Three Days in Chicago
Written by Emily Cihon Fehnel, Director of Campus Programs, Office of Admissions
When people learn that I work in college admissions, they often have questions. Sometimes it starts with "Can you help me get in?" but more often they want to know about the work itself. How do you decide who to admit? (We'll save that for another post). Do you really read all those essays? (Yes.) Do you get summers off? (Unfortunately, no.) What is the travel like? Isn't it awkward and boring to eat at restaurants by yourself all the time? I thought I would share the details of a recent trip to Chicago to shed some light on those last questions.
On this particular trip, my focus was connecting with prospective students for Rochester. I landed in town on Thursday (after a brief and easy direct flight) and made my way via subway to my downtown hotel. When possible, I like to take public transit. I think it helps me get to know a place. I was staying on Ontario Street, just a short walk from Michigan Avenue, so I got a good dose of people, watching and window shopping on the way from the train to my hotel. That evening, I conducted some admissions interviews for seniors. I met some great students who are applying this fall. I’m looking forward to reading their applications.
The next morning, I set off to visit a few high schools. I had reserved a Zip Car at a nearby garage. I picked the car up and headed north. I spent the day meeting with students and school counselors in the Lincoln Park area. Many of the people I met already knew a lot about Rochester, but I was able to update them about our new test-flexible policy and to remind them of the importance of interviews in our process. I had a midday break in my schedule and fit in a stop for lunch at Lou Malnati’s. One of the students that I met earlier in the day had recommended the restaurant for good Chicago pizza. My deep dish veggie pizza did not disappoint.
On Saturday morning I had a little down time, so I decided to take a run along the lake shore. It was a fairly cold and overcast November day, but there were lots of other joggers out. Running or walking through new neighborhoods is another way that I like to learn about a city. You see so much more when traveling on foot.
That afternoon I hosted an engineering and research forum at a downtown hotel. Optics professor Andrew Berger and current senior Anthony Yee flew in from Rochester to help with the program. We had a group of high school juniors and seniors join us for a discussion about research opportunities at Rochester. Professor Berger did an optics demo and we answered questions about Rochester. After the forum we all debriefed and enjoyed the leftover cookies from the program. We then packed up and headed to the airport to catch our flight home. So there you have it—three days in the life of a college admissions counselor!
