Anyone ever get stonewalled by the the Admissions lady?

[RevolutioN2013]

I'm getting really frustrated! My friend who is now an NP raved about this admissions lady and said she had been incredibly helpful. When I called the 1st time with questions I mentioned my friend and how appreciative she had been of this lady's assistance when she was going through school. I asked my questions and she gave answers. I called back a second time with a few more questions and requested an application which I received in a timely manner. I called back a few weeks later to ask a question about some information in the application packet but after a week went by and she hadn't returned my call I called back and left a second message. Two weeks went by and still no return call. At the beginning of last week I left a third message and this time I said what I wanted in the message...that I would like to reserve a seat in the January information session. I also followed that message with an email. It is now 7 days later and I have not received a reply to either my phone messages or my email. This is a small school so I know if I can get a different person on the phone they'll just refer me back to her, and I'm afraid if I tell that new person my problem it will get back to the original lady, who is the big cheese in admissions, and it will hurt my chances with admission when I apply a few months from now. I'm debating just driving down there, but I live an hour away. I irritated and don't know what to do. No doubt she is very busy with applications because their Fall program deadline is 12/1 and I'm sure they're in the process of reviewing applications, but you know, it's just damned rude to not return any of 4 messages! Anyone else have any experience like this?

By the way this is Mercy School of Nursing in Charlotte, NC.

[mspontiac]

Perhaps she is ill or having personal issues and is off of work?

[RN9742]

Perhaps she is ill or having personal issues and is off of work?

This... I personally would call perhaps a main line, rather than a direct line if possible and speak with a secretary. I know at my school I knew of someone who was trying to get a hold of their admission rep with no success, turned out they were no longer employed there and the rep did not pass her information to another rep, once she found that out it was smooth sailing.

[RevolutioN2013]

I appreciate the suggestions. When you call the main line and push almost any button except the one for financial aid it routes you to this woman's phone. I find it hard to believe that if she was no longer employed there or out on leave for any reason that this would be the case. It's pretty frustrating!

[caliotter3]

It might be worth the trip to go in person. If they try to give you the brushoff, you can politely inform them of your previous attempts at contact. When someone I know went in person to inquire about her nursing school application, her folder was opened in her presence. It was discovered that her "missing" transcript was sitting on top of the file, unopened. Needless to say, nothing was done, and they left madder than all get out, but at least they had an answer.

[dudette10, MSN, RN]

I appreciate the suggestions. When you call the main line and push almost any button except the one for financial aid it routes you to this woman's phone. I find it hard to believe that if she was no longer employed there or out on leave for any reason that this would be the case. It's pretty frustrating!

Is the school you mentioned small? Smaller schools sometimes have one person to do a particular job, and when that person is out, others in the same office forget (or don't know how) to pick up the work, and things start sliding.

I would take the previous posters suggestion and visit the school. If it's anything like the situation I described, you'll be able to figure it out immediately by their apparent disorganization. And a deer-in-the-headlights look. :)

[mspontiac]

And I might add to what others have said, if anyone encounters a case of staff neglecting to do the job correctly or something along those lines, you have to ask if that is really a school you would want to attend? If they mess up the application process, you can almost guarantee the program will be run haphazardly as well.

[BeenThereDoneThat74, MSN, RN]

I appreciate the suggestions. When you call the main line and push almost any button except the one for financial aid it routes you to this woman's phone. I find it hard to believe that if she was no longer employed there or out on leave for any reason that this would be the case. It's pretty frustrating!

You'd be surprised. I've worked for schools where this very thing happened.

I have also served on admissions committees (as faculty, so my role was slightly different than the person you are trying to get a hold of), and it is an overwhelming job. She may be wearing other hats too (just as the faculty members do, we don't just sit there and wait for you guys to call us ).

here's the other thing about fielding phone calls from prospective students (and please read this carefully before you go storming into the school). If you are calling repeatedly about questions that can be answered by reading the application instructions, brouchures, or website, then it is possible that you're questions may not be her priority. This is something that I find to be a big issue. In big bold letters, things are spelled out, underlined, italicized, and starred. Yet, people call asking the very same questions. You mentioned that you had at least 2 conversations with the person before this, so I'm just wondering if this might be the case.