Re-thinking Traditional Admissions Process

Today has been a pensive day.

I read something that made me think quite a bit about how the web is *really* changing how students look at colleges. Back in the day (ha...) you emailed or (gasp!) picked up the phone and called the college or filled out a direct mail piece and returned it to the college in order to request more information.

About a week later you would receive some lovely glossy pamphlets of the college and information about classes, dorms, activities, etc. From this you would compile a shortlist, then visit the college then make your decision.

Which is great and still works in many cases, but the web has thrown a big old wrench into this whole idea. Now, the center of many college's marketing is the college website. (And I agree- it should be. After all, the percentage of kids 16-18 who are not on the web must be minute. If I could find the stats on this I would quote them here, however there seems to be a conspiracy to hide them from me.) Everything you receive or see direct you to the website- now you will see a web address on a billboard for a college more frequently than you'll see a phone number. This makes sense as well, when you're driving I hope you don't try to write down the 1-800 number listed on the sign but rather it's pretty easy to remember "Oh hey, I should look up XYZCollege.edu and see what their school is all about!"

So again, we're back at the website. Many schools have on the front page a link to "Request More Info" or "Apply Online" which is fantastic. For some, that is as far as they want to go and getting the info delivered physically right into their hands is as easy as clicking the button, filling out the form then checking the mailbox in a few days.

However... I'm not sure how many kids go straight for those options when all of the information that they would be sent- and then some- is already on the website. Chances are, they will dig around on the website a little bit to see what they can find about their interests before requesting more info. And what happens when the student receives the information and it's something that was either already on the web, or refers the student back to the website for more in depth information! Wasn't that just a waste of all of that printing and postage?

That being said, we've just cut the traditional two steps out of the college process because the student does not need to contact the college at this point to express his/her interest in the college and does not need information sent out because there are colorful and often interactive (yay interactive!) pieces of information on the website. Truly, if a website is doing its job fully it should provide any information a student wants, so what could be sent out that the website didn't already cover? So now what?

Side note to above paragraph: Some schools intentionally put truncated information on the website to force students to request more information. There is nothing wrong with this, it's just a way for the school to get the student's contact information. In this case the information sent out will be more in-depth than what was found on the website.

The next step would have been the tour. I still believe 100% that you should always always always always always always always (point across yet?) always visit in person the campus that you are interested in attending. I don't care if it's halfway across the country the online tours and view books won't do it justice. So I really hope that the virtual tours will never fully replace the in person tour.

Then there's the application. I will post my "Why Applying Online Is the Way To Go" in another blog... but that title sums it up. Paper is out, online is in! But what if... let's just say for a minute that you've gotten everything that you can possibly need to know about the college online. You know about the programs, who the advisers are, where the dorms are and read the student blog of what it's like to live in them and how you shouldn't eat the French Toast on Thursdays, you know that the jazz choir auditions are the second Wednesday of the semester and you're 100% sold that this is where you want to go. You click that magic "Apply Online" button and send in your application.

Whoa! This could be the first time the college has heard of you! You know all about them but all they know about you is that you are obviously web savvy, you have a 27 ACT score and want to major in organic chemistry! (Now, when I was in admissions and one of these came in I always thought "Sweet! Freebie! I don't have to convince this student that this is the place to go because he/she has already done it!")

After this you will probably be invited to create your online profile- get your University email set up and log into the registration system... again, everything is done online. (I will blog about students using or not using the college student portal systems later... that's an entire separate blog!) You can follow your financial aid (www.fafsa.ed.gov... another website), you can electronically sign whatever it is you need to sign, and get your schedule figured out with never having to set foot on campus!

Most of the back-end elements are already in place in the admissions process, but in talking with some admissions folks around the country the change in the front end of how students find and initially communicate with the college is undergoing a huge change right now! It's somewhat daunting trying to figure out what works best for these students- providing more information at the tips of their fingers (literally!) or to withhold it and force the student to contact the school to show interest?

Students? Counselors? What do you think? What works best for you personally?