I spoke with a group of new admission counselors last week while they were participating in state wide training.  I thought of how students and families may under utilize this valuable resource.

Every college hires admission staff who will be excellent representatives of their college and work toward the collective goals of the college.  Yet you may not realize that they also hire individuals who are advocates for students and are willing to abide by a code of conduct.

Many colleges are members of the National Association of College Admission Counseling and abide by the Statement of Principles of Good Practice; which are there to protect students.   http://www.nacacnet.org/NR/rdonlyres/9A4F9961-8991-455D-89B4-AE3B9AF2EFE8/0/SPGP.pdf  Check out the above link, you should be aware of your rights. 

Keep in communication with your admission counselor.  You can expect the following from them:

- Accurate information about the college they represent.

- Assistance in connecting you with other parts of the college campus.

- Personalized attention about your admission status and frequently (but not always) information about your financial aid package.

- A guide to help you make a good choice on whether their college is a good fit for you.

But keep in mind:

- They are not experts of any other college, other than the one that employs them, so don't ask them to compare colleges.   Even if they went to a different college than where they work they can't make the same type of comparison.

- They are generalists, not specialists so they may need to refer you to a specialist.   This is not a sign of incompetence but of honesty and integrity.  They have to know a little bit about all the academic programs, student life (every club and organization), financial aid, residence life, athletics, visual and performing arts, campus food, etc.  They can not know it all, but they should know who can help you.  A sign of a great admisison counselor is how good they are at follow up.

Just keep in mind that admission counselors are there to help you so utilize them in determing if their college is the best fit for you.