Entries for July 2010

International students are the Holy Grail for many college admissions offices, but recruiting them has it’s challenges, to say the least.

In the days of budget reductions and slumping endowments, a flock of full-paying international students swarming from abroad, cash in hand, diversity in pocket, is music to the ears.

Of the nearly 700,000 internationals studying in America last year, two-thirds of them were paying for their education through their own or family funds, an increase of 12.1 percent from the previous year.

But internationals from countries where admission to top universities is based almost entirely on test scores are often mystified by the seeming randomness and subjectivity of the American process.

And many internationals will not have the opportunity to visit campuses until the day they arrive in the fall to start classes. They’ll be less concerned with social and residential life issues, and more focused on specific academic programs, rankings, and the reputation of the college in their home country.

To compete college recruiters must:

1. Present themselves well online, including through virtual tours, and special website sections designed for internationals, as well as in presentation sessions with internationals in their home countries or at summer programs and fairs in the U.S. or in third countries where students might gather.
2. Consider carefully where to send admissions officers and other enrollment recruiters.
3. Use foreign agents or recruiters to build their international pool. For years, countries like Australia and those in the United Kingdom have paid recruiters to feed students into their universities, and those nations have become major competitors to the United States in attracting international applicants.
4. Give clear information and understanding about what financial aid, if any, might be available to support their studies. Communicating up front with families you meet with abroad about your Total Cost of Attendance is essential.
5. Band together and work with some for-profit companies to provide a common foundation for international students to learn about U.S. admissions and particular colleges.
6. Consider what you need to do to make your campus more supportive and hospitable for international students, many of whom might never have set foot previously on U.S. soil.

University Business

It turns out, one of the best things students can do to get better grades and graduate is to leave the country. Well, it doesn’t hurt anything, anyway....continue reading

For the 3 million students applying to college in the United States, the admissions process is no laughing matter, however, a new book aims to downgrade the stress and add a few chuckles along the way.

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With modest dips in the number of students taking their standardized tests, the College Board will revamp its entrance exam, adding a new kind of essay and shifting the multiple choice questions....continue reading

As the fiscal year begins this month, public colleges across the country are feeling a deeper thirst as stimulus funds dry up and disappear. ...continue reading

Teens are losing interest in Facebook and abandoning their pages at an alarming rate....continue reading

Matt Ruben of Philadelphia says that although a movement to discourage teens from aspiring to college may be growing, the dream of higher education shouldn’t be snuffed.

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A group of college counselors begin this year’s annual admissions tour in California at the University of Redlands and Claremont University....continue reading

A look at Higher Education Admissions, Seinfeld, and using the right forms of communication for recruiting students to avoid stepping into the wrong channel....continue reading

It’s not easy being green, but American colleges are increasingly showing off their greenness to attract students who are serious about environmental issues.

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