Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Quick Takes: If You Liked 'High School Musical,' You'll Love Yale
Inside Higher Ed: "While Yale University does not lack for applicants, it is trying something new on the admissions recruitment front this year and has just unveiled on YouTube a video called 'That's Why I Chose Yale.' The video opens with what looks like a standard admissions briefing for would-be applicants and family members, but about one minute in, following a student's question, the admissions rep breaks into song"
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5 comments:
Every school is looking for something to make them stand out, the competition for college admission doesn't just apply to the students, the colleges are also competing for the more talented students, first to get their interest, and then to get them to apply. Everything from showing off the latest remodeled student facilities to videos that show off what happens on campus has been done before, and some even try developing new programs on the campus rather than just working on the flash. I seem to recall CMU doing something similar to the video a while ago, and I'm sure they weren't the first.
This is a unique way to entice prospective students. The video will definitely make Yale stick out as it seems like Yale is the only school that puts in action this marketing technique. However, I think that it is tacky and not that tasteful and makes the school look somewhat cheap, working off of the high school musical thing. Yet it is a smart way to grab one’s attention. It is cool that this is done by students and not done by a ton of professionals. I am sure that with all the people that come to CMU we can do something similar but better. I hope that some other schools will do something like this so that we can make fun of them.
While I don't totally agree with Robert, I mostly do. I think that it is really nice that the video was made by the students and that it is a good way to turn heads. But I think were Robert misses the mark is in how the school is portrayed. I think that even though the video is extremely cheesy it give the image of a certain charm. That all the students involved are actually very proud of their school. It will end up making a lot of kids look at yale. My only question is: when did kids stop looking at Yale? Since when did the school need to convince kids to go there. The only thing I can think of is that they are seeing a decline in applications because no one thinks they can get in. They are trying to look more friendly and less exclusive. And in that I think they are pretty successful.
While Yale surely does not want for applicants, the students that Yale wants the most will probably have a wider range of top schools to choose from, so it is still important to Yale to work to stand out. This video is the kind of thing that will definitely sway some students; lots of students are looking for an environment that's friendly and fun, and a campy musical video definitely projects that message.
I don;t know why everything has to be described in song nowadays. It seems like they are making music out of everything.I agree with Tom that they want to stand out but, this may not do the trick so well since it seems like everything is a musical now. Even still, I think that the piece of criticism found in the school newspaper was a bit harsh. They should be supportive of the others in their university.
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