Pio: What’s the most common question prospective students ask?   What’s the most common question their parents ask?

Xi: Students always ask me what is there to do and what I specifically do on campus. Parents will almost always ask one of three questions: “Why did you choose Whitman?” “What’s student life like?” and “What’s your major?”

Pio:   What are some of the strangest questions you’ve received?   Any bizarre experiences with tours or overnight stays?  

Xi: Most of my strange questions haven’t really been all that strange and they’ve just made me feel slightly uncomfortable because it’ll be something personal like, “do you party a lot?” so I don’t think I’ve had any bizarre incidents, but I have had plenty of friends who have. I have two favorites. A male was hosting a prospie and the host went to shower and specifically told his prospie not to go anywhere while he showered. His prospie decided to run away, get completely trashed, and pass out in the hallway. A female tour guide I know was asked by a father of a prospective student, “have you had sex on campus?”

Pio:   How do you think most prospective students view Whitman?   What’s a common concern?   How do you approach that?

Xi:   A lot of prospective students respect Whitman’s academics, however, they are afraid of its specific location. I usually approach that by the honest truth. Walla Walla isn’t as large as Seattle. We bring stuff to campus to do because there isn’t a ton to do out there in the city. And I also point out what we do have in Walla Walla.

Pio:   Is the admissions office offering you guys any new advice on how to talk to students/parents concerned about finances?

Xi: The admission office offers the tour guides information about Whitman finances during the a-team meetings, which is fantastic. It doesn’t necessarily prepare us for the really tough (and completely awkward) questions, which are always about our own personal finances. The best piece of advice given to me as a tour guide is that if I’m not comfortable talking about something, I really don’t have to. I can just refer the student/parent to an admission officer.

Pio:   Anything else you’d like to share about the admissions experience?

Xi: I have been really surprised by how much the admissions office actually does try to be honest. If an officer really doesn’t think that Whitman is right for a student, they’ll try to direct them to resources a prospective student can use. I’ve always assumed that admissions offices really market the school and yes, our office does that, but not to the extent you’d imagine. Whitman really is a pretty self-selecting school.