Top 10 Tips for Communicating With Us No.5 When leaving a voicemail, speak slowly and state your telephone number twice COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY - SIPA Admissions Blog

Top 10 Tips for Communicating With Us No.5 When leaving a voicemail, speak slowly and state your telephone number twice COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY - SIPA Admissions Blog Updated: March 2016 This is the fifth entry in our “Top 10? list for you to consider when communicating with our office and applying. Number 5 â€" When leaving a voicemail, speak slowly and state your telephone number twice As much as we would like to answer every call someone makes to our office, sometimes all of our lines are in use, and you will be put through to voicemail. Also, sometimes there is static or background noise, and we may not be able to clearly hear your message. Speaking slowly and stating your telephone number twice will help ensure that we can get back you. Our recommendation is actually to email our office rather than leave a voicemail. We can check email much more quickly and can provide very detailed information in email messages. And we do not have to worry about time zones (see bonus tip below). Also, if you are a current or incoming student, please give all identifying information, especially your University ID (UNI) or CUID. It is difficult to follow up on a financial aid query that is specific to you without this information. Going back to tip No. 1, we also recommend using the same email address each time you contact us. It is also helpful to compile a list of questions prior to calling our office and after checking the website. We can work with you to answer all of your questions but the process is often more streamlined if you know beforehand what information you are looking for. Bonus Tip: If leaving a voicemail message, also state your city and country (for time zone purposes). We get applications from over 100 countries each year, and people call from all over the world. Stating your location will assist us, however this is another reason we recommend email â€" we can respond any time and possibly will not wake you when calling at what may be business hours for us, and sleeping hours for you.