Pardon our bragging

Just in case you don't see the press release.......

First of Its Kind College Scholarship Search Tool From MoreThanGrades.com

MoreThanGrades.com is proud to announce the addition of a one of a kind scholarship search tool. For the first time, students can search for college and university based scholarships based on the student’s SAT, ACT, or GPA.

MoreThanGrades.com has indexed nearly 1000 full tuition scholarships, over 5000 partial tuition scholarships, and thousands of criteria based scholarships.

“We are very proud of what we can now provide to students. With the cost of college being a major factor in the decision making process, it was clear to us that a search engine that could locate college offered scholarships based on a student’s academic achievement was needed,” said Mike Rosich, Director of Social Media and I.T. at MoreThanGrades.com “Students typically pick safety schools and reach schools but rarely do they know what type of scholarship money is available until after they apply. Our hope is that students will now consider colleges that are willing to offer them scholarships as viable alternatives to schools that may not offer them scholarships or financial aid. There is nothing sadder then a senior who gets accepted into a great college only to learn they cannot afford to pay for it. “

The search engine is exclusively available on the MoreThanGrades.com website and only requires the user to select a few drop down menus to conduct a search. All search parameters can be changed rapidly with several filters also available. Guidance counselors can use the site to search for scholarships on behalf of their students through the teacher portal.

The scholarship search tool is just one of the many student-centered features available on MoreThanGrades.com. Also included on the website, virtual on-line college fairs where students and colleges can get together live, in real time, and a counselor chat tool that allows students to ask college related questions.

MoreThanGrades.com remains as the only website where both students and colleges can create a personalized profile page at no cost. Both students and colleges have the ability to search for each other in a private and secure environment, helping each college and student find that perfect match.

Over half a million students and hundreds of colleges have taken advantage of the free services provided by MoreThanGrades.com. For more information about MoreThanGrades.com, or to conduct a virtual on-line college fair, please email Mike Rosich at mrosich@Morethangrades.com

Facebook: Are Colleges Really Looking?

Recently, MoreThanGrades attended the New York State Association for Admission Counseling forum at Fordham University. Also in attendance were several colleges, a room full of admission counselors, and other professionals who are involved in the college admission process. It was the perfect time for us to ask the question many were pondering: Do colleges actually look at a student's facebook profile?

Before I give you their answers and the reason for their answers, I also undertook a twitter campaign to address the same question, posing it to all the colleges who follow us on twitter. In both cases, the answers were pretty much the same. No.

In the blog world, there was a posting recently by Kaplan about the use of Facebook in college admission. They concluded from their questioning that 80% of colleges use Facebook for college admission. But if we look at this number a little closer, the true use of Facebook becomes clear.

Most of the college we surveyed, including the colleges in attendance at the NYSACAC forum, overwhelmingly agreed that the use of Facebook in making a decision about admitting a student was pretty much zero. To substantiate their claim, they pointed out that the number of students who applied to their respective schools this year had increased dramatically, leaving little time to go hunting for information. Many of these same schools have dropped interviews for the same reason -time. With several thousand applications to read and decide upon, trolling Facebook for embarrassing photos or self-destructive postings was unrealistic. So what are colleges using Facebook for? Social interaction.


Many colleges have come to appreciate that students of today are not looking for information in the same way students of just a few years ago did. Often the college search starts on-line. To address this trend, many colleges have created Fanpages on Facebook so students can get the information they want in a way that is meaningful for the student. With Fanpages, colleges can not only post information about what is going on, they can get the personal interactions many student crave. As with any new technology, it is not perfect, but it does provide an additional way for students and colleges to connect other than college fairs and school visits.

What the future holds for colleges, students, and the admission process is unclear. As access to information becomes easier and faster, the use of social media may factor into the application process. But as of right now, that does not seem to be the case. Still....if you were promised a scholarship from a college, you might want to remove anything embarrassing from your profile -just in case.

Our next topic: Should all colleges eliminate the SAT/ACT exam in lieu of a school based exam that cannot be prepped for? Let us know what you think.

Mike, Co-Founder of MoreThanGrades.com

The next big boom!

Today, I read an article in the New York Times about law school graduates and debt. While the article focused on law school debt, the bottom line, I felt, was this: Is it worth it to take out thousands in loans to get educated? While most studies indicate that having an advanced degree will in the long run result in a higher salary, what most studies do not address is at what cost. (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/business/09law.html is the link to the article.)

Don't get me wrong; the student loan program has allowed thousands of students to get a college education. Without this program, many who now have degrees would not have been able to acquire them. But as tuition continues to rise, the decision to take out thousands in student loans should be addressed.
Unlike many other loans, student loans cannot be discharged in bankruptcy, which means the loan taker will have to pay them, regardless of how long that takes. They can even garnish your earnings to satisfy a student loan. Additionally, if the loans are not repaid in a timely fashion, the student's credit rating will be forever damaged. Are we creating a generation of students who will forever be in debt?

Another aspect of the student loan program that is not often discussed is its impact on colleges. In the United States, there are over 4000 colleges; a college for just about any student's ability. If the student loan program is ever restricted, how will that affect a college's ability to survive?
Is the bubble about to burst for colleges? Is it a coincidence that many colleges are setting their sites on students from other countries? After all, these students would not qualify for student loans, which means they would pay for their education without financial aid.


Enrollment in most colleges has increased steadily over the last few years. But ask just about any graduating senior from college about their outlook for the future and you will not get a happy answer. Most leave college with thousands in student loans and without the prospect of a job. Each day, MoreThanGrades hears from students concerned with debt and paying for college. Unfortunately, there are no easy answers to their questions.
I think the time has come to have a serious discussion about going to college, paying for college, student debt, and the affect it is having on our national economy. With private school tuition at over 50,000 per year at most schools, students should think twice before they sign on that student loan form. What do you think?

Measuring ROI is not always a good ROI

Why ROI doesn't always work.

I am going to take a stance that may not be too popular: ROI is highly overrated.

It is not that I don't believe in ROI, it is just that it does not always express what we believe it expresses.

Recently, I attended a college fair at a local school. There were colleges from all over the country in attendance. I watched as thousands of students traveled from booth to booth picking up papers, patiently waiting to speak with reps, and looking for their favorite colleges. As I watched, I couldn't help but think that all those poor reps had traveled so far just to be jammed into a space no bigger than an airplane seat to be surrounded by both students and other reps. Not only couldn't you move, you could barely hear. A quick bit of math and it was apparent that between travel, the cost of a hotel, food, the fair itself, and the salary of the rep, your typical college in attendance spent somewhere between 2-4 thousand dollars to meet the students who made it to their booth, many of whom they could not even speak with. Clearly, the ROI here was abysmal. Yet, the reps came.

Another striking characteristic of this fair was who wasn't in attendance. Not a single Ivy League school or highly ranked college attended. What can be concluded from their absence? That spending money on brochures and other traditional means of outreach has a better ROI? Or is it that they really don't need to recruit given that students will apply to their schools no matter what.

Part of ROI is based on the ability to measure things. On a website that is a bit easier since clicks can tell you where someone visited. But what about things like ads in a newspaper or on the side of a bus for that matter? Not everything is easily measured yet ads still persist. Even if you try and poll students on where they heard about your school, you will not get an accurate answer since in most cases, their information came from multiple sources. So much for measuring ROI.

A similar situation can be found when looking at a college's website. I recently read an interesting and well written article by Kyle James from .eduguru. He made the case that measuring metrics from a website is critical to understanding how best to reach students. In order to get students to enroll, you must first get them to notice you. In terms of websites, they refer to it as SEO. While this may seem logical, it does not always apply either.

Most college websites are set up to serve a wide array of people ranging from prospective students to alumni. Because of this, tracking who goes where is often difficult. While you can see how many people downloaded a document or viewed a virtual tour, you cannot be sure it was even a student who did it. Even if it was, making that personal connection with him or her remains elusive. In truth, the only metric that really matters is the one that results in a personal contact. If a college can get that student to visit or speak with a rep face to face, then getting them to apply and enroll becomes that much easier. Now you understand why all those reps were jammed into that tiny school...ROI not withstanding.

Another area where ROI will factor in is with on-line virtual fairs. What is the value of a student that attends a virtual fair? More importantly, what is the ROI for the college that attends a virtual fair when there is no assurance that any of the students attending are interested in your school? Is it prudent to spend money, often thousands of dollars, for a maybe?

Recently, MoreThanGrades.com launched our virtual on-line fair that incorporates a live chat feature. One of our major concerns was addressing the ROI for this type of event, which is why our policy is run our fairs at no cost to the colleges attending one of our fairs. Our aim is to put colleges together with those students interested in them. By not charging colleges an upfront fee, we have taken the guess work out of the ROI by having students indicate before hand the colleges they are interested in. We then providing colleges with an opportunity to speak live with students and then provide follow up offline. Imagine if a college could go to a regular college fair with a list of students waiting to speak with them. A list of students provided to them without investing any resources. What would that ROI be worth? On this point, Mr. James and I agree: the end goal of all resources invested in recruitment is to get the student to apply. But all the technology in the world will never replace the face to face contact the admission department has with a student. The ROI for that -priceless.

Mike

Virtual On-Line College Fair brings in 700+ Students

As you may or may not know, Sacred Heart University and MoreThanGrades held our first virtual on-line college fair this past week (September 16, 2010) and wow!

Our on line fair attracted over 700 students (600 who directly expressed learning more about Sacred Heart University) with only three weeks worth of preparation. Students from around the country signed up for our three-hour chat session that ran from 7pm to 10pm. During the live chat, students were able to chat with the admission office, financial aid officers, and current students. In all, it was a great event for both students and Sacred Heart University.

“We will definitely do it again for November. We set up missions control in our lobby and had 5 of us here with our laptops and pizza. It was a great bonding experience for our team,” said Mike Tarantino, Undergraduate Admissions Counselor at Sacred Heart University. “This definitely is a great idea and we plan on using it for other events such as our cohort information session. Having 600 new students from around the country who want to learn more about Sacred Heart University is incredible. ”

What many colleges and universities don't know is that this platform is available to them. All they need to do is register on the site and send us an email with the information requested. During the month of October, we will make the virtual on-line service available at no cost to any two or four year college wishing to host its own on-line chat. For those attending the NACAC conference in St. Louis, a voucher for a second on-line fair will be given just for stopping by booth 1228 so don't be shy.

Students spend the majority of their time on line and gravitate toward those who do likewise. Social media plays an important part in the life of a high school student so it is only natural that on-line is where they will seek information and interaction. I think having over 600 students specifically interested in learning more about Sacred Heart University confirms this.

MoreThanGrades.com not only offers colleges/universities the opportunity to find students who are a good fit for their institution, our goal is to provide an easy to use and well-integrated system of student recruitment at a low cost.

Our next information session with Sacred Heart University will be in November -so take note high school seniors. For more information, please contact us. Hope to chat soon.

Mike, Co-Founder of MoreThanGrades.com

Rosich@morethangrades.com

Facebook and Colleges. Not so Good

Why Facebook is not the answer for colleges.

Before I tell you why you should not use Facebook in college admission, let me first tell you that we, at MoreThanGrades.com, use Facebook. We have a Fanpage that is quite active and use it to post upcoming events like our virtual on-line college fairs. We also have a Facebook application that allows students to follow their favorite colleges while on Facebook -College Scoop. So if we use it, why shouldn’t you?

Recently, colleges have had to wrestle with the dilemma of “friending” students. Is it right for a college admission officer to friend a student? If so, what happens after that student enrolls or doesn’t’ enroll? Then there is the issue of looking at a students profile for information, something students are not very comfortable with. Will college deny admission or scholarships based on information they find in a student’s profile? That question is still an open question.

It seems that Facebook is one of those things that colleges feel they have to use since “everyone” is using it but many don’t really know how to use it. Just because it is free does not mean everyone should just dive in.

So, what’s the answer?

There is no doubt that Facebook can be a valuable tool if used correctly. Just having a fanpage or group does not mean the page is functional. Colleges need to monitor their pages and provide content and interaction. But even with this, Facebook is not the panacea many believe it to be.

Recently, a few companies have begun to market recruitment platforms based on Facebook. The argument here is that Facebook reaches millions of high school aged students and is therefore the place to be. Some of these platforms come at a significant cost. But consider this: Building your school’s recruitment on Facebook would be analogous to building your house on a rented piece of property. Ultimately, the owner of the land is the one who holds all the cards.

What if Facebook decided tomorrow not to allow email information to be collected from Facebook users? How would that impact your marketing campaigns? Facebook can decide whatever it pleases and you are then left with a platform that is worthless for your purposes. Will Facebook ever make such a drastic change? It is anybody’s guess but changes do happen regularly.

Last week, Facebook announced it is making a major change to its fanpages; they are changing the box feature. For those of you not familiar with the box feature, it allows users to create an area where information can be placed on a Fanpage. (In an area that is very visible.) What’s more, boxes are able to accept html coding, (which allows users to create links or embed objects,) a de facto area where users can create ads for whatever they please and then place them on the left side of the page in a very visible area. Where are they now? Squashed on the top of the page and buried among all the other tabs. If a user doesn’t specifically look for that tab, it will never be found. Still think building your social media on Facebook is a good idea? My guess is that this real estate directly interfered with Facebook’s own ad placement, so it is no wonder they decided to change this. So what’s next? Who knows? Isn’t that the point?

Facebook is a great tool if used correctly since it cost nothing to join Facebook, and it allows colleges to reach students in an area they are familiar and comfortable with. But like any tool, it needs to be used correctly, with some guidance, and not as the main tool for marketing.

We welcome your opinions. Post a comment or email me directly at morethangrades.com at
Send me some mail! We would love to hear from you.

Why your emails don't get opened

Does your email look like this to students?

We are presenting part III of our investigation into emails sent by colleges. A quick review: We followed the emails of one of our MoreThanGrades.com students over a period of nearly a year and a half. We examined these emails for type of email (Html or basic text,) we did a word count of the most often used words or phrases, and finally, we profiled which months garnered the most emails. The final presentation of what we found is below. The following is a sample of 13 days of emails between March 22, 2010 and April 5, 2010 The total number of emails received: 64. The college names and student name have been removed otherwise the email appears as it was received. As you will see, most of these emails look the same, which is why they are treated the same. If you are using email blasts to reach students, then you are missing the boat. What is needed is a more precise and targeted email; an email that will get opened and read. If you are interested in finding out how to accomplish this, please contact me at Mike@morethangrades.com. For those of you attending NACAC in St. Louis, see you there! We are in booth 1228 :-)

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