If you’re a high school counselor, then you want to do all you can to help your school’s students get into higher education that works for them. That can mean substantial work though, as you not only have to build relationships with those students and their families, but also potentially the admissions personnel of colleges and universities.
Invest Time In This
If you do choose to develop effective relationships with any admission officers in higher education, then you need to put the necessary time into this. LinkedIn is a great place to start with this, as social media makes personal connections much easier with people who are likely in different cities or states. Things have to get comfortable between the two of you before you can start texting them that you have certain students that might fit their college or university really well.
Maintain An Up-To-Date School Profile
LinkedIn and social media might be good places to start, but don’t stop there. resources like NACAC and CollegeBoard school profiles are used heavily by admission officers when they judge applicants. These offer crucial information about schools and their students, given how curriculums are rarely standardized.
Make Responsiveness A Habit
You need to be able to share information with admission officers, but this also needs to happen clearly and quickly if they reach out to you. One email or phone call might be all it takes to make or break a student’s application, and if you don’t respond, they might lose out.
Keep It Professional
Some relationships might wind up exchanging personal phone numbers and emails for easier access, but always keep things professional. Connections between higher education admissions officers and high school college counselors can work well for both parties, but some professional detachment needs to be maintained. Colleges and universities don’t want to be ever seen as playing favorites or having preferences of students from certain schools. That can harm their reputation and even possibly lead to discrimination lawsuits.
Avenues Of Communication
You can certainly start relationships in either direction, and social media or cold-call emails are ways to get things going, but that’s not the only way to get started. Numerous events take place at many high schools throughout the year, including admissions and recruitment affairs. Other opportunities for contact include college campus visits, college fairs, and educational conferences.
Two-Way Traffic
Whether you’re a high school counselor or a college or university admissions officer, there are benefits and advantages to having relationships with professionals in the other group. If you’re a counselor for a high school, having social connections with higher education admissions officers can help you pave the way to placing qualified students in educational establishments that will help them move ahead in life. Likewise, if you’re a college or university admissions professional, then being able to find the best candidates to join your institution helps you make your place of higher learning even more of a success story than it already is. It’s a potential win-win for all involved.