Covering an underrepresented region for the TCU Office of Admission office requires different tactics but similar levels of work as other counselors, according to one regional director of admission.
Caitlin Provost first joined TCU Admission as the regional counselor for the Northeast close to nine years ago after graduating from the University of Massachusetts.
“I’d heard great things about TCU and decided to apply, as I had already done regional work for another school and felt confident that my knowledge of the Northeast could be a benefit to TCU,” Provost said. “When they flew me to campus for my interview, I immediately fell in love.”
New England, which is comprised of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine, produces one of the smallest percentages of students at TCU. As of 2019, students from this region only make up 1.6% of the university population.
Provost said she has to rely on more than just TCU’s academic competitiveness to appeal to the students in her region because of the excess of colleges in those states.
“The students in the Northeast are surrounded by extremely competitive colleges and universities, so promoting TCU’s undergraduate research opportunities and mentoring relationships with faculty, and not TAs, is very appealing to my student base,” Provost said.
Despite representing a smaller region, Provost said she has an equal workload to the other counselors, as admission makes sure to split up counselor territories to ensure that travel and applications are mostly even.
Most of Provost’s work involves speaking on admission panels, performing mock application reviews at high schools, doing secondary counselor outreach programs and more in order to involve distant regions in the TCU process.
“Having regionals located in several parts of the country allows TCU to be represented at these types of events nationwide,” Provost said.
A big thank you Caitlin Provost, .@TCUAdmission Regional Director Admissions .@TCU The College Admission Evening at Wilton High School was a great success !
— CollegeCareerCenter (@CollegeWHS) December 5, 2018
Recently, Provost was promoted to a managing position, where she will be leading a team of regional counselors located in areas across the country. She said her main goal, for now, will be trying to develop her communication and leadership skills more and finding new ways to connect with her team.
Provost said she still loves TCU as much as she did when she first was hired, and she hopes she can share that love with others.
“My passion for regional admission work focuses around being able to be the face and voice of a wonderful school that isn’t immediately visible,” Provost said. “And once students visit campus, they fall in love with TCU just like I did.”
