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

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

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

7. 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

8. 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

9. Thank You For Volunteering Your Time Through CAAAN!