How to Email a College Admissions Counselor

Communicating With the People Who Read Your Application

Jul 17, 2009

A college admissions counselor's job is to help prospective students, but a poorly written email on the student's part may hurt chances of getting into the school.

Writing an email to an Admissions Counselor to ask for advice, check the status of an application, or just to get a bit more information? Here's how to compose an email in a way that will not cause the counselor to hit the delete button, or worse, make the counselor reconsider an acceptance to the college.

Rule Number One: Check for Typos and Grammatical Errors

This is a simple, basic, standard rule of professional communication: Don't let typos slip through cyberspace. If an email server does not have a spell check function, copy and paste the text into a program that does.

Use Standard and Proper English: Never, Ever, Ever Use Text Message Abbreviations

In text messaging, abbreviations are standard. But it's not uncommon to make the disastrous mistake of using the same language in a formal email. Consider the following two examples:

Which one won't impress an Admissions Counselor? The first one requires decoding, the second is straightforward and in plain English. It's better to avoid using abbreviations at all, unless relevant to the school (Bachelor of Arts, for example, can be abbreviated to B.A.)

The Simpler, the Better: Be Straightforward and to the Point

Don't give a counselor a long, drawn out life story. Also avoid making sentences too long and wordy. It's not a good idea for a student to give the person reviewing his or her college application a headache. Keep communication as short and sweet as possible.

Maintain Contact: Always Follow Up with Admissions Counselors

If the admissions counselor has provided useful information, send him or her a quick thank you. The sample below is slightly formal but works:

Thank you very much for the information you sent me; it was very helpful. I appreciate your time and assistance.

Or, if communication has been slightly more informal, a simple, "Dear (Name of Counselor), Thank you very much for the information! (Your Name)" is also sufficient.

When sending an email to a college admissions counselor, remember to do a quick spelling and grammar check, avoid overly casual or abbreviated language, be straightforward and get to the point, and try to follow up when the counselor responds. All of this is a good way to create or keep up a positive impression that an admissions counselor has of a student.

The copyright of the article How to Email a College Admissions Counselor in Colleges is owned by Suzanne Swartz. Permission to republish How to Email a College Admissions Counselor in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.