Alumnae Volunteer Handbook

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Volunteers in the Alumnae Admission Program have many responsibilities that shift and change throughout the admission cycle.  The Alumnae Admission Handbook is a comprehensive source of information about the Program.  Download the PDF version of the Alumnae  Handbook.  Handbook Essentials is designed to crunch down important information so that it is quick and easy to find an answer to a question.  For more information, and more detailed discussion of the responsibilities listed below, please consult the full version of the Handbook.  To become a volunteer, complete the Volunteer Information Sheet. Responsibilities Contact Info Book Awards College Fairs Events Interviews Outreach

Handbook Essentials

Volunteer Responsibilities

• Book Awards
• College Fairs
• Events
• Interviews
• Student Outreach

Contact Information
Emily Allyn, Alumnae Admission Program Coordinator
Questions, concerns, comments, and reimbursement inquiries.

Lynn Biela, Assistant to the Program
Requests for materials, college fair questions, interview reports, book award recipient information.

Book Awards
The MHC Book Award Program honors outstanding high school juniors for their scholarship and community involvement. Local MHC Clubs and admission volunteers usually sponsor the awards and select the high schools. High schools choose the recipients based on our guidelines. We encourage all alumnae admission volunteers to participate in the Book Award Program. If you would like to sponsor a book award in your area, contact the Admission Office and request to be added as a Book Award Sponsor.

Tips

• Contact schools early in the spring to give them time to choose a recipient.
• Relay the College's guidelines: recipients should be in a rigorous academic program (Advanced Placement or Honors courses are preferred, if offered), and should have a record of outstanding leadership and service within the school and community.
• Awards should be sponsored with the intention of continuing them for at least three years. If an alumna is no longer able to sponsor an award and cannot find an alternate sponsor, she should inform the high school and the College as soon as possible.
• The Book Award Recipient Form should be sent to the Admission Office by September 1st of each year following the book award "season."

College Fairs
College fairs are becoming more frequent as high schools realize that they cannot handle all visits requested by individual college representatives. Fairs can range enormously in attendance and quality depending on the host high schools, location, and other institutions present. College fairs are beneficial for MHC in that they expose large groups of students to the college at one time. The Alumnae Admission Representative (AAR) will be sent invitations to college fairs when it has been determined that a fair should be covered by an alumna.

Tips:

• If a fair invitation is sent to an alumna volunteer, this means that that the fair is important for the College to attend. Please respond to all invitations as soon as possible. 
• Volunteers will receive a packet of materials from the Admission Office to pass out at the fair. The Admission Office needs at least three weeks to send fair supplies to the volunteer - this makes replying to the fair invitation promptly imperative.
• Arrive early to allow time to sign in, find the MHC table, and set up materials.
• Try to have every student fill out a student response card at the table. Remember to mail these cards back to us after the event with the College Fair Evaluation Form.

Alumnae usually attend over 100 college fairs on behalf of Mount Holyoke each year. 

Events
Alumnae sponsored events are welcomed by the Admission Office, because they help the College reach many qualified students and encourage an interest in MHC. The Alumnae Admission Representative (AAR) is asked to assist in the planning and implementation of various types of functions for prospective students and their parents. The timing and type of event will be influenced by the admission status of the students. Think about inviting current students and alumnae to truly create the "MHC experience" for prospective students.

Types of Students

Prospective Students:
Late spring is a great time to reach juniors, while fall is a time to invite seniors and juniors beginning their college search. Thanksgiving break is an optimal time as current students can be invited to the event.

Applicants:
The holidays or during early January are appropriate times for these gatherings. Applicants should not be invited to gatherings between February 1 and April 1. Being invited to such a gathering just before the April notification date may raise expectations too much.

Accepted Students:
Students are notified by April 1 and must reply by May 1, giving alumnae a very small window of time. A congratulatory event can be very effective, however. These events should not conflict with the Experience MHC Program (April 08 dates TBA).

Entering Students:
July and August are excellent months to hold a "summer send-off" with enrolling and current students. These are particularly enjoyable events, as everyone is excited about going to MHC.

Tips:

• Lists & Mailing Labels can be ordered from the Admission Office.
• The Admission Office has blank Mount Holyoke cards that can be printed on by alumnae (supplied upon request).
• The Admission Office is happy to reimburse alumnae for mailing costs, but refreshments are generally the responsibility of the local Club. If a Club does not exist in the region or if its treasury is low, consult with the Admission Office before abandoning the idea of an event. Certain costs can be covered with approval.
• Please complete the Admission Event Report Form and submit it to the Admission Office after the event. It is important to maintain a record of the number and type of admission events being sponsored each year.

Interviews
If a prospective student requests a local interview, she is given the name and telephone number of the Alumnae Admission Representative (AAR). The AAR either conducts the interview or arranges for another alumna to interview the student. A written report is then submitted to the Admission Office by the interviewer.

The interview is considered an integral part of the application. Interviews should help the Admission staff gain a sense of the student as a whole person - an interview should cover the student's background, motivation, and preparation for MHC. Suggested questions and topics can be found on the Interview Report Form.

Tips:

• All interviews should be conducted before the January 15th regular application deadline. Please respond promptly to all requests for interviews.
• The environment in which the interview is conducted should be welcoming and enjoyable. Consider the student's comfort level when choosing a location (i.e., if the student seems hesitant to travel to an alumna's home, you should suggest more public locations).
• If you have questions about writing the report, review the sample interview report in the Handbook for an example of a strong and supportive report. Always put the date, your name and address, the student's name and address, and her high school on your reports.
• All first-year reports are due by the application deadline, January 15th!

Student Outreach
Time and time again the Admission Office has heard from prospective students that they were "amazed" to receive personal phone calls, emails, and written correspondence from both the College and local alumnae. While alumnae will probably never speak directly with all 20,000 students on our inquiry file, you should make good use of your regional inquiry lists.

Alumnae Admission Representatives (AARs) regularly receive a printout of the inquiry file for their region. To find out when you will receive your next inquiry list, download the Mailing Schedule for AARs. The student names on the inquiry file come from a variety of sources, and they are tracked and coded by the student's name. At the end of every inquiry list sent to AARs there is a complete legend of codes.

Tips:

• All students on the inquiry list are important to the College. However, the source of contact a student has had with the College can indicate their level of interest.  We suggest focusing on students who have self-initiated their contact, have interviewed, have visited campus, or have spoken with an Admission staff member at their school. 
• Consider contacting students in the following ways:
  - Phone Call 
  - Notecard or Postcard
  - Letter with a list of local alumnae contacts
  - Email
• Delegate pieces of the inquiry list to Assistants. For example, give every alumna 10 students to call, hold a postcard writing party with multiple alumnae, divide up by forms of contact (email, phone calls, etc.), and so forth.
• To receive more materials for student outreach, download the Alumnae Admission Publication and Supply Order Form.

Do you have additional questions or comments? Let us know!