Externship with UCI Admissions Counselor

1. Externship with UCI Admissions Counselor Laura Trudeau, Elementary Teacher, Capistrano Unified School District December 2009 University of California at Irvine

2. Goals for Externship • To learn the job responsibilities of an academic admissions counselor • To observe the daily routine of an admissions counselor • To understand the skills and abilities required to become an admissions counselor

3. Admissions Counselor- Continuing Student Evaluation- Second Baccalaureate Program Kim Perry

4. Job Responsibilities • Job responsibilities vary because admissions is a cycle driven job, depending upon the time of year. • Two main cycles are the application period and the update period. • There are several application periods during the course of the year.

5. Daily Routine The Application Period: During this time, a typical day involves: • Reading applications • Updating transcripts • Answering phone calls & emails

6. Daily Routine Application Period Freshman applications must be checked for eligibility: • Required coursework, GPA, and test scores used • Supplemental information: read personal statement, check clubs & activities, volunteer work

7. Daily Routine Application Period • Transfer applications- eligibility based upon the selection of the transfer’s major and the UCI selection criteria • Example: Math Major- admissions counselor must check for: 1 year prerequisite Calculus course with a 2.8 GPA, prep classes with a 3.0 GPA

8. Daily Routine Updates to clear admission period After student is admitted and returned the Intent to Register, the Admissions Counselor must: • Get transcripts • Evaluate them to check that they were correctly reported • Award units for transfer

9. Skills to Succeed The following skills are desirable for an Admissions Counselor: • Analytical • Detail oriented • Work well with deadlines • Be flexible, as admissions criteria is always changing • Good communicator

10. Ways to become an Admissions Counselor • There are several different routes to becoming an admissions counselor. • The most common route is as a student worker, a student representative, or through a field project. • Most university jobs are offered to current employees, transfer opportunities, before being offered to the general public.

11. Promotions • Admissions Counselors are promoted based on reaching benchmarks. • A counselor may start as an Outreach Counselor. They would go to high schools and present an overview of the university to high school students. • The next benchmark would be to work on Freshman applications.

12. Promotions • A counselor might then work as a Community College Outreach. • Admissions counselors may take on different specializations (such as foreign student admissions, Second Baccalaureate Program , Continuing students)

13. Lessons to incorporate into my classroom: • Field work or student internship opportunities can lead to careers and should be seen as a valuable learning opportunity. • Many skills practiced in classrooms can transcend into career, such as communication skills & mathematical analysis. • There are many different career opportunities in the field of education.

14. Thank you to: Kimberly Perry and the Office of Relations with Schools & Penelope Skaff and CTE Advisory Committee at Saddleback College for this externship opportunity.