5 Job Duties of a College Admissions Counselor

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Updated November 30, 2022 · 2 Min Read

Learn more about a career as a Student Affairs And College Counselor including education requirements, certifications and licensing, and more.

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5 Duties College Admissions Counselors Perform

  • Recruits New Students
  • Interviews Prospective Students
  • Evaluates Recruitment Techniques and Data
  • Complies With Legal Requirements
  • Makes Admission Decisions

A college admissions counselor plays a very important role for the university at which they work. They perform many tasks in addition to helping students decide which colleges they should attend. Here are five duties a college admissions counselor may be required to perform.

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1. Recruits New Students

One of the foremost duties of this profession is to recruit new students to a college or university. At the high school level, this is done by talking to students about their options for university and helping them make the best decisions about their education based on their individual situations. At the college level, it requires going to college fairs, high schools, community colleges and more to spread information about the college they represent and convince students to apply for admission. Considerable travel may be part of this job due to the nature of these events. Oftentimes counselors are assigned to specific regions and spend much of their time there.

2. Interviews Prospective Students

A college admissions counselor will do interviews with prospective students to answer any questions they may have and get a better sense of who they are. Interviewing the student in person is a key method for getting to know individual applicants better and ultimately determining whether they should be granted admission to the school. Factors admissions counselors look for include academic record, extracurricular and volunteer activities and whether a student's general personality is a good fit for a particular institution. They then take that information into account when making admissions decisions or report their recommendations to the individuals who are responsible for making those decisions.

3. Evaluates Recruitment Techniques and Data

According to Monster.com, part of this job is determining how well certain recruitment strategies are working and seeking ways to improve them. To do this, admissions counselors can analyze data and student demographics to come up with answers as well as draw on their own personal experiences and observations. Admissions counselors may be called upon to present their findings to supervisors and make suggestions for how to better the recruitment process overall.

4. Complies With Legal Requirements

There are a number of legal requirements college admissions counselors must comply with when it comes to admitting students or denying them admission. For example, they may not be able to discriminate against protected classes, such as whether a student is married or has children. Admissions counselors need to have a strong understanding of legal requirements governing college admissions in their state as well as applicable federal laws. They also need to thoroughly understand their own institution's policies and apply them fairly to all applicants.

5. Makes Admission Decisions

At some point, admissions counselors need to actually make decisions regarding which applicants are admitted to a school and which are not. This means these professionals need to have good decision-making ability and be able to handle the responsibility of holding a student's potential future in their hands. Fortunately, admissions counselors are not often required to make these decisions alone. Committees and other teams often come to a consensus about individual student admission, especially for graduate programs.

These professionals help schools and students make the best choices about college attendance. They also need to have a strong devotion to continuing education regarding the ever-changing landscape of college admissions. These duties a college admissions counselor performs ultimately improve the college experience for everyone involved in it.

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