How to Prepare for a Big Meeting with a University Administrator

If you are a college student and are active on your college campus, chances are that one day during your college career, you will have a meeting with an important administrator. It is crucial to have connections with administrators on your college campus because not only can it help your organization or whatever goal you aim to accomplish, but it can also further your academic career. You never know when you will need a recommendation from a University administrator. A recommendation letter from a high ranking administrator instead of just your ordinary professor can get you into a better graduate school or compensate for a lower GPA or test score that you will need to get into a certain school.

So what should you know heading into an important meeting with administrators? Well you can think of the meeting like a business meeting. How would you prepare yourself for a business meeting? You certainly wouldn't wear jeans and a t-shirt to that meeting. Depending on which administrators you are meeting with, you might want to wear a suit and tie. If you are meeting with a lower level administrator, you don't want to wear a suit and tie but you should probably wear a nice buttoned shirt and slacks or even nice jeans if you'd like.

In addition, you should make sure that you are well prepared for the meeting, no matter how high ranking the administrator is. Almost every administrator is very busy with a large workload and they are taking the time out of their busy schedule to talk to you about something relating to you or your student organization. Usually, administrators want such meetings to be as short as possible so keep the non-business related talking to a minimum.

Secondly, in terms of preparation, make sure that you bring all related information and documents to the meeting. A great way to look really professional is to have an office folder with all of your documents and paperwork inside. You should also bring a writing pad and pen to the meeting and have a member of your organization take notes. I strongly recommend going to the meeting with other members of your organization because it will give you the opportunity to ask questions that you may not have thought to ask. Having a second pair of eyes and ears is always beneficial.

Another great tip is to drop off any important documents or memos to the administrator's office a few days before the meeting. That way, the administrator is prepared and knowledge about the topic heading into the meeting. This will also get more accomplished in the meeting and the administrator will feel comfortable knowing all of the information before making a vital decision.