Mike's Blog on College and Social Media

Pardon our bragging

2011-11-01T20:10:00.003-04:00

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?

2011-03-24T09:03:00.013-04:00

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!

2011-01-12T12:20:00.006-05:00

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

2010-11-02T22:11:00.012-04:00

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

2010-09-19T18:50:00.010-04:00

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

2010-09-11T22:14:00.009-04:00

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

2010-08-26T14:56:00.017-04:00

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 :-)

-------------------------------------------------------------------

College - Offic.		xxx College Open House Invitation‎ - Click here for more information and to RSVP To opt out, click here …April
xxxx University		I want you to get your guide today!‎ - xxx, I've linked many students to their online guides already, but I haven't heard …
xxxx College		Urgent message for xxxx‎ - Hi xxx, Because you're obviously a talented student, I want to share some info with you …
College of xxxx		xxxxx, do I have your correct info?‎ - xxx, Please confirm that I have your correct mailing information, so that I can rush your …
xxxx University - .		xxxxx, come chat with xxxxx!‎ - If you are having trouble viewing this message, see it in your browser. logo_w_pics_rev0007.JPG …
University of xxxx		Please let me know, xxxxx‎ - xxxx, this could be your final chance to receive the University of xxxxx's free …
xxxx Institute of T.		xxxIT Spring Open House‎ - xxxxIT Banner 2010 Spring Preview Day All high school students and their families starting their …
xxxxIT Undergraduate Admiss.		xxxIT Future Student Video Contest‎ - xxxIT Banner CALLING ALL INNOVATIVE and CREATIVE STUDENTS! Are you musical? Do you have a unique …
xxxxxx College Admissi.		xxxxx College Spring Open House April 17‎ - Contact: xxxxx College, 1200 Main Street, xxxx18018 Remove me from future messages …
xxxxx University		Make a difference at xxxxx University‎ - xxxxx University xxxxx, a complete education is not just the accumulation of knowledge. It …
xxxxx University		xxxxx, join us for Spring Open House‎ - xxxx Connection xxxxx Connection xxxxxxConnection xxxxxx Connection …
xxxxxx College		You are a student of distinction‎ - M, you stand out from your peers, and I want to make sure that you receive Intro to …
xxxxxxx University		Immediate action advised‎ - Dear M, Because of an increase in student demand, I have only a few copies of 5 Expert Tips …
xxxxxxCollege		An easy way to compare colleges...‎ - M, there are a lot of colleges out there vying for your attention. How can you possibly …
xxxxxxxUniversity		xxxxxx University: Response requested‎ - Dear M, I recently contacted you about a free online quiz, Your Personality ... Your Major …
xxxxxx Vermont		U: Two college search tools for YOU‎ - M, I want to offer you two different tools to help in your search for the right school …
xxxxxxxUniversity		Access granted for M ...‎ - xxxxxx University is still interested in you, M! That's why you've been …
xxxxxxx College		Top programs for top students like you‎ - M, as one of the nation's top students, you deserve a college that inspires you. That …
xxxxxxxCollege.		Be engaged in everything you do at xxxxx‎ - You are receiving this message because you have been identified as a good fit for xxxxx …
xxxxx College		xxxx March Athletic Events‎ - xxxx Dear M, Thank you for your interest in xxxxxx…
xxxxxxUniversity		Is this the right e-mail address?‎ - I hope I've reached you, M, because I have an important message to share with you: I …
xxxxxCrim.		M, Don't forget to Apply‎ - Apply to Dear M, Don't Forget! Fall Applicants: To be considered for all …
xxxxx College Admissi.		Request "Five Ways xxxxxCollege Can Change Your Life"‎ - You are receiving this message because you have been identified as a good fit for xxxxx …
xxxxxx		We're all about opportunities...‎ - You are receiving this message because you have been identified as a good f it for xxxxx at …
xxxxxx College		Great job, M‎ - Dear M, Any student with as many achievements as you have is sure to have many options when …
Thexx College of xx		How top students choose a college ...‎ - Dear M, Find out how top students f ind their ideal schools in xxxxx complimentary …
xxxxxUniversity		I want you to have this advantage!‎ - Dear M, You still have time to link to 5 Things You Can Do NOW to Get Into Your Ideal …
College of xxxxx		M: Let me know if you're interested‎ - M, Not every student receives an email from xxxx. I've contacted you …
xxxxxx College		I'm sorry...‎ - that I haven't persuaded you to check out xxxxxx interactive quiz, Which Great …
University of xxxxx		Summer Preview Days at the University of xxxx!‎ - University of xxxxxDear M, You and your family are invited to join us this summer for …
xxxxxCollege Offi.		Visit our website, then visit campus!‎ - You are receiving this message because you have expressed interest in xxxxx college. To …
xxxxxUniversity		xxxxx University: Correct e-mail address?‎ - Dear M, I noticed you haven't responded to my e-mail about taking the new online e-quiz …
University of xxxxxx		xxxxx: Selectivity ...‎ - M, the University of xxxxx is very interested in staying in touch with you. Accept our …
The College Board		For High School Juniors‎ - CollegeBoard for Students College Search Issue Using Score Choice™ Start Your College Search …
xxxxxCollege Offi.		Witness the xxx experience on YouTube ‎ - You are receiving this message because you have been identified as a good fit for xxxxxx …
xxxxx College of.		The Power of Liberal Arts at xxxx.‎ - xxxxx College of Liberal Arts - Learn More M, an xxxx liberal arts education will …
xxxxxUniversi.		M, a degree from xxx will set you apart from the rest.‎ - M www.M.Myxxx.org M, Employers know that a liberal arts degree is proof …
xxxx Uxniversity		Is this the correct email?‎ - Dear M, I've been trying to reach you to notify you that you've been selected by …
xxxxx College		Time is running out...‎ - M, there isn't much time left for you to link to College Search E-quiz...How Prepared …
xxxxxxUniversity		M, Learn More About xxxxxUniversity‎ - Dear M, At xxxxxUniversity, you will find a learning experience that paves the way …
xxxxx College		Experience xxxx Summer College for High School Students‎ - xxxxx College Summer College Dear M, What are you doing this summer? Want to experience …
U of xxxx		Don't miss your chance, M‎ - M, I invite you again to take y our Academic Achievement Profile, an online survey from the …
xxxxx University		Get involved at xxxxxUniversity‎ - xxxx University M, join any of our 250 student-run clubs. Our student body is engaged …
xxxx Office of Admissions		Discover the xxxx Difference‎ - xxxxx admissions "Working and interacting with people who have such great ideas, at xxxx I …
University ofxxxxx.		Experience Involvement at the University ofxxxx.‎ - University of xxxxx \| Find out more » More info » M, our students don't sit on the …
xxxxxUniversity		It's all about you, M ...‎ - Dear M, Your achievements mean colleges are vying for your attention, but choosing a …
xxxxx College		You could be a good match forxxxxxl‎ - M, I believe that you have much in common with many successful students at xxxx College …
The College Board		Receive a score and skills report for your official SAT practice test‎ - CollegeBoard SAT Readiness Program™ Students Dear M, Now that you've printed the free …
xxxxx University		xxxx is interested in you!‎ - xxxxx University We invite you to discover why xxxx might be right for you! Photo Photo Photo …

Your emails: Part II

2010-08-12T21:30:00.002-04:00

What we learned over 16 months of emails.

In our last blog post, we profiled sixteen months of emails received by one of our MoreThanGrades.com students. Most of these emails began shortly after our student took the PSAT; the other spike was shortly after the SAT exam. As far as the month with the most frequent emails, that honor goes to March with 119, followed closely by February with 100 and April with 99. In our previous post, we also revealed that the 571 emails received came from across the country. Some of the schools emailed only once, most of the colleges emailed at least three times, and many of the emails were purchased emails addresses. Here are a few more interesting facts based on the subject line or content within the email:

Out of all the emails, 44 asked our student to fill out a survey of one kind or another. Another common request was to take a virtual tour or to sign up for a tour. That request happened 90 times. Of all the requests, the most common (191 times) was to view the school’s guidebook.

As far as subject line, “last chance” and “apply now” were both quite popular. The phrase that appeared most frequently was “request….”

It is easy to see why many of these emails never get opened. Colleges, or for that matter anyone, who is emailing high school students should consider these findings when emailing. So what is a college to do?

As I mentioned in our last blog post, we also email high schools students. Fortunately, we have a very high open rate for our emails. I believe the reason for this is that we adhere to a few simple rules when we email, and we go out of our way to make our emails appealing to our students. We have studied what others do and use what works and discard what does not.

In our next blog post on emails, we will show you 13 days of actual emails to our student. During this 13-day period, 64 emails were received. The name of the sending college and student name have been removed, but the subject line and beginning of the email were left unchanged. We hope you find it educational. What do you think?

Mike, Co-Founder of MoreThanGrades.com

Your emails: The student's perspective

2010-08-05T10:37:00.001-04:00

What do students see (and do) when you email them?

We send out a lot of emails. We welcome all new MoreThanGrades.com members; we send informational emails on current topics of interest to students, and of course, we send scholarship opportunities. Yes, we send out a lot of emails. But are they getting read?

Over the last two years, we have been fortunate to have an extremely high rate of opens for our emails. I believe we are able to accomplish this because we adhere to a very simple premise when we email: provide information that is important to the students, not what we think is important to the students. Before we send something out, we ask ourselves, would this email be missed if it were not sent? In short, we try to put ourselves in the student’s place. But I have to let you in on a little secret…. we have help.

In an attempt to answer the question what do students see when you email, and exactly what kind of emails the typical junior in high school receives, we had one of our MoreThanGrades.com members send us their college related emails. We monitored these emails starting in the middle of the student’s junior year, continuing this monitoring at the present time. In total, we have slightly less than a year and a half worth of emails. It was an eye opening experiment. Over the next several blog posts, we will give you an inside look at what students see when you email, and examine what works, and more importantly, what doesn’t.

To begin with, in total, our student received approximately 571 emails from colleges, roughly 35 per month. The list of colleges that emailed ranged from small liberal arts schools to big name schools. Additionally, geographic location did not factor in at all. Schools from across the country emailed. Many of the schools emailed once, but several came in at 30 or better emails over the sixteen-month period. This list included colleges where information was requested, but more times than not, these emails were unsolicited.

Some of the finer points: Of all the emails received, slightly more than half were plain text with links embedded. The rest utilized html formatting. Of the 571 emails, 170 were purchased directly from College Board as indicated by the required disclaimer at the bottom of the email. 27 emails came from a commercial website emailing on behalf of the college, also based on the footer present in the email.

These are just a few of the interesting findings we uncovered in our study. In our next blog, we will disclose what exactly was in all those emails -content wise. We will end our blog series by showing you a sampling of emails including the subject lines and first few lines of the actual email. Stay tuned; it is going to be something you will want to read.

Mike, Co-Founder of MoreThanGrades.com

Marketing and Social Media

2010-07-20T21:08:00.003-04:00

Marketing 101

Recently, I received a hard cover book in the mail from a vendor of ours. The topic of the book was how small businesses can utilize different strategies to help their businesses grow. The two gentlemen who authored the book run a very successful web-based company. The book was well written and offered many helpful hints on how to manage a small business -all while trying to remain sane. But the most interesting aspect of the book was that the name of the company these gentlemen run was mentioned no less than 15 times. After reading the book, I looked back on some of the other information I had received from them and low and behold, the same thing was true –valuable information wrapped around great marketing. What a great idea.

As colleges and universities try to reach students in this age of social media, what should be kept in mind is that each interaction must include marketing -each email, each blog post, and each Facebook message. But the messages can’t scream marketing, they must gently hint at it. If students believe that your message is about you, then you missed the point.

At MoreThanGrades.com. we interact with students on many levels. Through our counselor chat feature, students can ask a private question and get a personal answer to their question. Through the Mycollegecalendar tab, students can find virtually any piece of information related to college admission, including documents that can be downloaded. Through our unique blog feature, students can respond to fellow students, teachers, and colleges on current topics of concern to all high school students. In short, we believe that we are providing a valuable service for our students and colleges.

So how does one market without marketing? That answer is really not that difficult: Provide valuable information that is timely, welcome, and to the point….with your logo, name, contact information, and website readily available so students can reach you when they want to…And they will.

What do you think? We would love to hear from you. Post a response or contact me directly. Mike@morethangrades.com

Has it been four years already?

2010-06-03T09:34:00.004-04:00

This past month I graduated from NYU with a dual degree in Marketing and Economics. I decided to take this moment to look back and reflect on everything that has happened over the past four years –both good and not so good- and how it has impacted the MoreThanGrades.com website, and how it has focused our company on what the mission of the website should be.

I have been very fortunate, and privileged, to have attended NYU, specifically the Stern School of Business. During my time at NYU, I had the opportunity to meet many great educators, business people, and entrepreneurs. I learned from the best that the business world has to offer, and also had the opportunity to travel abroad and get a global perspective on business. I also learned some very valuable lessons not taught in books as I took the website from the demo site where we created it to the live site where it now resides. To say that my four years at NYU were frenzied and went by quickly would be an understatement.

As I mentioned on the website, the idea of MoreThanGrades.com was not mine alone. Early on, I knew that undertaking the task of launching a website from the ground up would not be easy. As a freshman in college, I had no idea exactly how difficult and costly it would be to create and manage such a complex entity.

Early into the process I knew I needed help. My roommate Paul, also a business major, was intrigued by the idea and agreed to become one of my partners. Together, we took on the task of designing, testing, building, and finally launching MoreThanGrades.com. At NYU, I learned that forming partnerships and alliances with others would also strengthen our website so I proceeded to contact others around the web who might be willing to help. Today, we have several such partnerships in place, all allowing us to add content and depth to our site.

As a high school student, I was introduced to Facebook, and quickly saw the power of social networking. I knew we needed to include aspects of this in our site, but I also understood that a site where students place personal information for colleges to view should not be a social site, rather a professional site. My original goal was to have a place where students could show the best of what they have to offer. That goal has remained unchanged. But as with most websites, we were not alone. Shortly before we went live, another website launched that allowed students to create similar profiles. This website promoted socializing, forums, and patterned itself after Facebook –the exact opposite of a professional space for students. Undaunted, we moved forward with our ideas and have successfully enrolled thousands of students. As we continue to grow, we have integrated feeds from Twitter, Youtube, and have introduced several other social media applications without losing our professional look and feel.

As we move forward, we continue to look at and evaluate the role of social media and how best to incorporate the current technology into our site. The goal is to provide students and colleges with the tools necessary to reach each other.

At the end of September, we will be attending the NACAC convention where we will unveil the next generation of MoreThanGrades.com. Until then, stay tuned for our next installment: What college related issues are important to students.

Sometimes you just need some help

2010-05-09T19:51:00.004-04:00

Today, we have a guest blogger. We are proud to present information from IAdmissions. I am sure you will find this information timely and valuable.

Five Traits That Matter in College Admissions

By Jon Reider, former Senior Associate Director of Admission for Stanford University,

and curriculum developer for iAdmissions.com, a unique network of former admissions

officers providing affordable, one-on-one college counseling.

Students have one shot to personally impress admissions officers - the essays. A strong essay that harnesses your voice and shows the ‘true you’ often can make a difference in your evaluation. When writing your application essay, consider five traits that admissions officers usually look for:

•Vulnerability

Don’t pretend you are a superhero! Through your essay, you need to address the admissions officer who reads it- an adult with their own life experiences, who

does not know you but wants to get to know you better. Colleges want students who know they are human and who have developed through challenging themselves.

•Reflectiveness/Insight

Have you grown with your experiences? Do you look inward and learn from both your successes and failures? Admissions officers look for students who take every opportunity to mature. It is one thing to simply write about what has happened to you, and another to show how you have changed because of these events.

•Brevity

Admissions officers have long days. They might be reading your application at 9am over a cup of coffee or at 11PM before going to sleep. The phones might be ringing in the background. It should not take 110% of their focus to get through your essays. Be succinct and clear. Is that string of 10-letter adjectives really necessary to express yourself, or are you just trying to show off your vocabulary?

•Likeability

A college is a community, and admissions officers want to know how you interact with others. When writing an essay, try to work in an example of a time in which you brought people together. Perhaps its was with humor, or good-will, or sincerity. The person reading your essay should want to be your friend and not just on facebook.

•Intellectuality

If your transcript shows you know how to take a test, you may be tempted to think you don’t need to write about academics. More than grades, however, admissions officers want to know how ideas move you. Will you go to class because you have to, or will you go because you truly love learning? Try to illustrate a time when you were motivated by learning itself, and not just by a high grade.

More tipsheets and on-demand webinars by Jon are available at

www.iadmissions.com.

iAdmissions.com is a unique network of former college admissions officers that uses on- line technology to provide personalized and affordable guidance on the college admissions process. With programs ranging from just $49-$299, plan your admissions strategy with a former Top Ranked College Admissions Officer today by calling (800) 957-9620 or visiting www.iAdmissions.com

The Dreaded Wait List

2010-04-17T18:50:00.004-04:00

The New York Times recently posted an article about how colleges are hedging their bets as they called it when it comes to college admission. Perhaps the most disturbing part of the article is that colleges have put thousands of kids in a holding pattern, waiting their fate, while other colleges who would love to admit that student also wait. One of the recommendations to waiting students is to submit a video on why you should be accepted (yet another reason to use MoreThanGrades :-) )
But the reality is, how long can you wait?

At this point, I am going to give you some advice from someone who has been through this process: it's not worth stressing over. There, I said it. I believe that what is meant to be will be. What many students realize once they step foot on their campus, whichever campus that may be, is that you have to feel comfortable there. If you did your homework ahead of time, you picked several schools that fit that bill. Also, who would really want to attend a college that didn't really want them? For those of you that like old movies, Groucho Marx put it best: "I would never join any club that would accept me as a member." There is something to be said for that line of thinking.

If you are one of the many students who is in wait list limbo, we would love to hear from you. If you would like to read the entire article, I have posted the link below. Now I know Paul doesn't agree with me, so if you want to get his slant on things, check out his blog. Peace.

Article Link

Gifts for Teachers

2009-12-09T12:48:00.003-05:00

To Give or Not to Give...That is the Question

Is a teacher gift a bribe?

With the holiday season approaching, there is the highly debated question of whether or not it is appropriate to purchase and give a gift to your teacher. This goes beyond just being nice and courteous to some extent because purchasing a teacher’s gift can be seen as a persuasive action. Teachers are responsible for giving out grades and also in some cases writing college recommendations for students. If one student gives a larger gift than another student, or not every student gives the teacher a gift, is this biasing the teacher in some way? In my ethics class we covered a similar topic with corporations giving gifts to purchasers to perhaps bias them in some way to buy from their corporation. Essentially what was determined was if a reasonable gift was given (not money or any absurdly superfluous gift) it was understandable and would not be expected to alter the purchaser’s decision. Similarly, I think with teacher’s gifts, if you are giving them a small token of thanks for the work they put in over the school year, or for writing a recommendation for you, it is acceptable. What do you all think? Is it reasonable to give a teacher a gift or do you think that it is unnecessary or in some ways immoral?

Should the SATs be eliminated?

2009-11-16T17:43:00.001-05:00

I know the pain of standardized tests first hand, and continue to experience this pain, studying for the LSATs. That is why I can empathize with all of you. It seems that you do enough work to prove yourself to colleges with all of your classes, APs and extracurricular activities you are involved in yet you still have to spend time and money prepping for, and taking, the SATs. I know this extra time taken could be used more productively. Ultimately there is a tradeoff: prepping for this test or doing other activities. It is clear that colleges use this as way to rank everyone against each other, but are they really necessary? There are ways to study for this test and it seems that people who are naturally good test takers will have an advantage over those who are possibly good learners and poor test takers. College is not all about test taking so why does one test have such an impact on your college acceptance chances? What do you think about the SATs? Let me hear your thoughts on the SATs and whether or not you agree with how they currently impact your application.