CAAAN:The Cornell Alumni Admissions Ambassador Network Contact Meetings and Contact Reports August 2011

CAAAN Contact Meetings: Overview Contact Meetings help personalize the admissions process for Cornell applicants Positive, informal, and informative meetings -- not evaluative interviews to assess worthiness of candidates for admission Opportunities for applicants to learn more about the Cornell Experience and for Cornell to learn a bit more about its applicants, too

CAAAN Contact Meetings: Arranging the Contact Meeting Pay careful attention to CAAAN deadlines Goal is to meet in person whenever possible (considering geography and time limitations) First contact should only be to arrange the meeting If calling the applicant, please be sure to call at an appropriate time of day – not too early in the morning or late in the evening Arrange the meeting for a neutral location – one on one meetings in your home are not permitted If no response, allow at least 2-3 days before attempting to contact the applicant again

CAAAN Contact Meetings: Arranging the Contact Meeting Meetings are optional for the applicant, if he/she is not interested in meeting just submit a contact report indicating that the applicant declined the meeting If you are not able to make contact after the first attempt, try one more attempt via a different communication method and wait a few more days If no response after two attempted contacts, submit a contact report indicating that he/she did not respond after two attempts

CAAAN Contact Meetings: Conducting the Contact Meeting Arrive on time (or call on time if a phone meeting) Set the applicant at ease and remind him/her that this is an informational meeting, not an interview Ask open-ended questions to promote conversation Share a favorite Cornell memory with the applicant Don’t take notes during the meeting, but do write up a few words soon after

CAAAN Contacts – Alternate Approaches Sometimes geography or applicant volume makes a face-to-face meeting unrealistic -- Consider: phone contacts small group meetings a personal email introducing yourself and offering to answer any questions and/or share some information about your CU experience

CAAAN Contact Reports Intended to add additional information and perspective to the student’s application, not to evaluate whether or not he/she should be admitted File your report within a few days of your meeting and before the deadline Include examples of what was discussed during your meeting Admissions committees report that timely, well-written reports can aid in their decision-making process

CAAAN Contact Reports Remember to include any new information that the applicant asked you to share with the admissions committee Don’t report any physical characteristics (height, weight, level of attractiveness) Remember that there is a limit to the length of the report, don’t use space to repeat information that is already in the student’s application

Thank You For Volunteering Your Time Through CAAAN!