Admissions counselors usually work at colleges or universities to recruit students, assist students with admissions paperwork, and establish outreach programs to promote their school. The admissions career track starts with admissions counselors, or “road runners,” who travel for months out of the year to sell their institutions to high schools across the country. They can work their way up to assistant or associate dean of admissions before landing the top job, referred to as dean of admissions at some institutions and director of admissions at others.

Alumnus Adrian Cepeda (2011) is a freshmen admissions counselor at Marymount Manhattan College.

Adrian Cepeda, College Admissions Counselor

What is your job?

I am currently a Freshman Admissions Counselor at Marymount Manhattan College.

What is the broader field or industry in which this work exists?

This and  my previous jobs since graduation have all been in Higher Education.

What, in general, do you do as part of this job?

I assist students and their families reach their academic and career goals by educating them on what to pursue in college.

What are the pros  and cons of this kind of job?

The pro is the ability to connect to a variety of students with different backgrounds and help them reach their goals. It is an incredibly rewarding experience.  The con is that at times the job may become repetitive.

What skills did you learn as an English major that you use in this job?

The ability to write and persuade have been an incredible asset that I learned while being an English major at John Jay College. I am also able to view and solve problems in a different manner than my colleagues because of all the different genres of literature I have read.

How did you get this job?

I started working at John Jay College as work-study part time during my freshman year.

For current students interested in this line of work, do you have any recommendations on what they can do now to start directing their career path?

I believe if you are student who knows you want to assist others than there isn’t a better time to start helping than while you are in college as a college student.