You know common basic courtesy can go a long way. I have not had much interaction with Tuck. But, I have been thinking for months that I needed to visit to see if it was a fit for my son & I. I got an email yesterday from the admissions office b/c I signed up to be on their email list. I wanted to get more info about the Tuck Diversity Conference coming up this fall. I could not gather the info I wanted by browsing the site. So, I decided to take a quick break and call. I wasn't even on the phone more than 5 minutes with the representatives. I gathered very quickly a deep sense that this may not be the place for me. The representatives were somewhat abrupt, almost rude. I could barely get my question out before I was cut off by the answer the rep was giving. I went on to inquire about scheduling open interviews during the conference. She said I could do that...then mentioned, I had to apply to the conference to get accepted. Really?? Wow…okay, you are telling me that I have to submit another application in addition to the one I already have to submit? Register, during a certain timeframe b/c you only have so many slots….Yes, I understand that. However, I am not going to submit an application to go to a conference where I pay for full travel & wait to be accepted. No Deal!
Then, I asked if it was okay to bring my son with me to the visit b/c I want to make sure that the place would be a good fit for us both….She paused…then said she was not sure if that was okay???...then continued to give me the email of someone to contact to ask that question. This was the admissions office. I wrote down the information that she sped through & I kept saying, "Could you hold up, I'm still trying to write the email down?" She was trying to give me the website for the diversity conference or take my email to send me the link. I was still trying to write down the email for the lady. I told her I did not need the website. I could Google it. Then, I said thank you, and hung up the phone. When I got off the phone, what registered with me was a feeling of rude abruptness that was in no way prospective student friendly, AT ALL!
What I just experienced and the perception the website gives off were two totally different things. The only reason I started to look into Tuck was b/c their website made the school look so “family friendly”. I do not know who that rep was, but she left a very bad impression on me; so much that I am taking them off my list of schools to apply to. I was seriously considering paying money out of my pocket, taking time off work to go to this conference. Now, I think I'll pass. I will use that energy for that application elsewhere. With that being said, I will be updating the schools I am applying to very soon...and I can not emphasize how important it is to find the right fit for you!
As always…Be Luv!
See, I just got off the phone with Kathy from Yale Admissions and she was an absolute Sweetheart:)....common courtesy goes a very loonnng way!
ReplyDeleteRashida - reading your Tuck interaction left me with my jaw on the floor! I'm not sure who you spoke with and I'm not going to try to change your mind into thinking that Tuck isn't a fit for you, because if I had an interaction as you described I would be set on not applying too. But... if you have any ounce of curiosity left in your body... please look into Tuck again. I'm sure you'll find that your interaction was an anomaly. Reading your post I kinda felt like reading it again to make sure you were talking about Tuck and not Tufts... I do understand the whole part about your son. That's a BIG deal! I have a friend/blog reader who just visited Tuck this past weekend who has a child < 1 year old. He visited and if you'd like I can see if he'd be up to corresponding with you. He can tell you about Sachem Village too!
ReplyDeleteJust know... if you and I end up at Tuck we can teach your son how to flip!
yeah I agree with Richard. I don't expect Tuck to be this way either. Also, don't judge a school on how adCom reacts because those are not the people you will be interacting if you are at Tuck. That said, even if an AdCom member is too good then also don't derive conclusion that school might be as good as that member is. That's a decoy. But your experience is little disturbing in the sense, that i have always felt that no one in Tuck can ever behave that way. May be i have that faith (even without visiting the school) that this school is too good for something like that.
ReplyDelete@ Richard...I hear ya' & I am a very forgiving, but they just left a really bad feeling in my gut. It actually saddened me a bit:(....I don't know....we'll see. And, Yes, U R right, if we end up there my son will be a back flipping King, Lol! I taught my nephew at 3, now he flips down a field, lol!
ReplyDelete@Mukaam, the Adcom are not the students, but they are an extension of the school. And, if its in the DNA its just there....i dont know we'll see. i guess my blind faith went out the door after speaking w/ the 2 reps.
ReplyDelete@Rashida - I agree with you that the AdCom is an extension of the school. I too have written off schools because of a poor interaction with the AdCom or even a secretary. I think it's a fair judgement. If they can write us off over our interaction with them... well then the same is true for the inverse.
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