Admissions Visits to High Schools Cut Due to Budget Woes

[coureur]

<p>The</a> Harvard Crimson :: News :: Admit Office Slashes Travel Budget</p>

<p>Excerpt:</p>

<p>"The College’s Admissions and Financial Aid office will cut its travel budget next year by fifty percent, eliminating virtually all non-local high school visits, Dean of Admissions William R. Fitzsimmons ’67 said in an interview yesterday. </p>

<p>The scale-down—the admissions office’s response to a Faculty of Arts and Sciences-mandated budget cut of 15 percent for all units—comes two years after Harvard announced an end to its Early Admissions program. At the time, Fitzsimmons stressed the office’s commitment to increasing outreach and recruitment efforts for underrepresented groups, given the opening in the admissions timetable. </p>

<p>Fitzsimmons said that admissions officers will now be occupying their time with e-mailing and telephoning prospective applicants identified by the College Board, rather than traveling."</p>

[tokenadult]

<p>

@Harvard Crimson

Fitzsimmons said that joint travel trips—attended by larger numbers of students, parents, and counselors—have proven more effective in attracting prospective applicants. He added that Harvard will continue to visit 127 cities with along with Georgetown, the University of Pennsylvania, Duke, and Stanford.

</p>

<p>So the programs Exploring College Options </p>

<p>[Exploring</a> College Options](<a href=“http://exploringcollegeoptions.org/]Exploring”>http://exploringcollegeoptions.org/) </p>

<p>and the joint visits with Princeton and Virginia </p>

<p>[University</a> of Virginia, Harvard, & Princeton Admission Presentations](<a href=“Bus Accident Lawyer - School Bus Accident Attorney”>http://harvardprincetonuva.com/) </p>

<p>[Talent</a> scouts — The Harvard University Gazette](<a href=“http://www.hno.harvard.edu/gazette/2007/12.06/99-admissions.html]Talent”>http://www.hno.harvard.edu/gazette/2007/12.06/99-admissions.html) </p>

<p>are still on. </p>

<p>That sounds to me like they are striking the right balance in recruiting.</p>

[Hanna]

<p>Hm, I wonder if they’ll be asking alumni to do more of these high school visits now.</p>

[squaregirl]

<p>As long as they’re cutting something other than financial aid, I’m good. I trust Fitzy and the gang, heh. And as long as they’re still working in conjecture with other schools to increase outreach, I think they’ll still be good. I mean, it is HARVARD, after all.</p>

[xSteven]

<p>Yeah, um, for some reason I doubt that Harvard really has to do a lot of advertising to get people to apply.</p>

[tokenadult]

<p>

for some reason I doubt that Harvard really has to do a lot of advertising to get people to apply

</p>

<p>Harvard doesn’t rest on its laurels. </p>

<p>[Online</a> Extra: How Harvard Gets its Best and Brightest](<a href=“Bloomberg Businessweek - Bloomberg”>Bloomberg Businessweek - Bloomberg)</p>

[xSteven]

<p>I’m sure their international visiting helps a ton, but I doubt a flimsy viewbook will really sway someone who really is qualified. :o</p>

[squaregirl]

<p>@xSteven - Exactly. :)</p>

[coureur]

<br>

@""

<blockquote>
<p>Yeah, um, for some reason I doubt that Harvard really has to do a lot of advertising to get people to apply.<<</p>
</blockquote>

<br>

<p>Getting a lot of people to apply has never been a problem for Harvard. What the outreach efforts, including the high school visits, were aimed at is finding the hidden diamond - the kid, the unusual case, perhaps an underprivileged kid, who is very smart and talented and would be a great addition to Harvard but normally would never think to apply to Harvard because it just didn’t seem within reach.</p>