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News, Trends, and Innovations for Higher Education Admissions
from Zap Solutions

Social Media in International Admissions

Posted on May 8, 2012 by zap

According to Martin Bennett from EducationUSA, he states that to be successful in admissions you must ‘live where your audiences live’.  The audiences of admissions are students that ‘live’ predominantly on social media channels, like YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.  For admissions professionals to engage more international students into their universities, the school must become creative and open with social media. Just last month, there was an article in The Chronicle about the new twists in online recruiting international applicants.

Madan Padaki, the CEO of Erudient, states, “Facebook is an ideal place to foster interaction, but universities are not doing it.”

There is no easy way for international students to visit campuses, which is why students rely on social media and virtual tours to convince them to go to a particular school.  Some high school students in the United States visit well over twenty or thirty different schools, and will rely heavily on those visits to determine whether they want to go there for the next few years of their life.  International students, on the other hand, do not have that opportunity, especially if they have a limited budget. Social media in admissions is a way for international applicants to view real photos and videos from the school, along with interacting with other applicants.  This is a chance for them to meet, engage, and question students as well as the admissions office.

Social media can work fast and effectively when it is used correctly.  Facebook applications are another excellent way for a school to connect with prospective students.  Comparative to other marketing mediums, social media is minimal in cost.  Out of the 1.362 billion people that have internet access, fifty-five percent of them have Facebook that they check at least once a month. Another reason why your school should target international applicants through social media is because sixty percent of your audience is in the college-age demographic with a Facebook presence, according to .eduGuru.  It is an easy way to target specific sets of applicants, and offer a variety of resources for them.

Social media doesn’t have to just be about Facebook and Twitter.  Your school’s admissions office could also consider creating a blog, where members of your office could write about specific topics.  For instance, have one of your admissions staff write specifically about topics of interest and tips that will benefit the international applicant, so that the applicant can have a better understanding about the process.

Do you have any interesting ways to engage international applicants using social media?

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GRE Adds ScoreSelect Option

Posted on April 24, 2012 by zap

The Education Test Service has published a press release today stating that their Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) will be equipped with a new ScoreSelect option beginning in July of 2012.  The ScoreSelect option will allow test takers the chance to submit their best score out of all of their test scores, similar to the submission rule on the SATs.  However, the test taker will not be allowed to submit specific sections from tests taken on different days to make up their best score.  For example, if a student’s best overall score on the GRE test was taken today, but their highest verbal reasoning score was on a previous GRE test, they would not be able to use that old score. This change will still be a huge advantage to the test takers, who will be able to not worry as much about having a bad test day and ruining their chance of acceptance.

Beginning July, admissions and faculty will only receive one GRE test score for an applicant. This could be a good thing for the admissions offices since there will be less numbers for them to evaluate, and it might even minimize some stress from those who deal with an overwhelming amount of applicant data each day. On the other hand, some admissions officers and faculty have claimed that they actually prefer to see every score from the applicant’s tests, so that they can compare scores when evaluating the applicant.  It is beneficial for them to look at all scores so that they can see factors such as increasing scores, high and low score sections, and amount of times the test was taken.  How do you feel about this change on the GRE test?

For more information on the ScoreSelect, you can read the official press release from ETS.

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QR Codes in Education

Posted on April 6, 2012 by zap

Does your university use QR codes on marketing materials or informational brochures that you send out to students?  Is marketing QR codes in education worthwhile or worthless? There has been much discussion lately about whether students actually utilize QR codes.  I have heard many different views about the placement and importance of QR codes in education.  I personally think QR codes are different, fun, and relatively new to most college students; but on the other hand, I don’t think many students take any action from them.

Have I ever scanned one? Not until today… which kind of proves the point of the many people who think QR codes are worthless in marketing.  I, like much of the  population, thought at first that you could somehow utilize your camera to scan the QR code and visit the website.  When I realized you needed to download a QR Code Reader, I quickly lost the lust of wanting to know what site the QR code would take me to. After scanning my first QR code today, I am realizing that it is actually really simple and fast.

Do you think QR codes are worth all of the hype and advertisement space?  According to a study by Archival, 80 percent of college students have seen a QR code, yet only 21 percent of them have successfully scanned a QR code. Out of those 21 percent that did, what do you think made them want to take the time to scan it? Nobody wants to go out of their way to see an advertisement, but if scanning the QR code brings them to a coupon or discount, QR Codes in Education then it may be worthwhile for the customer.  Another report from Archival found that three out of every four students are ‘not likely’ going to scan a QR code in the future.  At this time, it doesn’t seem like QR codes are going to bring any real benefit to marketing your school, unless engagement begins to increase between the student and this technology. However, I think the QR code has potential in education, so this may be something to look out for in the future.

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Colleges Interest in Pinterest

Posted on March 27, 2012 by zap

Pinterest’s popularity is skyrocketing.  According to comScore, the interest in Pinterest has helped it hit more unique monthly views faster than any standalone site.  The latest news from Ben Silbermann, the CEO of Pinterest, is that there will be redesigned profile pages and a new iPad app coming out in the near future.  With the amount of interest that is going on around Pinterest, it is no wonder why some universities and businesses are creating virtual bulletin boards for their brands.

A variety of colleges and specific departments in colleges are creating Pinterest boards to raise awareness about their school and show what it has to offer.  The most talked about college to use Pinterest is Drake University, who currently has over 1,200 followers and 400 pins.  They have a variety of boards with pins of their adorable bulldog mascot and other boards that creatively showcase their school’s studying abroad and alumni office.

Interest in PinterestDo you think schools should take the time and resources to create Pinterest boards?  If they can creatively represent their school, then I say go for it.  It is an opportunity for schools to show off the different aspects of their school that makes them unique. Pinterest can be used as an outlet for prospective students. Students can become aware of various school campuses and cultures quickly without spending the time and money to visit every campus.  There has been a disparity in opinions about whether colleges are wasting resources on Pinterest. It is definitely a possibility when Pinterest could just be a short-lived fad. Then again, it might be worth spending just ten minutes every day if it could raise awareness about your school. If the school is still overwhelmed with using Twitter and Facebook, then it probably isn’t the best idea to throw in another social media for the staff to learn and master.

Do you know of any colleges that have creative Pinterest boards besides Drake University? Leave them in the comments section below!

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Colleges Using Facebook for Admissions

Posted on March 13, 2012 by zap

What do you think about universities and colleges using Facebook to search for an applicant during the admissions process?  What about checking their social media pages, or even further, going through their pictures, posts and personal information?  There is definitely a blurry line on what is acceptable and what is not for applicants and admissions officers.  After asking a variety of college students about the matter, I found the majority of responses were unpleased with the decision.  Many felt that their privacy was being violated, especially when the school did not ask permission to look at their pages. Almost everyone agreed that their Facebook or Twitter pages did not do an accurate job of portraying who they actually are, especially when there are pictures and posts from when they were younger.  However, there were a few students that I questioned that liked the idea, because they felt that their social media pages showed more about them then their GPA, transcript, or test scores could.

After a popular article about colleges and employers accessing applicants’ Facebook pages was published on the MSNBC’s Red Tape Chronicles, there was nearly 2,000 tweets about the subject, many in outrage. One of the top tweets about this article was from Dan Gillmor, the founding director of the Knight Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship at Arizona State University.

@dangillmor
Dan GillmorIf a prospective employer demands your Facebook password, that should be a signal to walk out of the interview http://t.co/aPkOOnYu
Mar 07 via Seesmic Favorite Retweet Reply

According to a 2011 survey from Kaplan Test Prep, it asked 359 admissions officers from top colleges about their usage of social media in the admissions process.  Nearly 20% reported that they used Google to search for their applicants and 24% went onto the applicant’s social networking pages. Looking back at a WSJ survey from 2008, only 10% of admissions looked at an applicant’s social networking sites, which means the percentage has doubled within the past three years.  These percentages should have applicants concerned enough to contemplate what they post on the web, especially since 12% of admissions officers admitted that after searching and reviewing the applicant on the internet, it had negatively affected their chance of admission. Furthermore, US News accounted that some admissions officers would like to search online about applicants, but they just do not have the staff or time to do this. This could a big indication that the number of admissions officers looking at social media is definitely increasing, and it will most likely continue to do so.

Why else should students worry about their social media pages?

Scholarships – According to a recent Fastweb and NSPA survey, nearly a quarter of scholarship providers use the internet and social media to learn more about applicants. What is an even scarier statistic? A third of the providers have denied someone from receiving a scholarship because of the information that they found.

Jobs – A whopping 91% of employers use Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to evaluate candidates.

Recruiters – Students may miss out on a huge opportunity at a job, college, or sports team simply because the recruiter did not like what they found on the student’s social media.

Sports – Many college coaches monitor their athlete’s social media pages.  If an athlete posts something offensive to the team or university, they could either be banned from using the social media outlet or even kicked off the team.

What do you think about colleges using social media in the admissions process?

Edit: Wednesday, March 27 – The House of Representatives have ruled against the proposed Facebook user protection amendment, which would have stopped employers from asking for an applicant’s username and password.  There will be no amendment added onto the Federal Communications Commission Process Reform Act of 2012.

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Facebook Apps in Higher Education

Posted on March 8, 2012 by zap

Facebook currently has over 800 million active users making it a dynamic social media outlet that can be a really unique resource for your school’s marketing campaign.  Regardless of whether your part of the admissions department or the business faculty, you can build lasting relationships with prospective and current students if you construct your social media properly and utilize facebook apps in higher education.

Facebook Apps in Higher EducationEvery month, more than 500 million people use an application on Facebook.  Facebook applications are a simple, cheap, and effective way that schools can truly connect with their audience though a high traffic medium.  An application allows you to integrate the Facebook experience with your school and generate more traffic to your page.  This is also an excellent way to advertise and raise awareness of your school’s brand through newsfeeds and user updates.  Engagement and interaction with students and alumni through Facebook is an extremely valuable way to market because it will enable you to reward your fans, with even possibly just a coupon or sweepstake to the local book store.  Another huge benefit is that it allows you to collect names, location, and information about the potential students that view your Facebook page.  Powerful and engaging applications can place your school’s brand in a specific light and give you the competitive edge.

There are many types of applications that you can build into your Facebook page.  A contest is one of the most popular Facebook applications for a school right now, along with being my personal favorite.  It allows students to get creative and share their stories with other students that are interested or a part of your school.  To further convince you that Facebook contests should definitely be a part of your marketing strategy, view Mashable’s article from 2011.

To create an application, you must have some experience in programming algorithms, logic, and building all of the back end functionality, so that the application looks the way that you want it on the front end.  If your school wants to create a Facebook application, check out the customized applications that ZAP Solutions can do for your school.

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GMAT Essentials You Need to Know

Posted on February 23, 2012 by zap

The Graduate Management Admission Council has revised their GMAT, so that it will go into effect by June 5, 2012.  I am sure many of you are familiar with the new Integrated Reasoning section that they are adding to the GMAT.  They have added this section in order to better test applicants on their reaction to real-world challenges that they face every day in today’s business environment.  The Official GMAT Website has an informative section about the new GMAT, along with videos, and the five things that you absolutely need to know.  They are listed below, along with some additional details that may be useful for you.

5 Things You Need to Know About the GMAT this June

1. Integrated Reasoning is a 30-minute section of 12 questions with a separate score.

Each prompt that the test taker is given will be a set-up for multiple questions.  If it is a narrative prompt, it will be no longer than 300 words.  Once given the prompt, the student must answer one question before going onto the next question, even if they are both regarding the same prompt.  They are also not allowed to go back to any questions once it is answered.  The prompt is made so that the questions are independent of one another so that the student doesn’t need to know one answer in order to know the next answer, which is a bonus for the student.

2. Features four new question types that let you showcase your data-handling skills.

 The question types will be one of four different formats: a graphics interpretation, two-part analysis, table analysis, and multi-source reasoning. Exact formats and examples are discussed further on the GMAT’s Integrated Reasoning section, however below are overview descriptions with links to examples questions from the GMAT website.

Graphic Interpretation – Analyze the graph, and then decide which answer would make the proceeding statements accurate.

Two-Part Analysis – Solve a problem of a two-part solution by selecting two answers, one from each column.

Table Analysis – Use the table to determine whether certain statements are accurate.  The student may sort the table to organize the data in order to determine whether certain conditions are met. Each question will have statements with opposing answers.

Multi-Source Reasoning –The test taker must decide which statement is true after reviewing the information.

3. Integrated Reasoning replaces the AWA Analysis of an Issue essay.

In a survey of 740 management faculty worldwide, the skills being tested by the Integrated Reasoning section were identified as important for today’s incoming students. It gives the student the ability to evaluate information presented in multiple formats and utilize skills that they need to succeed in a data-rich world.

4. Only one essay question. Quantitative and Verbal sections remain the same & so does the total score schools use.

The Analytical Writing Assessment will be streamlined from two 30-minute essays to one Analysis of an Argument essay. Right after this essay question, the Integrated Reasoning section will begin.

5. No change to the length of the exam.

It will remain a three hour and thirty minute exam, but that does not mean that the student will be able to slide by studying the same amount.  There will be more sections on the exam, so the student is most likely going to have to tack on extra hours in order to prepare for the GMAT section.

It should be noted that the Integrated Reasoning section will not be offered separately.  If you have already taken the GMAT exam but want to have an Integrated Reasoning score, you will have to retake the entire exam.

There have been some different opinions about this decision, but none that seem as controversial as the change to the upcoming 2015 MCAT from the Association of American Medical Colleges.  This is the first time the GMAT has been revised in over a decade since the change to a computer adaptive format in 1997.  I think that the GMAC should keep revising the test every so many years to keep up with the changes in practices and tools from today’s business environment. However, I do agree that it must be stressful on the test takers to prepare for a new addition to the exam, especially when they may be working a full-time job.  What do you think of adding sections to the GMAT or any other graduate test?

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The Smoother, Faster Common App

Posted on January 30, 2012 by zap

The Common Application began in 1975 with just 15 colleges.  Today, it is accepted and currently used by 456 colleges, where they all share the same mission to promote access through holistic admissions.  With 45 of them just signing on within the last application year, this now leaves the Common App membership association to handle over three million applications.

Last week the New York Times featured an article about the Common App revising and updating many of its overall features, so that it will have a smoother, faster, and more intuitive application for the 2013 admissions season.  The Common App has plans to have a feature where students can ask college counselors questions about their applications in real time while in the process of filling it out.  Other updates include being able to access and complete the Common App on iPads and tablets, which is predicted to be a huge trend for higher education technology this upcoming year.

There are still some colleges that prefer not to use it, and many believe that their school may lose its identity.  They would rather have their applicants complete a more unique and comprehensive application then the standard Common App.  Of the schools that did switch to the Common App, some of them had increased applicant numbers and a rise in the diversity of students.  Your school could experience these same improvements and lower acceptance rates if there is an increase in applicants from switching, but don’t forget about how it will affect your admission staff’s workload and the amount of increased student rejections.  The real benefit from the Common App depends on the particular school.  If your school uses the Common App, what other updates would you like to see that might benefit your school even further?

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Change in Admissions Trend

Posted on January 16, 2012 by zap

Many schools have been aggressively marketing their school to a wider variety and number of students more than ever before.  According to the College Board, they sell 45 million more names a year to colleges now than they did in the early 1990’s.  This change in admissions trend has more colleges offering Early Action or Early Decision applications to students, which essentially allow students to apply early and get an admission decision from the college well before the usual spring notification date.  These terms vary by schools, but the official distinction and conditions are offered on College Board.

These trends have consequently created many changes for the applicants and schools.  Students are applying to college earlier and earlier in hopes of getting accepted, along with many applying by Early Action or Early Decision deadlines.  EA/ED applications give students a feeling of security, along with alleviating much of the anxiety that comes along with the long wait for a response.  However, students are usually inclined to believe that if they apply earlier then they will be more likely to get accepted into the college, which is not necessarily true in all cases.  This also may put pressure onto the students to make a decision before they have a chance to compare school options, so the EA/ED application may be a better option for students who know exactly what school that they want to go to.

Change in AdmissionsNot only have students been applying earlier, but there has been an increase in the amount of applications to many schools.  Colleges are continuing to switch over to the common application, which makes it easier for students to fill out many applications online quickly.  For example, Brown University switched to the common application in ‘07-‘08 and has had a 50% increase in applications over the last three years.  A school is able to look more impressive and prestigious if they have a lower acceptance rate, so what school wouldn’t want to receive more applications?  Looking at specifically a school’s admissions team and applicants, an increase in applications does have a downside for them.  The admissions team will have to put in a lot more work to go through the extra applications in a timely manner, which could increase student wait times for responses and give the admissions team a harder time to predict yield and commitment.  The schools may be happy about the increase but I am not so sure about the admissions team or prospective college applicants.

For percent of change in early admissions received and accepted, view NY Times article and chart for this current admissions season.

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New Year Resolutions in Admissions

Posted on January 11, 2012 by zap

Recount what you have done in 2011.  Look at what stands out to you as achievements to you and your school. Why was it so successful?  Think about times that may have been more of a disappointment and what made them… not-so-successful.  Going over the past year’s events can be an easy way to come up with a feasible new year’s resolution list for your admissions or higher education department that everyone can actually keep to and progress upon this year.

Write the qualities and characteristics from the achievements into one column as a list to keep up with and involve into each day.  Don’t think too hard about this; it can be as simple as, ‘using post-it notes effectively’ or ‘making the most out of my online calendar’.  Make a second column with qualities from the unsuccessful events as items that could be changed and improved upon as you plan each daily measure.

New Year's Resolutions in Admissions

This is a really obvious and simple way to make your year better and more productive than the last.  Many times people forget to reflect upon the previous year, but taking the time out of your day to sit down and write out the specifics of your success can be a helpful tool when planning events and actions that you may take during the upcoming year.

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