my so called life

Ever wonder what an admissions director does? What a typical day is like? Yeah, probably not. Well, I'm going to tell you anyway because this blog is all about me:). I'm not sure today was typical but it sure felt busy and somewhat random.

8:00 - arrive at work and walk from parking lot. Brr, it got cold quickly. Go get coffee!
8:15 - Start on emails. I have a lot today. It's the time of year when students who are enrolling for spring semester have questions on their residency. I pull their files and investigate their appeals. It takes a looooong time trying to figure out options and respond to their unique situations.
9:00 - talk through denied student situation with high school counselor.
9:15 - Go through my mail, sign various forms. I sign my name a LOT....admission letters, travel reimbursement forms, application fee waivers, special student application residency determinations, staff vacation logs. I think, "Can't this all be electronic?" Some is, some isn't.
10:00 - Meet with father of prospective student and talk through case and options. The dad is very cool, and we have a great conversation.
11:00 - Go to meeting about our computer conversion.
12:00 - lunch. I'm starving. I meet a friend and go to our Thanksgiving buffet at The Dulany in the student center.
12:45 - My Associate Director wanders in and we chat about some new ideas on how to recruit international students.
1:00 - Look over some student applications and make decisions on tough calls. I don't see a lot of applications, actually. That might surprise you. When I see an application, it usually means that there are extenuating circumstances that require the director's decision.
1:30 - Another staff member comes in and asks for some advice on a few student cases. We decide to waitlist one student and ask for grades on another. I have 100 admission letters to sign in time for our student worker to come in to mail them, so I sign my name as we talk. We also talk about a few scholarship dollars that are available for spring semester and how to award them.
2:00 - Return voicemail.
2:30-4:30 - Frankly, I have no idea where the time went for these two hours!! I know I talked to a bunch of my staff members who wandered in and out of my office asking questions, looking for ideas/feedback. I get interrupted a lot but that's part of the job, and I like to be available to my staff. I know I answered the phone several times and talked to parents/students. I answered more email and evaluated more applications. I know I talked to our Financial Aid Director. I think I even got up, went over to the student center, and grabbed a Coke at some point...but it's all a blur.

Today was kind of what I call "an office day," where I was able to catch up on things. Yesterday I had meetings for several hours and tomorrow I give presentations to visitors. Every day is different, but they all revolve around students and how we can make our office and campus the best experience possible for our students. Hope that gives you a glimpse of what I do.

Next blog topic: How to avoid the senior slide!

Have a great weekend and Thanksgiving.

Kris