PS&L Blog

Meet Jayne and Molly – a pair of 2010 high school graduates entering that once in a lifetime summer -that lull before college matriculation – that post-high-school-pre-college era of personal metamorphosis.  Molly and Jayne (their names changed to shield them from admissions paparazzi) are daughters of friends of mine, but it’s important also to note that they don’t know each other.

So how did they make their college choices?

On paper, they looked identical. Both set of parents have college degrees, with older children enrolled in colleges. Both students had above average grades, SAT scores and an impressive list of extracurricular interests and achievements.  Both wanted liberal arts and the traditional experience of exploring, learning, growing and the mind expansion that comes along with that. In other words, they were academically prepared, they had intense family support, requisite financial planning, and a clear vision of the value of a college degree.

Their decision process was similar. Beginning in the 10^th grade they prepped for the tests, went to the college fairs and sought advice from their high school advisors.  They followed the prescribed college decision timeline. They both confessed to reading the brochures that came in the mail and they spent time on the websites.  Within the haystack of information they received, details about their majors was priority.  Combined, they visited and toured 17 campuses and submitted 13 applications.

But when all was said and done, two things stood out. Their relationship to specific college admissions staff and phone calls from alumni. They each felt a direct connection to those colleges whose staff and alumni actually paid attention to who they were as individuals. Jayne was looking for an emotional connection to a school, while Molly was more practical and logical during her evaluation. Jayne said that her chosen college was “Green, beautiful and friendly.” Molly said hers “Fits my needs and expectations.”

Here’s the twist. They are both going to the same college.

Clearly the admissions staff listened to both girls and altered their “sales” pitch to reinforce certain aspects over others. My guess is that they carefully chose the alumni to call them, and these alumni picked up quickly what was important to the girls.

So in this social media, online marketing world, when it came to choosing a college, these bright and sought after college applicants made their decisions based on their personal contacts with the college – their one-on-one meetings and phone conversations.

As the saying goes, enrollment is all about one student at a time.