On a daily basis in the Life of an Admission Counselor: Recruiting Students in NYC



Question: Have you seen that movie, Admission with Tina Fey? Is your job really like that?

Yes, I’ve seen that movie. In reality, I watched it on a Virgin America flight a years that are few on my method to NYC for certainly one of my recruitment trips (How meta is the fact that?) Tina Fey plays an admission counselor from a very selective university, and there’s a scene of her doing senior high school visits that made me personally giggle shmoop best paper writing service a little too difficult in my aisle seat (ok, fine…it was a middle chair). Tina does vocal that is several and psychs herself up before reciting the same precise presentation about her college several times a day. This week starts my recruitment trip that is first of season in New York City, and I’ll be visiting four to five high schools each day to talk about the USC experience. Our applicant pool is large and diverse and my candidates’ understanding of USC and the university admission process will change considerably. After are for the places where you’ll find me students that are meeting autumn in the Big Apple!

1) Visiting High Schools

As you’re completing your Calculus test or running from Drama or MUN, I’m probably within the city on the subway traveling to one of my many school that is high in NYC. Typically, this is the very best way to move around the town, but I ended up being once stuck underground for over three hours. If I do not arrive for my visit at your college I’m probably friends that are making the subway rats while waiting for help. Today I visited five high schools on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, which feels like a lot, nevertheless when the schools are all a couple of blocks from each other it’s actually not that bad. Unlike my colleagues who recruit in almost any other city, I lack a leasing vehicle in ny. September can be beautiful in New York, but today it had been 90 levels, humid, and eventually ended in thunderstorms. If just I possibly could have been around in air conditioned Toyota Yaris rather than lugging my USC brochures within my suit down Park Avenue in the rain. Sounds glamorous, does it not?? All of the schools I went to today have really small senior classes, so if 10 students appear, that is a great turnout. Everyone actually came prepared having done some preliminary research about USC, that I appreciate more than any such thing. I would state the top question that I had been asked at every school today was whether USC students can double major. Being able to discuss the Renaissance Scholars program, which encourages students to grab a 2nd major or a small in a completely different department from their primary major actually shows our commitment to interdisciplinary studies. I finished my fifth school that is high around 2pm, grabbed a bagel with tofu cream cheese, and stumbled on the downtown 4 train right back to the Courtyard Marriott. Time to sleep up and get it done all again tomorrow!

2) Discover USC Off-Campus Reception

I make it to about 60 high schools throughout the five boroughs of NYC to fulfill students (yes, even Staten Island!), but We definitely can’t go to every school. That is why, our office hosts off-campus receptions making sure that we could bring the same information that is on-campus to your home turf. These events are free and even though we’d like you to register beforehand, you can simply show up too. Everybody else is welcome! In NYC, our event had been last weekend in Times Square and it absolutely was huge! I arrived to the hotel a hours that are few the event to aid set up, but when families started showing up I became chatting non-stop. For the presentation, I spoke concerning the admission process in front of roughly 500 guests, but strangely I didn’t really get nervous. Remember, I’m dealing with USC four times a day for the entire fall so it’s like second nature to me personally at this time. Afterwards, students and families had the opportunity to get more information that is detailed the major of their choice in a smaller use session so it really is a team effort at the reception. In NY, there are always plenty of students interested in our arts that are conservatory-style and so I’m constantly pointing them toward my admission colleagues who work in the schools of Dramatic Arts, Cinematic Arts, and Dance. I’m also always ready to activate in a Hamilton putting that is sing-a-long…just out there to any or all my other Theater kids.

3) Community Based Organizations (CBOs)

I additionally get to collaborate with some incredible college access organizations that help many underrepresented and first-generation students find out about applying to college. For students who are from NYC therefore the very first within their family to attend college, the notion of flying across the united states to go to a big private college can sound daunting. I have not met with any CBOs yet this fall, but this past spring, a CBO invited me to lay on a panel alongside other admission counselors, and it was really interesting to listen to other colleges speak about their school. The students trickled in after a day that is full their different high schools, some commuting over one hour just to hear the advice from me and my admission colleagues. We discussed our enjoyable campus traditions, general education programs, and application advice before getting the chance to fulfill individually with the students during a mini-college fair. I love getting the chance to meet with pupils who might not have thought in the future to my high school visit or the Discover USC reception, but who are stoked up about the idea of going to college around the world. I told all the students that now they have to start convincing their parents that this is a good idea too before I left. This is generally one of the hardest facets of the admission procedure.

I have several weeks of recruitment left and I look ahead to everyone that is meeting NYC this fall! I simply hope that I make Tina Fey proud.