guide got a nice White House thank you note.

I haven't heard that. But I have heard that tour guides are a highly coveted positions at some universities, including maybe Dartmouth. I know everyone loves to share horror stories about terrible student guides, but the ten or so I've met while touring with my DD were consistently affable and charming.

my DC says it’s a well known fact that tour guides at her T20 make hella connections during the high tour season - she said it’s not unusual for kids to land interviews (and jobs) directly from connections made leading tours. At first i was shocked - but makes sense when you think about it - anyone else hear this at their DC’s school?