How NOT To Talk To Admissions People

Last week I pulled a screenshot from Slate, the system that we use to communicate with students and families about Penn State, and had planned to post it here. However, on the advice of counsel (read: my spouse and adviser, literally), I decided NOT to show it to you. In summary, the student sent a text message to Penn State in response to an invitation to attend a financial aid information session:

Penn State: Hey [student]! We'd like to invite you to campus for a financial aid program on [date].

Student: F**K OFF.

Yeah. They went there. But without the asterisks.

Looking through the other interactions that this student has had with the University, and after checking their application record, I found that this student was (very!) upset that they were not admitted to program to which they had applied.

I came upon this situation because the student's father reached out to our office to request that we take another look at his student's application and reconsider our decision. After the dad's request was escalated to me by someone on our team, I fully reviewed the student's application and evaluation. Needless to say, there was nothing wrong with anything in the file - or the admission decision. This was just a case of an immature student that didn't get what they wanted. I haven't figured out why the dad got involved, unless it was simply at the request of the student.

But I have SO many questions...

• Why would the student think that it's okay to communicate like this with an institution that they want to attend?
• Does the father know about the inappropriate text to Penn State? If so, does he approve?
• How should situations like this factor into the review of a student's application? Should they?

I have to be honest folks; I have simply had it with these students (and parents too!) that call or email and berate admissions officers. Spoiler alert: screaming, yelling, and using profanity is not going to curry favor with me. Or with the fabulous folks that work in our profession. And I'm especially interested in that last question.

Can we, nay, should we in college admissions consider behavior like this in the evaluation of a student's application for admission?

If so, are student's social media accounts fair game? Yikes.

I've said it before folks; it really is important to be nice. Try treating others the way that you'd like to be treated.