A Day in the Life of an Admissions Fellow
Joe details a day in their life as a summer fellow for the Admissions Office.
Joe details a day in their life as a summer fellow for the Admissions Office.
Oh, to be a Summer Admissions fellow. This summer marks my first break staying on campus at Carleton, and it has a very distinct energy from the school year. Instead of spending my days taking classes, studying, and going to club meetings, I’m leading tours, conducting interviews, doing various panels, and completing student outreach. Scoville Hall is a special work environment, and this job has provided me with unique experiences and skills which I’m excited to take into the future. If you’re looking for a day in the life of a Carleton Admissions fellow, you’ve come to the right place!
Checking In
I bike up to Scoville at about 7:59 every morning, passing by pedestrians and construction (also known as “investment in our infrastructure”) as I leave Watson Hall. I start brewing some coffee and work with the other fellows to set up a check-in table outside for the morning tours. I love mornings at Scoville—we ease into a busy day, chatting, joking, and occasionally breaking into song (although this is mostly Ben, my coworker, and me). Once visitors start arriving, we walk them over to the Chapel for the information session. Then, we relax in the lobby until we head over to lead the tours.
On the Tour Again
The fellows leading tours arrive at the Chapel at the tail end of the information session. It’s always funny to hear the classic jokes from each presenter—I laugh every time Admissions Officer Alex mentions considering Early Decision “if you already have Carleton tattooed on your arm.” After a few audience questions, we split guests into two groups and begin our tours.
We have a standard set of stops for each tour: Anderson, Cassat Hall, The Weitz Center for Creativity, and Dacie’s. We point out the Bald Spot, the Career Center, and The Language and Dining Center as we progress through the tour route. Because we have two fellows per tour group, every tour has a different dynamic, and it’s fun to see how our banter and jokes change by the day. I always talk about my experience as a Resident Assistant and how I’ve used the alumni directory with the Career Center. We end our tour at Scoville and hand out our ~official~ business cards to prospective students before heading back inside.
Beyond the Tours: Responsibilities of a Fellow
When we aren’t giving tours, we cycle through a couple daily activities. Interviews are one of our biggest responsibilities; one to four times a week, we meet a prospective student on Zoom or the phone to learn more about them and answer any questions they have about Carleton. This is a great way to see what kind of fit a student will be at Carleton and to talk with some really cool applicants. (You can sign up for an interview after at least one engagement with us. Explore visit options here). In addition to interviews, we write blog posts like this one, answer questions from student outreach, and grab mail from the post office. These tasks occur in between tours and lunch as well as at the end of the day.
Beyond these duties, I have had many special projects throughout the summer. All of the fellows worked on the Class of 2025 profile, where we compiled data on the incoming freshman class about their extracurriculars, interests, and languages spoken among other things. We highlight a couple members of the incoming class as well—check it out here! A special project I did with my coworker Jancyn was the Matter of Facts, a pamphlet of quick facts and statistics about Carleton. We reached out to nearly every department on campus, plugging specific numbers and percentages into a massive spreadsheet. It was cool to absorb these statistics as we gathered them—it’s a joy to impress prospective students with the percentage of students from the Midwest or the number of annual student-run productions.
Luckily, I’ve gotten to showcase these projects and daily responsibilities through Instagram takeovers. I love social media and also talking about myself, so I was thrilled to lead people on a virtual day-in-the-life on the Carleton New Student Week page. I’m planning on doing another takeover on the general Carleton College Instagram account on September 2, 2021, so if you read this post in time, make sure to tune in!
Ending the Day
Once the day is done, we tidy up the office, submit our blogs and interview write-ups, and head back home. One of my favorite post-work activities is to play pickup soccer on Bell Field with other summer residents. I head to the field with my coworkers Kelly and Zoë, and once people start arriving we play anywhere from one to three hours. I usually head out on the earlier end because I’m out of breath and hungry, but this is one of the surprise joys of a Carleton summer—reconnecting with a sport I love, but haven’t played in years. After heading out, I spend my night making dinner, doing my makeup, and watching TikToks (not necessarily in that order). At some point, I call it a night, and sleep before seeing what the next day at work brings.
In Sum…
I really enjoy working at Admissions. My coworkers all have a unique connection to Carleton, and it’s always interesting chatting and working with them. I’ve strengthened existing friendships, formed new bonds, and learned more about this school than I ever would have known had I not taken the position.
I lucked out with my college admissions process—when it came to Carleton, everything fell into place, and after a stress-filled senior year of high school I was so appreciative to end up here. I’m grateful for the opportunity to share my own experience and offer any advice I can to students going through the same process. This job is the perfect outlet for my goals, and I’m gaining skills and knowledge I didn’t expect over these 10 weeks. Being an admissions fellow has made my summer special, and I’m honored to share a day in my life!
Joe is a rising junior at Carleton from Chicago, IL. They plan on majoring in either Sociology/Anthropology or Computer Science, and enjoys studying public health, Spanish, and gender and sexuality. Outside of class, Joe is an RA on campus, and you can find them singing in Exit 69 A Cappella, doing makeup in their room, or drinking excessive amounts of coffee in Sayles. Meet the other Bloggers!