College Recruiting Moves Online
Universities and prospective students are turning to the Web for recruiting.
AUSTIN, Texas, Dec. 4, 2008 -- Instead of mailing out thousands of expensive glossy brochures that advertise the diverse student population and buffet of courses, colleges have turned to social media sites, e-mail and even text messages to get prospective students' attention in one cohesive campaign.
The University of Texas at Austin has come up with several ways to provide students with everything they need to know about the school. Its Be a Longhorn Web site, at www. http://bealonghorn.utexas.edu, is the first place the admissions office will direct anyone who wants to find information about UT.
"It's one-stop shopping," UT admissions counselor Patty Prado said. "Everything you need to know about UT is on the Web. Go to the Web, go to the Web."
Be a Longhorn tells prospective students how to apply to UT, what the university has to offer, what current students think about the school and how to join a mailing list, among other things.
"One of the best things that it [the Web] does, is it allows students to find the information on their own and print out whatever they need," Prado said. "But printing things out and mailing is very costly. That form of communication [sending information through the mail] is just not now -- it's 10 years ago, 20 years ago. Students today just respond better to text messages and e-mail, so we are changing."
Prado said that UT admissions counselors have also started to text message students so they can receive information about university information sessions in their area.
"The fact of the matter is you know people are at work or soccer practice and aren't home until 9 p.m.," Prado said. "And we're calling and their parents answer the home phone. Students don't usually answer the home phone, which is why we decided to ask them to include a cell number when they fill out all of their information."
With the school contacting students through cell phones, parents are more out of the loop than they once were in the college process, she said. But "going to college is about gaining a newfound independence anyway, so I guess we are giving [the students] a head start," she said.
