Today I solved the nagging issue of my alumni office continuing to call me asking for money.

rumbite · 1 year

"And there is no such thing as a no sale call. A sale is made on every call you make. Either you sell the client some stock or he sells you a reason he can't." I'd say you sold him on your idea quite well.

miss_wolverine · 1 year

I worked at one of those call centers and was told that unless the alum specifically said "take me off the list", we will keep calling them twice every year until they are dead, some times even after they are dead.

Oh and we had a 'ladder' to go down, starting at a specific level of donation (twice of what you donated last year if you did donate) and go down every time we get rejected, and could not finish the call until we've completely stepped down the ladder and would get write-ups for 'skipping' the ladder.

nomorefairytales · 1 year

you're absolutely right, i'm going to answer that next time as well!

bboytriple7 · 1 year

When I graduate I will be donating to a specific laboratory class that needs a ton of stuff. Fuck the school, they've got plenty of money.

NewBlueDay · 1 year

I went to college. I went to law school. Each of those schools had a "take it or leave it" policy on tuition. I took it. Now they each seem to think they should have demanded more, because they hound me for more money.

Screw them. I held up my end of the deal.

gobostone · 1 year

As someone who worked at such a call center, the workers are highly encouraged not to remove you from the list. I'm sure it's not all places... but unless you cause a massive scene, they're likely to just say "did not want to donate" and move on. Also, they don't have an 'unlikely donor' mark. They can, under circumstances, mark you as 're-call soon' and under other more extreme circumstances remove you from the list... but beyond that, the only thing they keep track of is how much you donate.

Fandanglehof · 1 year

I just told them they called the wrong number and they have not called since.

goldegl · 1 year

I used to work at the alumni call center for my (major) university. Believe me, the practices and scripts used make the callers feel like assholes. Fact is, unless you explicitly tell them you are not going to donate and listen to them go through 3, yes 3 attempts at soliciting donations, your name will be put back into the computers and you'll be called again.

I should do an AMA... that job blew.

dryfire · 1 year

It sucks that donation calls have become a norm in the collegiate world... I would liken it to buying a car, then getting a call from the sales person a couple years later asking if you still like your car and if you'd like to pay some more money for it "even $25 would be appreciated!", when you're nowhere near paying off the car.

I got a call from my college about 4 years ago. I asked them to remove my number from the calling list and havent heard a peep from them since...

Lynnier · 1 year

When I graduated in 2005, my private college tried to get us all to donate $20.05 (haha--get it?), grooming us to become regular donors. I've never donated a penny back to that school, and probably never will. I'll be paying off that debt forEVER.

Kanight · 1 year

I had this job at my school. I would have appreciated more responses like this and less like "I hate that school, don't ever call me again! I'm on the no call list, how are you even allowed to be doing this?!" First, we're a public institution, so that no call list doesn't apply. Just simply ask to be taken off the list and you will.

creepypaste · 1 year

Meh, when I did this kind of job we were allowed to put people on the DNC list pretty freely. Though we were drawing from a bigger pool, so that may be why.

krod4 · 1 year

as a non american, can anyone explain to me what this is? I've gone to several schools, but never have any of them called me up asking for money later?

valereck · 1 year

Pre-facebook I would offer to donate if they could give me the address of an ex-roomate/ex-girlfriend etc.

benthehen · 1 year

we all went to college yea!!!

gabriot · 1 year

I give the alumni the same response everytime

(a little backstory, I had to take an extra quarter of college not because I had failed anything, but because my advisor had given me misinformation about the structure of the prerequisits for graduating and they had changed while I was there. I then called my senior year to see if I would still recieve my academic scholarship for the extra quarter, and they told me I would. When that quarter rolled around, I low and behold didn't get my scholarship, and I called them and asked why and all they would say was the same tired line "Sorry, you do not qualify")

So now whenever they ask for money I just say "Sorry, you do not qualify for my financial aid" and then I hang up.

taolbi · 1 year

I worked as a student caller for my school's Alumni Office, and usually tried to have a genuine chat with whoever it was, whether they donated in the past or not.

I look at it as a way to connect with people who can offer great advice as well as have a job that supports my weekend ritual of lynching my brain cells.

Deli1181 · 1 year

Good for you for being responsible and smart with your money, but there is another point of view here that you may or may not be taking into consideration, especially if you are a recent grad.

That is that your alma mater's perceived reputation, and therefore the value of your degree, is greatly dependent on factors that affect its "rank" as a university. One of these factors is the size of the school's endowment, which is why they try to collect as much as possible from alumni.

Another factor is the percentage of alumni that are still connected to the school. That's why they want even that small, $5 donation. Now it might not be worth it to you, since if you're the only one doing it, it's actually pretty pointless. But if your school's alumni collectively donated like $5 a year back to the school, the impact on the value of your degrees would be worth it, IMHO.

believeyoume · 1 year

I didn't get a shit ounce of any money from MSU, with a 3.4 GPA, because I am not black enough, Hispanic enough, Chinese enough, Native American enough, poor enough, genius enough, etc.

They call me and my parents all the time for money.

UMM.. I PAID YOU YOUR 75K in private student loan money, now FUCK OFF.

badalchemist · 1 year

Just tell them they have the wrong number.

reddof · 1 year

Student worker: Sir, you graduated almost 15 years ago and our records show we gave you a full scholarship.

Me: uhmm....I have a library book that is really overdue!?!

JimmyDrogba · 1 year

as a student caller i can almost guarantee that he/she put you down in the system under "call in one week"

TopRamen713 · 1 year

I'll have to try that next year, but I doubt it'll work. This year I told them "I'm paying for master's classes at the school now, so I can't donate." Still didn't deter her :P

Hold423 · 1 year

I'm gonna say this next time even though I don't have any Student Load Debt.

Speed_Bump · 1 year

I told them I was my son and calling about dead father was upsetting my mother. I have not had any contact in about 7-8 years from the alumni group.

lolocoster · 1 year

INB4 someone from Sweden says that they get free college. Im jealous enough already

hurler_jones · 1 year

All of my friends tell them they are dead (college and high school)

Some of them have made it into the obituary section of the newsletters and then I see them the next week I asked them how exactly they died : )

Argy · 1 year

My alma mater's fundraising wing was calling me a couple times per day at one point, so I just got a call blocker app for my cell phone and programmed in all the numbers they used to call me with. The university has its own prefix, so it was easy.

[deleted] · 1 year

I just said "please remove me from your list," but that's perhaps too direct for some.

heavymetalmouth · 1 year

I use to be the student worker asking for money. I wouldn't hear the end of it from the supervisor whenever someone gave me the "i'm still paying off college debt" and i responded, "yeah. fair enough".

Did you attend the university of miami by any chance?

skooma714 · 1 year

If my school someday asks me for money I'm just going to either laugh or scream at them.

They are going to raise tuition 10% next term and 15% the term after that even though the budget is stabilized... and you people want more?

sievo · 1 year

They only asked you for $25! fuckers were trying to sell me on a $250 donation!

Didn't I pay tuition at the time!? I wish I would have thought to tell the kid they got to call me to ask them that...

fingers · 1 year

Cannot give you ANY MORE money.

Kirbyoh · 1 year

My mom says "I went to your university, yes. But when it came my son's turn you rejected him from the Honors College and gave him a pittance for a scholarship package. I now send all donations to [my university] Have a nice day."

randomguy85 · 1 year

Good call. Those yayhoos have been trying to get ahold of me lately. I'll have to come up with something witty like that

tnicholson · 1 year

Anyone else appreciate the education they received and intend to/already donate back to their alma mater? Reddit's cynicism is depressing as hell sometimes.

sunshine-x · 1 year

Geez, the US sure can be fucked up some times.

Your schools are run like corporations, yet you give them your hard earned money. It's pretty funny, really.

Here in Canada, I could become a doctor for what you pay to get a BA.

forresja · 1 year

Most universities get a huge percentage of their budget from alumni donations. In fact, assuming you attended a public university in the USA, alumni paid for at least as much of your education as you did. (At my university over 50% of the budget is paid for with alumni donations.)

So before you claim to have "already paid enough" et cetera, realize that there are people out there who paid for your education.

stoplightrave · 1 year

At the one I worked at, you'd just be put down for not donating this year, and you'd get called again in six months to a year.

Also, we had a no-call list and a no-call, no-mail list. If you just asked to be taken off our calling list, you got put on the first, but still get mail.

raider1v11 · 1 year

no its OK.

the school wasn't free, so....while I paid to go there until they start to do things that warrant a "tip" (that's how i see it) they wont get anything extra.

MyDarlingClementine · 1 year

At my college they awarded "work study" as part of most financial aid packages (basically you picked a job and they had to take you). Working in the call center contacting alumnus for money was the highest paying job they offered.

it_rained_all_night · 1 year

So, I gather you are not going to use all all the free or low cost facilities provided by said student alumni, I take it?

[deleted] · 1 year

How about the tens of thousands of dollars spent at the institution, the tens of thousands of dollars spent on rent and food in the community, and then actually taking my degree and working my ass off to indicate the value of the institution to the rest of the world.

I feel like the last point easily amounts to far more than $25/week.

mmeggers · 1 year

Everyone! As a former manager for an organization that raises money for non-profits, including major colleges and universities, I can tell you this: This caller was lazy and the institution will continue to call you.

The more often you tell them "no" it becomes less likely that they'll call you the next year, but only because only a certain percentage of non donors are called each year and with new graduates and new people pledging or not pledging the next year that pool increases. THE ONLY way to get an institution to stop attempting your record year after year is to ask them to place you on their do not call list. The National Do Not Call List does not apply to non-profits, so being on that isn't enough.

bab5871 · 1 year

I told my school they already have all they are getting from me, and in my opinion that is already way too much. They haven't called since.

sodope · 1 year

I've done that... still get calls.

UniversalGoldberg · 1 year

I read this as "alimony office" and, apart from getting ready to write a TIL about alimony offices, I was assuming drunken antics.

lawfairy · 1 year

I went to my five-year class reunion this spring and they charged me for everything. So when they asked for donations, I figured I'd already given them a donation in the form of my attendance.

If I ever have a kid who expresses interest in law school, I may start giving then so my kid has a better chance of getting in. Cynical, sure, but realistic. Frankly that's the primary good the school could do for me at this point. I got screwed out of enough money and then further screwed over -- with the school's blessing -- by my classmates (law school is very zero-sum, and the bottom line is that the accolades and grades tend to go to the students who do the best job of kissing up, and sadly, that's not me) that I see no particular benefit to giving them more money at this point. If and when that changes, so will my tune.

stupidlyugly · 1 year

My alma mater university doesn't hassle me much, but my grad school from which I have not yet graduated calls me every couple months asking for money for scholarships in the program I'M STILL IN and/or donations for the football team.

The worst, by far, though, is my fraternity. Those fucking assholes shut down my chapter (four years after I graduated), wouldn't accept any kind of assistance from me on a new chapter at UCLA, existing chapters at Northridge or USC, and flat out told me to stop coming around the new chapter at my grad school. Then, when I wrote them a letter expressing some concerns about this, some guy from the national office (Mr. Executive director of something or the other) called me on the phone and called me a liar! But do they stop asking for money? Oh no! They call, email, and write more frequently than a fly lands on freshly laid shit. Fuck them!

scp333 · 1 year

Within 2 minutes of reading this I got an email from the GT Alumni Association...

FuturePastNow · 1 year

I solved this problem by moving and not giving them a new address.

In fact, there's no longer a house at the address the university had for me. I wonder how long they sent alumni magazines there?

xblossomonthewallx · 1 year

...huh. I'm a grad student at the same school I did my undergrad at (so I'm still generating more debt to them on top of interest on my student loans), and I tell them this every single time they call.

They haven't stopped asking for money yet, and apparently something to this effect is a relatively common response for them to hear...I guess I was expecting more out of this thread :x

HiddenAccount · 1 year

Gee... And I just tell them that I moved.

coogie · 1 year

I just told them to "put me on your do not call list" and they did! At least that particular college did.

[deleted] · 1 year

I found out the number they called at and added it in my phone as "ignore" and put silent for the ringtone. They can call all they want, they will get voicemail every time. I have nearly 50 missed calls from them, they have never heard me pick up the phone.

johnr11 · 1 year

Yeah my school was asking for donation about a month after I graduated. I'm 80,000 in debt from college. They can call me in a few years.

Wheremydonky · 1 year

My dad had it right way back when people first started asking him for money. "I'll be serving a delayed jail sentence that begins once I finish residency." They haven't tried since.

maxxspeed · 1 year

It helps if you donate to them one time. Then the next time they call they will start with "Hi Mr speed, we would like to thank you for your generous donation...". Cut them off right there, say "Thank you" and hang up.

fallacist · 1 year

yeah, i was pretty upfront with that issue too, and they still call me. they dont care.

fivepines · 1 year

I simply told my aumni group they coud go fuck themselves. They didn't give a shit about me when I was an undergrad, and I didn't give a shit about them. They have done nothing relevant to my interests then or now. I do not want to pay for the dubious distinction of being in their alumni "directory". The people I am interested in can find me without that.

Ohwhydigress · 1 year

Played soccer my freshman year of college. Junior year I received a letter from the alumni association requesting a donation. It was mailed to my campus mail box. I will never say the magic words because I enjoy telling them no. Also the guy that calls lately knows me and leaves me messages asking for $5 dollars.

Ledatru · 1 year

RUFFALO CODY'd

[deleted] · 1 year

student call center = the worst job I have ever had

michaelwentonweakes · 1 year

I say this to them every time. They keep calling.

actorsspace · 1 year

Another reason I'm glad I dropped out sophomore year, changed my phone number and never leave a forwarding address. Debt collectors hate that too.

dashenyang · 1 year

So I've been living in China for over 4 years, and finally had a chance to go back home. I'm at my parents' house for a whole ten minutes, and in those ten minutes I got an alumni donation call. I couldn't believe it. Both I and the caller got a good laugh when he realized I wasn't joking. I said, well, I have no accounts here anymore, and no dollars, so if you care to come see me in rural China, I'll give you a stack of RMB.

1 year

[deleted]

Xenologer · 1 year

I didn't get enough scholarship money from the college's annual fund to have a full ride, and my parents didn't really care to pick up any of the cost, so I worked my ass off in a call center to pay for the rest of my education while also making sure that the school got enough donations in to keep giving what scholarships they could.

I'll admit getting a little disillusioned by some things, though. When your university president can donate $20,000 every year, they might be paying him too much of the money I wore myself ragged raising every day.

Give the administration the finger, but be nice to the callers. I guarantee you that they don't want to talk to YOU, either.

speedstix · 1 year

I tell them to fuck off and that I have already paid my dues.

[deleted] · 1 year

I used to work at that office. The student must have been new because I heard that several times a week. Then again it was at a school that costs a BMW a year to go to.

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