College Admissions Offices Embrace Blogging
Posted on October 5th, 2009 in Certification Map | Comments
As reported by the New York Times this week, admissions offices at several colleges are now adding student-authored blogs to their websites. In an effort to bring more personal information regarding student life to prospective students, colleges are now hiring students as bloggers. The addition of bloggers into admissions bears evidence of efforts on the part of admissions offices to make use of social media into the college process. With several major companies in a variety of industries already incorporating blogs into their marketing schemes, it should come as no surprise that admissions offices, with a target audience of high school seniors, are continuing this trend.
[caption id="attachment_4207" align="alignright" width="442" caption="MIT's Student Blog"]
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While some admissions officers have voiced concern over the potential drawbacks of publishing student blogs on admissions sites--namely a lack of control over published content--colleges that have gone forward with blogging have been pleased with its results. M.I.T., one of the first schools to make use of student blogs, now has to select new bloggers each year through a contest. The Times even quoted one M.I.T. admissions officer as describing the blogging contest as "the admissions office’s own running of the bulls,” a testament to the popularity of the student blogs. Most importantly, the student-authored blogs seem to be both popular amongst and helpful to prospective students. According to a current M.I.T. student, the blogs "painted a picture of what life would be like here [at M.I.T.], and that was part of why I wanted to come."
With student-authored blogs now a feature on the admissions sites of "Dozens of colleges — including Amherst, Bates, Carleton, Colby, Vassar, Wellesley and Yale", according to the Times, prospective students are being exposed to more substantive information regarding their future schools. As an admissions officer from Haverford put it, "There’s no better way for students to learn about a college than from other students." Receiving information directly from students provides a valuable personal side of the college process that can be used effectively in conjunction with more traditional aspects of the college process, such as interview, campus visits, and admissions statistics.
[caption id="attachment_4207" align="alignright" width="442" caption="MIT's Student Blog"]
[/caption]While some admissions officers have voiced concern over the potential drawbacks of publishing student blogs on admissions sites--namely a lack of control over published content--colleges that have gone forward with blogging have been pleased with its results. M.I.T., one of the first schools to make use of student blogs, now has to select new bloggers each year through a contest. The Times even quoted one M.I.T. admissions officer as describing the blogging contest as "the admissions office’s own running of the bulls,” a testament to the popularity of the student blogs. Most importantly, the student-authored blogs seem to be both popular amongst and helpful to prospective students. According to a current M.I.T. student, the blogs "painted a picture of what life would be like here [at M.I.T.], and that was part of why I wanted to come."
With student-authored blogs now a feature on the admissions sites of "Dozens of colleges — including Amherst, Bates, Carleton, Colby, Vassar, Wellesley and Yale", according to the Times, prospective students are being exposed to more substantive information regarding their future schools. As an admissions officer from Haverford put it, "There’s no better way for students to learn about a college than from other students." Receiving information directly from students provides a valuable personal side of the college process that can be used effectively in conjunction with more traditional aspects of the college process, such as interview, campus visits, and admissions statistics.
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