Nowadays, there are helicopter parents, lawnmower parents, and even snowplow parents. Each term describes a different type of parent who interferes with their child’s education to give them an advantage. We’re not just talking about those who help their kids with their homework. Instead, the parents do their homework on their behalf, blame the teacher for their child’s poor grades, or threaten other parents whose children have a schoolyard conflict with their children. No matter the moniker, it’s a good indication that you’ve gone too far if your parenting style is being compared to an appliance. But does this unbecoming behavior ever extend into interfering with college admissions?

We trust that you already know the answer. Helicopter parents often see elite college acceptance as the reason they go to such inappropriate lengths to push their child forward in the first place! They’ll even go as far as to contact college admissions offices to advocate for their kid, check in about the status of their application, or contest a rejection. Do these attempts to address the problem at its source ever work? No! They do quite the opposite!

Never, Ever Contact a College Admissions Office for Your Child!

We mean never! It will adversely impact your child’s odds of admission! The last thing busy admissions officers need to hear during the height of admissions season is a phone call from an overbearing parent telling them how to do their job for them. This kind of behavior is not only infantilizing and condescending, but it’s also unprofessional and, you guessed it, an easy way to earn your child a rejection. Under no circumstances should a parent of an applicant communicate with an admissions officer. It’s time to change your approach for the sake of your child’s future.

Moreover, in this bizarre new era of lawnmower moms and snowplow dads, more and more parents are contacting professors and administrators to dispute grades, question decisions, and protest college policies. It’s ridiculous! These oversteps never would have happened even ten years ago, and they will lead to notes on your child’s case file (and not the good kind!). Elite college admissions competitiveness might be at an all-time high, but that doesn’t mean all bets are off and anything goes. 

Colleges want to admit likable students who will be able to adjust to campus life. Students with parents who have orchestrated every aspect of their lives thus far are not likable, nor will they be able to make the adjustment when suddenly pulled away from the person calling the shots. And colleges don’t want helicopter parents breathing down their necks for four years, micromanaging every last decision about their child’s education. It’s crucial to foster independence and likability in your child. You might think your call to an admissions officer is innocent enough and won’t raise the alarm bells if you are polite and professional, but any form of communication could get your child into hot water. Don’t take the risk!

Do You Want to Help Your Child Get Into a Highly Selective School?

Instead of venting your frustrations to an admissions officer at your child’s prospective school, bring your admissions woes to a member of Ivy Coach’s team of former elite college admissions officers. We’ve seen the helicopter parents and been on the committees deliberating between highly competitive applicants to places like Stanford, Harvard, Dartmouth, Penn, etc. and we know what makes an applicant stand out and what makes an applicant fall flat in today’s cutthroat elite admissions landscape. We’re here to answer any question you might have and set your child up with a singular admissions hook that showcases how they will change the world and their future campus by pursuing a specialized, unique, and impactful passion.

If you are interested in optimizing your child’s odds of admission to an elite college in a smart and productive way that won’t backfire, fill out our complimentary consultation form, and we’ll be in touch.