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Which Email Address to Use on College Correspondence?

Written by Sally Rubenstone | Sept. 13, 2010

Question: Which email address should I use on my college applications? I will soon be applying to colleges and I have two separate email addresses. One begins with, "successful2B." I feel that this email address describes my character. Or, I have another and it is just a standard email with my name in it. Should I use that one because it is more professional? Are colleges looking for a professional email or an email that describes my drive to be successful? Thanks for your help!

This is a good question. Typically, I suggest that students use professional email addresses (e.g., ajones@hotmail.com). But those that reveal a bit about them in a tasteful way can be eye-catching and harmless ... or occasionally even beneficial. For instance, admission folks might get a chuckle out of the student named "April" whose clever email address is Cruelestmonth@gmail.com (a reference to a line in T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land) or the "Walker" I once knew who chose "ineverun" as his addy (get it ... walker ... I never run ... ha ha! :) ).

But I always caution students to stay away from anything that suggests bad behavior or negativity ..."partygurl," "kegger," "skoolsux" and so on.

In your case, of course, you're suggesting just the opposite. However, I must admit that, while some admission folks will admire your determination, others could gag a bit and find your current email moniker just a bit too much. So my vote is for you to use either your more standard address or to come up with an alternative that is witty but not self-aggrandizing.

Sally Rubenstone

Sally Rubenstone knows the competitive and often convoluted college admission process inside out: From the first time the topic of college comes up at the dinner table until the last duffel bag is unloaded on a dorm room floor. She is the co-author of Panicked Parents' Guide to College Admissions; The Transfer Student's Guide to Changing Colleges and The International Student's Guide to Going to College in America. Sally has appeared on NBC's Today program and has been quoted in countless publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA Weekend, USA Today, U.S. News & World Report, Newsweek, People and Seventeen. Sally has viewed the admissions world from many angles: As a Smith College admission counselor for 15 years, an independent college counselor serving students from a wide range of backgrounds and the author of College Confidential's "Ask the Dean" column. She also taught language arts, social studies, study skills and test preparation in 10 schools, including American international schools in London, Paris, Geneva, Athens and Tel Aviv. As senior advisor to College Confidential since 2002, Sally has helped hundreds of students and parents navigate the college admissions maze. In 2008, she co-founded College Karma, a private college consulting firm, with her College Confidential colleague Dave Berry, and she continues to serve as a College Confidential advisor. Sally and her husband, Chris Petrides, became first-time parents in 1997 at the ripe-old age of 45. So Sally was nearly an official senior citizen when her son Jack began the college selection process, and when she was finally able to practice what she had preached for more than three decades.