Eight Questions to Ask an Admissions Advisor, and How to Read the Answers
Admissions advisors are good at answering the questions you ask. Here are the eight worth bringing, on a card you can keep by the phone, and what a straight answer and a dodge sound like for each.
The admissions call is the cheapest moment you will ever have to ask a hard question. Once you’ve enrolled, every answer costs something.
The eight questions (screenshot or print this)
- What will the whole program cost me, in writing?
- Who accredits the school, and does this program have its own accreditation?
- How many students like me finish, and what happens to them afterward?
- How many of my credits will count toward the degree, and will yours transfer out?
- If this job needs a license, does the program qualify me in my state?
- What happens to my money, and my aid, if I withdraw?
- Who teaches the classes, and how many hours does a typical week take?
- What happens if I need to stop for a term?
The answers that cost returning students the most tend to arrive after they’ve enrolled: the transfer evaluation that applies 12 credits instead of the 40 they were told to expect, or the withdrawal in week four that leaves a bill instead of a refund. Both could have been asked about on the first call. Few people think to.
That’s not because advisors hide things. Admissions conversations follow the advisor’s script: your goals, the program’s highlights, the next start date. The answers that protect you only come up if you bring the questions. Below, each one gets a line on why it matters and then the two kinds of answer side by side.
A dodge doesn’t always mean dishonesty. Sometimes the advisor doesn’t know. A good one says so and finds out; the problem is when the gap gets filled with reassurance instead of facts. Much of what you’re asking is information schools that take federal aid must make available under federal disclosure rules, so “I can’t put that in writing” is itself an answer.
1. The whole program’s cost, not the per-credit price
Per-credit or per-term prices make programs look smaller than they are. You want the total for every term until you finish: tuition plus technology, lab, clinical, graduation and exam fees, and books.
| Straight answer | Dodge |
|---|---|
| “At 6 credits a term, it’s 30 courses at this per-credit rate, plus these fees each term. Here’s the total, and here’s what changes if tuition goes up. I’ll email it.” | “Most of our students pay very little out of pocket,” or a monthly payment with no total. Both answer a different question than the one you asked. |
Then ask how much of what you’d pay is covered by loans. A loan line on an aid offer is not a discount; our guide to reading a financial aid offer shows how to separate the two.
2. The accreditor’s name, which you then look up yourself
Federal aid generally requires a school accredited by a recognized accreditor. In some fields, such as nursing and many allied health programs, the program’s own accreditation can decide whether you can sit for a licensing exam.
| Straight answer | Dodge |
|---|---|
| The full name of the institutional accreditor, and of the program accreditor if there is one. You can confirm both in the Education Department’s DAPIP database or the CHEA directory in about two minutes. | “We’re fully accredited,” with no agency name, or an accreditor you can’t find in either database. “Nationally recognized” on its own doesn’t say by whom. |
3. Completion rates for part-time and transfer students
Finishing is the outcome that most decides whether school pays off. The catch: the federal completion rate schools must calculate covers only first-time, full-time students, measured at 150% of normal program length. If you’re returning, transferring in or studying part-time, you may not be in that number at all.
| Straight answer | Dodge |
|---|---|
| “Our completion rate is this. For part-time and transfer students, here’s our Outcome Measures data.” On jobs, it explains how placement is defined and who was counted. | Testimonials, one success story, or a placement rate with no definition. “Our graduates work at major companies” is marketing, not an outcome. |
Outcome Measures are federal IPEDS figures that track part-time and transfer-in students up to eight years after they start, and College Navigator shows them for many schools. Check what you hear against College Scorecard, which shows completion and typical earnings by field of study where data exist.
4. An official credit evaluation before you enroll, not after
Transfer credit can shorten a degree by a year or more, and it’s where expectations and reality most often part ways. Credits can be “accepted” as general electives without counting toward your major, which doesn’t shorten anything.
| Straight answer | Dodge |
|---|---|
| “Send your transcripts and we’ll do an official evaluation before you enroll. It shows which credits apply to your degree requirements, not just which ones we accept.” Plus the list of schools it has articulation (transfer) agreements with, which schools must make available. | “Most of your credits should transfer,” with the official evaluation coming only after you enroll or pay a deposit. On transfer out: “That’s up to the other school,” with no idea which schools have taken its credits before. |
Our guide to getting credit for what you already know covers transcripts, CLEP and prior learning.
5. Licensure in your state, by name
A program can be accredited and still not meet your state’s licensing requirements, especially if it’s online and based elsewhere. Federal rules require schools to list the states where they’ve determined a licensure program does or doesn’t meet requirements, and to tell you directly, in writing, before you enroll if it doesn’t meet them where you live, or if they haven’t checked.
| Straight answer | Dodge |
|---|---|
| “We’ve determined this program meets the educational requirements in your state. Here’s the page that lists every state.” Plus the most recent first-time pass rate on the licensing exam and how many students took it. | “Our graduates work all over the country,” or “You’d just need to check with your state.” Check with your state licensing board too, but the school is supposed to have done its part. |
6. What a week-four withdrawal would cost, in dollars
Two separate things happen when you withdraw mid-term. The school’s refund policy decides how much tuition it gives back. Separately, federal Return of Title IV rules decide how much federal aid you’ve “earned”: roughly in proportion to how much of the term you’ve completed, until you pass the 60% point, after which you’ve generally earned all of it. If the school has to send back aid it already applied to your bill, you can end up owing the school.
| Straight answer | Dodge |
|---|---|
| “Here’s our refund schedule by week, here’s how the federal return calculation works, and here’s what a student who withdraws in week four typically owes.” Schools must publish their refund policy, a summary of the federal return rules and how to officially withdraw. | “You won’t need to worry about that,” or a refund policy that covers tuition but says nothing about federal aid. Ask about both. |
Illustrative example
Say Celeste’s 16-week term is 112 days long and she withdraws after day 28. She has completed 25% of the term (28 ÷ 112), so under the federal formula she has earned 25% of that term’s federal aid, and the other 75% generally goes back. The school’s own policy might refund little or no tuition by week four. The difference between those two is what she could owe. Breaks of five days or more are left out of the day count, and each school runs its own calculation, so real figures will differ.
7. Who teaches, and how many hours a week it takes
Format decides whether you finish more than most people expect. “Online” can mean live classes at set times or self-paced modules with a weekly deadline. Class size, response times and who grades your work vary widely. Schools must disclose their faculty and, if another organization delivers part of the program, who that is.
| Straight answer | Dodge |
|---|---|
| “Courses are taught by faculty with these qualifications; sections average this size; there are two live sessions a week, or none. Students usually spend 12 to 18 hours a week per course in our eight-week format. Here’s a sample syllabus.” An offer to show you a course or let you sit in on a class is a very good sign. | “Our instructors are industry experts,” with no detail, or “It’s totally flexible, you’ll be fine.” Flexible for whom? |
Our comparison of online and in-person learning helps you pick the format you’ll finish.
8. The leave-of-absence policy, before you need it
Working adults get sick, change shifts and have babies. What a pause does to your aid, your place in the program and your catalog year (the set of degree requirements you follow) is worth knowing before you start.
| Straight answer | Dodge |
|---|---|
| “We have a formal leave of absence policy. You request it in writing, and here’s how it affects your aid and loans.” It also says whether you’d need to reapply and whether your degree requirements could change. | “Just let your advisor know and we’ll work it out.” Maybe so, but a pause handled informally can count as a withdrawal for financial aid purposes. Get the policy. |
Federal rules allow an approved leave of up to 180 days in any 12-month period without treating you as withdrawn for aid purposes, but schools set their own policies and some don’t offer one.
Send all eight by email, and score the reply
After the call, copy and send this:
“Thank you for talking with me today. Before I decide, could you send me in writing: (1) the total cost of the full program at my expected pace, including all fees; (2) the name of the school’s accreditor and any program accreditor; (3) completion rates for part-time and transfer students; (4) an official evaluation of my transcripts before I enroll, showing which credits apply to the degree; (5) whether the program meets licensure requirements in my state, if it leads to a license; (6) your refund policy and how federal aid is handled if I withdraw; (7) a sample syllabus and typical weekly hours; and (8) your leave of absence policy. Thank you.”
When the reply comes, give one point for each question answered with a document, a number or a link you can check. Put the scores side by side in the program comparison worksheet.
The reply is part of your research. A school that answers all eight clearly, in a few days, is showing you how it treats students; one that answers three and sends a start-date reminder is showing you something too. If the calls are piling up while you wait, our guide to the first week after you request school information covers how to slow them down.
So, looking at the card again: which of the eight do you think the school at the top of your list would find hardest to answer?
About this guide
First published . Last reviewed . This is general information, not advice for your situation. Where details depend on your circumstances, check with the school, the agency, or a qualified professional.
Facts in this guide that change over time (5)
- Return of Title IV funds: student earns 100% of aid after completing more than 60% of the payment period (34 CFR 668.22(e)) — confirm current text
- Approved leave of absence limit of 180 days in any 12-month period (34 CFR 668.22(d)) — confirm
- Required institutional disclosures under 34 CFR 668.43 (refunds, withdrawal, accreditors, transfer policy and articulation agreements, faculty, state licensure determinations and direct notification, written arrangements) — confirm
- Federal completion rate covers first-time, full-time students at 150% of normal time (34 CFR 668.45); IPEDS Outcome Measures cover part-time and transfer-in students up to eight years — confirm
- Incentive compensation ban, 34 CFR 668.14(b)(22) — confirm
We re-check these at least once a year and whenever the rules change. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
Sources
- eCFR (via Cornell LII) — 34 CFR 668.43, Institutional and programmatic information
- eCFR (via Cornell LII) — 34 CFR 668.22, Treatment of title IV funds when a student withdraws
- eCFR (via Cornell LII) — 34 CFR 668.45, Information on completion or graduation rates
- eCFR (via Cornell LII) — 34 CFR 668.14, Program participation agreement
- NCES — Student cohorts and subgroups in IPEDS (Outcome Measures)
- NCES — College Navigator
- U.S. Department of Education — Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs (DAPIP)
- CHEA — Directories of accredited institutions and programs
- U.S. Department of Education — College Scorecard