Could contacting an admissions office ever hurt you?

Question

If you contact an admissions office and ask the wrong questions or have typos or something, could they track this and hold it against you when evaluating your application?

Is there anything in particular you shouldn't ask an admissions office?

Jeanette · Answer

If you don't put your real name on it, probably not. But assuming you do, there's certainly the possibility of making a negative impression (just as there's the possibility of making a positive one).

ThomasD · Answer

Yes, you shouldn't not ask for any information that can easily be found on the webpage, average GMAT for example - show that you are smart and thoughtful with your questions, not lazy and ignorant!

shaselai · Answer

i dont think it matters too much. i think even asking "obvious questions" wont really matter so much. i doubt they keep track of names like "james doe asked what is minimum gmat - he is getting -1".

highhopes · Answer

I disagree, I think it can be a negative. Why do you need to contact an admissions representative? What are you going to ask them that you can't get from someone else? I cannot think of a single thing that the admissions rep would be better equipped to answer than someone else, unless you're asking very specific admissions info that they probably wouldn't give out anyway. If you're specifically contacting an admissions rep (different from socializing with them at an MBA tour event), then you're probably doing it to try and make an impresion & the downsides of making a negative one are often bigger than the chance that you make an incredibly positive impression.

For example, in recruiting, they always tell us that even if you have a really great contact, you never contact that person first because you never know how that conversation will play out. Maybe you call them expecting to answer some questions & they come ready to interview you and you screw up because you weren't informed enough.

For example, in recruiting, they always tell us that even if you have a really great contact, you never contact that person first because you never know how that conversation will play out. Maybe you call them expecting to answer some questions & they come ready to interview you and you screw up because you weren't informed enough.

rhyme · Answer

I had that exact thing happen to me.

mc · Answer

I was considering contacting the generic admissions email address to get information about specific courses that would be beneficial to my desired career path that might not be obvious from the generic course descriptions. Is this something I should just know? Who should I contact instead?

jordanhendrix · Answer

^^in sent Duke an email about class availability in a certain concentration, they sent me to the registrar and then i had my questions answered. It was a generic form also.

Jeanette · Answer

That's why I'd say e-mail is a better solution. You can be very focused and specific in your question and you can show that you did your research already, but there's no risk of getting into a long dialog you aren't prepared for. And if your question is so generic that all you're going to get back from the admissions committee on an emailed question is a form answer, you shouldn't be asking that question anyway.

Unless there's a time element involved, I can't imagine calling would be a good idea, especially if your only goal is to make a good impression.

highhopes · Answer

If you're just e-mailing the generic admissions account for more specific info, I think that's fine. I took your question to mean you were wanting to contact actual admissions officers.

I think if you've looked at the class descriptions already and you need more info, if you can find a student club for your career path, that might be the best way to go. Admissions will frankly not be able to answer detailed questions about classes, even the registrar probably has limited (useful) info. Students will have taken the classes and can give you more information.

Make sure you have specific questions about the classes though, otherwise the course descriptions are probably good enough and you probably won't get much better info without specific questions.

SaMoCU · Answer

I've contacted admissions at both CBS and Wharton, but made sure to research both schools THOROUGHLY. 
As a result, my questions came off as very intelligent, and I connected well with the admission directors. And...I applied to CBS ED, and got an interview invite with admissions in 2 weeks of having applied and was asked by Wharton's adcom to notify them when I apply so I can make my way to campus for an interview.

Do it...it can work very very well. Just do your research.

Could contacting an admissions office ever hurt you?

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