160 pounds of mail from colleges and universities during this student’s search. Wow. While there is certainly a discussion and post in there about the OVERabundance of information thrown at high schools students in the US, what *I* thought about was how many Universities were sending viewbooks overseas? How much are you spending on mailing tons of paper across the world? Often to countries where the mail system is so poor the chances of the student receiving it in a timely manner is completely out of the question (yeah Saudi Arabia, I’m talking to you).

So are you still doing this? Are you still spending money on random direct mail campaigns? Does it work? What is your ROI? I am curious because I would think on average a University should be sending a hundred or less viewbooks to a country like Saudi Arabia each year. The rest of your budget should be spent on using the hundreds of better and more effective methods of connecting with the student on a personal and emotional level. That’s what will connect most of them to your institution and make them interested in attending.

…of course I say all this as an international student who chose her school based on its brochure and chose NOT to go to another based on theirs. Of course that was more than 10 years ago…the recruitment game has changed, and its time to give the students virtual hugs and handshakes, not just more mail.

Wassan

Related posts:

1. Campus Disorientation at American University of Cairo At a recent international higher-ed mini-conference I attended a session...
2. US Educational Group Middle East Tour Fall 2010 US Educational Group announces the Middle East Fall 2010 Tour,...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

With the new Iraq Education Initiative Scholarship ready to launch, the US Educational Group has spoken to many of you about the importance of recruitment methods outside of the traditional and typical.  We still not have received confirmation from the US Embassy in Baghdad if they will be accepting viewbooks and other marketing materials from US Colleges and Universities however, in our last conversation with the personnel at the Embassy on the student visa situation they did indicate they will not be opening an educational office.

Britian enjoys a long history of educational connectivity with Iraqis – thousands having completed higher education degrees in the 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s at some of the top UK institutions in previous decades.  A sizable and tightly knit Iraqi diaspora in London and elsewhere in the UK will make the area more appealing for students beginning their applications.

It will be up to US colleges and universities to step up their online recruitment and micro-target Iraqi students interested in studying on the Iraq scholarship. As the report says: “the United States, in particular, has been “ratcheting up activities in Iraq throughout 2008 and 2009,”- basically giving the UK a run for its money and crown as the education destination for Iraqi students.

If you have no localized website yet in Arabic – specifically aiming at recruiting Iraqi students for this scholarship, it may be time to think about the benefits of putting one together, we’re here to help you!

Related posts:

1. College, Inc You may have been busy last night when the PBS...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

A camera topped tricycle contraption was seen on the UPenn campus (see the photo here) snapping photos for the Google Street View service. The use of the tricycle instead of the usual Google car allows for street-level views of pedestrian only areas. Perfect for a college campus!

This is an interesting development for college campuses – allowing students to explore dorms, campus buildings, even bike trails virtually. Virtual campus tours have been used with varying success over the years, but few have reached out to international students specifically.

While it may be a while for some smaller or more rural campuses to find themselves on the Google map service, a virtual tour aimed at international students is an excellent item to add to your website. Just remember that many international students may not have access to very high or fast bandwidth, using shorter videos allow for students to still have a chance to view the video and see a virtual tour of your campus.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.