Working in university admissions and/or study abroad?

[littleowl33]

Originally Posted by SydneyK

Although I've never been an admissions counselor, I've noticed that most ACs are graduates of the school where they are employed... If you're looking into working for a university that isn't your alma mater, it might be helpful to keep that in mind.

I work in admissions, and though things may be different at other schools, our admissions office definitely doesn't work this way. Of our 11 admissions counselors, only one attended Hopkins for her education. Don't disregard a school just because you didn't go there!

[PhoenixAzul]

Originally Posted by littleowl33

I work in admissions, and though things may be different at other schools, our admissions office definitely doesn't work this way. Of our 11 admissions counselors, only one attended Hopkins for her education. Don't disregard a school just because you didn't go there!

Thanks for the info. I definitely have been applying to schools I didn't go to, mainly because my alma mater is too far away ! There's lots of great schools in this part of the state mainly because it's on the border of PA/OH/WV/MD, it's just a matter of finding them.

Littleowl, can you tell me a bit about how much travel the people in your office do? Is it spread out over the year (like 2-3 days a month every month) or is there one particular time that you're gone for a lot longer (2-3 weeks in say October or something)? I'm just trying to gauge what the travel requirement is like...I definitely DO like to travel and this isn't a bad thing at all, I'm just curious.

[BlueCarnation]

Along with higheredjobs, make sure you check out chronicle.com. Good luck!

[Xylochick216]

Travel depends on your territory. Some counselors when I worked in admissions were on the road for weeks at a time. Others were just days here or there. It's a lot of college fairs and then school visits all day. It's great for people who love to talk, and many schools will only hire alumni because they can give their personal experience with the school when making a sell to students.

Good luck with your search. Many colleges are on hiring freezes now, making it hard for everyone to find jobs. I just graduated with my masters in student affairs and about half of my cohort is still searching for jobs because literally no one is hiring.