We borrow from a "sister" blog for some insight on personal communications....
...as they pertain to the college admissions process.
One of the other blogs we work with is called UniversityCMO, which is becoming a hub for those who try to get their schools recognized by you, the prospective student. We chatted with Shaun McElroy, who lives and works in Shanghai and has a pretty cool gig -- helping kids find the right educational opportunities anywhere in the world.
We asked Shaun about how communications are becoming much more one-to-one and here's an excerpt.
"Your role as international counselor puts you right in the middle of the marketing dialogue between universities and the students they are courting. What are the big changes you’ve seen over the past few years in how universities market themselves to students?
Much more direct marketing. To the point of absurdity: One of my kids feels he is being stalked by Columbia. He knows he is never, ever getting into Columbia. Does he need a restraining order?
Parents as partners in the process. Very few colleges do not have a section of their website specifically dedicated to their concerns and ideas. In the old days, we used to view college counseling as something that happened between student and college with the counselor acting as a conduit and advisor, but the reality is many young people DO WANT their parents involved — and even if they do not, the parents are involved.
Embracing rankings. [It used to be] most colleges simply smiled at whatever place they were on the list and left it at that. Now many sites have “fast facts” which celebrate their rankings. In presentation after presentation I hear admission reps talk about their top-ranked business, engineering, economics, creative writing program, etc. When I ask for the source (because I love lists) they look at me blankly. It drives me personally nuts. It just feeds the monster.
Embracing personal technologies. Most colleges allow you to create “my webpage” which allows you to customize what you want to know. This is a good thing. Moreover: Colleges have such as MIT and Illinois have created space for authentic voices to show up on in their marketing in the forms of student blogs. I love this. It is the real deal."
So there's a lot here for you (if you're an 11th or 12th grader, especially) to digest...what do you take from all this?
Well, Shaun's role is a lot like your guidance counselor's role. Except he does so from Shanghai -- where you would imagine that many a school tries to connect with his students virtually. Note that authenticity is king, and Mom and Dad aren't going away in all this.
Take a deep breath, study, read up on schools, ask people about them. And trust your gut.
(BTW - for the complete interview with Shaun, visit the UniversityCMO site.)
One of the other blogs we work with is called UniversityCMO, which is becoming a hub for those who try to get their schools recognized by you, the prospective student. We chatted with Shaun McElroy, who lives and works in Shanghai and has a pretty cool gig -- helping kids find the right educational opportunities anywhere in the world.
We asked Shaun about how communications are becoming much more one-to-one and here's an excerpt.
"Your role as international counselor puts you right in the middle of the marketing dialogue between universities and the students they are courting. What are the big changes you’ve seen over the past few years in how universities market themselves to students?
Much more direct marketing. To the point of absurdity: One of my kids feels he is being stalked by Columbia. He knows he is never, ever getting into Columbia. Does he need a restraining order?
Parents as partners in the process. Very few colleges do not have a section of their website specifically dedicated to their concerns and ideas. In the old days, we used to view college counseling as something that happened between student and college with the counselor acting as a conduit and advisor, but the reality is many young people DO WANT their parents involved — and even if they do not, the parents are involved.
Embracing rankings. [It used to be] most colleges simply smiled at whatever place they were on the list and left it at that. Now many sites have “fast facts” which celebrate their rankings. In presentation after presentation I hear admission reps talk about their top-ranked business, engineering, economics, creative writing program, etc. When I ask for the source (because I love lists) they look at me blankly. It drives me personally nuts. It just feeds the monster.
Embracing personal technologies. Most colleges allow you to create “my webpage” which allows you to customize what you want to know. This is a good thing. Moreover: Colleges have such as MIT and Illinois have created space for authentic voices to show up on in their marketing in the forms of student blogs. I love this. It is the real deal."
So there's a lot here for you (if you're an 11th or 12th grader, especially) to digest...what do you take from all this?
Well, Shaun's role is a lot like your guidance counselor's role. Except he does so from Shanghai -- where you would imagine that many a school tries to connect with his students virtually. Note that authenticity is king, and Mom and Dad aren't going away in all this.
Take a deep breath, study, read up on schools, ask people about them. And trust your gut.
(BTW - for the complete interview with Shaun, visit the UniversityCMO site.)
Labels: authenticity, shanghai, university cmo
posted by Dave Van de Walle at
4:55 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home