This is an exciting time in our family as my nephew is a senior in high school and fully immersed in the college search process. Our mailbox can attest to the myriad of different publications, large and small that find their way in the box. Being a self-proclaimed college admission junkie, I look forward to every piece that he receives and try very hard to let him have the first reaction.
During one of our recent conversations my nephew mentioned that he would really like to visit a particular school out East but doesn’t think he’ll be able to make it work…too expensive, too much time away from AP Physics. After a long talk about fly-in programs, overnight visits and travel reimbursement we turned to the computer. Let’s check to see if they have a virtual tour on their website….loading…loading…loading. What? No virtual tour!
After I got over the initial shock that this particular highly-regarded institution did not have a virtual tour, we started poking around the site a little. During our browsing session I was reminded about how important it is to have consistent content and navigation on a college website. I can’t even tell you how many times we were redirected in search of more information about the school. I wanted to give up altogether until we found the gem we were looking for….Student Videos!
After over an hour of perusing mostly student-made videos we had to take a break. We had laughed until our bellies ached, were inspired by incredible journeys of semesters abroad and were motivated to serve others through the stories of volunteerism. Most importantly, we were able to truly understand the type of student that attends the school.
On countless occasions in my work with prospective students and families I hear, “What type of student goes there? Will I fit in?” My advice to them: Check out the student-made videos on the college’s website. While the college-created videos are a good start, the real bread and butter are the student-made videos. Here you can see what the students value, what they think is funny and how they interact with each other. From synchronized dance routines to a love of furry creatures, these videos are great!
Colleges and universities would be remiss if they weren’t paying attention to the student-created content that is out there on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. The good, the bad and the hilarious…it’s what your prospective students are turning to as they do their research and may be the most influential piece of the puzzle. Scary right? Empowering your student population, especially the ones you trust with a camera or a keyboard, to publish more videos, blogs and content will help the right students, the ones with the shared love of quidditch, find their way to you.
