<p>D1 attends Ohio State so we are familiar with alumni loyalty. Recently S and I visited a (state flagship public) university that mentioned alumni satisfaction during the admissions overview. They said their alumni scored very high in an independent survey that asked a question like, If you had to do it over again, would you choose the same college and major?
After returning home, we started noticing car window decals, bumper stickers, and t-shirts from the school (which is hundreds of miles away in another state.) We even saw the school symbol on earrings worn by a lab director during a tour at a Nashville university. When I asked her about them, she told us she and her husband met there, worked there, and loved the school but the opportunity to be a lab director was too good to pass up.
So, I ask you CC parents: What are your thoughts on alumni pride and enthusiasm?</p>
<p>I think it tells you something about the school. Especially if it is not confined to support of big-time sports teams.</p>
<p>I think big-time sports teams increase alumni pride and enthusiasm.
The big state school I went to did NOT have a focus on sports. And there was zero school pride. Really.
The students my son’s school show incredible pride…yes, a good part of is rallying around the fb team. But who cares? It’s fun and it encourages lasting connections to the school. I’m always amazed when I go to the games, elderly couples holding hands, guys older than JoPa with walkers.
That said, some kids hate a “rah-rah” type of atmosphere and have little interest in sports. So it depends on the personality and goals of each individual. Me? I think I missed on on something…</p>
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What are your thoughts on alumni pride and enthusiasm?
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I would like my son to become a proud, enthusiastic alumnus. :)</p>
<p>We toured several colleges on the proverbial road trip last year. At one of those colleges, one of the moms heard that Mudd was on geek_son’s list. She mentioned that a friend of hers had graduated from Mudd (quite some time ago) and asked if he’d like to chat with her. Well, sure! I gave the mom his email address and forgot all about it.</p>
<p>A few weeks later, he received an email message from a woman telling all about her experience at Mudd and how much she had enjoyed it. She agreed to meet us for lunch (total strangers, once removed) and we chatted for nearly two hours. She answered a ton of questions and volunteered more details about her experience – the education she gained, the help she had when she needed it, the friends she made – and urged him to apply.</p>
<p>Forget big-time sports mascots – That was enthusiasm. I hope that my son’s undergrad experience will be so wonderful that twenty years after he graduates he’ll be sitting at a lunch counter telling some high school kid how great his college is.</p>
<p>I have observed that Dartmouth alumni are unusually devoted. Although it is certainly a somewhat sporty/outdoorsy school, that has little or nothing to do with the enthusiasm of most grads I know. There is simply a lot of school spirit.</p>
<p>I agree with Consolation about schools that have strong alumni loyalty even with the lack of strong sports teams. To me it means there were opportunities for everyone around campus to get involved as a participant in activities that were important to them, the education was superb, or there’s just a really strong sense of school pride for all the other things that can happen at college.</p>
<p>One of my brothers went to a large sports school and while he wasn’t that fond of the education he got he’s a die-hard sports fan for their team. I went to a small DIII school, went to maybe two football games, but absolutely loved my time there and am now involved as an alumni interviewer trying to get students to attend.</p>
<p>I think that UCONN’s alumni are fiercely loyal-there are 3 in my family. And it doesn’t seem to be all about sports either, it is also about the academics & what they offer. </p>
<p>I am a Syracuse alum & many of my conversations involve Newhouse School & other schools within SU. It is fun to talk about football & basketball, but it isn’t the main focus. D1, the UCONN alum, says that I “bleed orange”, but I am not THAT bad.</p>
<p>Right now my thoughts are not very positive. I’m a Cornell alum (and parent of a Cornell student), and my college is in the doghouse because a computer security breach accidentally exposed 45,000 people (including my daughter) to identity theft. Let’s just say that I’m not overly motivated to make my usual annual contribution to my alma mater at the moment.</p>
<p>I have no school spirit. I am a Douglas College alum and my college no longer exists because Rutgers put it out of existence. I’m really quite sad about that as I had hoped that my daughters would attend there. Now it is merely a residential campus and no longer a college.</p>
<p>Princeton has amazing alumni loyalty. As an undergrad you are steeped in the traditions of the school, and as a graduating senior you are still on campus for Reunions, where you participate in the P-rade and cheer on your elders as they all march past in their wacky orange and black jackets. It’s an experience like no other, and all that school spirit results in a huge level of alumni giving.</p>
<p>I am a rah-rah type, so I look favorably on alumni pride, be it toward an athletic program or an academic one. Three of us just visited a school known for its pride and traditions, and I left favorably impressed. I will say that I don’t like when pride for one’s school takes the form of disrepect toward another. Comes across as parochial, not proud.</p>
<p>Go Blue!!</p>
<p>…</p>
<p>At one of the schools I was looking at, a neighbor whom I hardly knew turned out to be an alumnus of the school and was so enthusiastic about it, even offering to write a recommendation (without prompt). And then another family friend who also turned out to be an alumnus did write me a recommendation. The enthusiasm of the alumnae definitely helped sell me on the school. And this is not a school with big time athletics, rather far from it actually.</p>
<p>The state u’s that Dh and I and now our kids attend have lots of school spirit. I would say a big part of that is associated with the big football games,ESPN coming to campus, thousands of alumni pouring in on game day, tailgating,etc. </p>
<p>It also may be connected with how the college town relates to the college. At my (and now S2’s) sch.,the town and university are really entwined. The town fire trucks are not red. They are painted the university’s colors. The Taco Bell is sch. colors. The Wal-Mart has a whole section of the univ. parephenalia. I think it makes the kids proud of their sch. and you keep that feeling even after you’ve been gone for many years.</p>
<p>This is an interesting question. UChicago is not known for having a vocal alumni or much rah rah of any kind, but in surveys asking would you do it over again nearly 90% say yes.</p>
<p>I would think that schools that tend to attract rah-rah people would tend to have more effusive alumni loyalty . . . that’s somewhat self-selecting.</p>
<p>Outward spirit also may be a misleading measure. My wife’s small women’s LAC has very alumni loyalty, although you’d be hard pressed to find them to be as demonstratively pro-school as, say, Ohio State.</p>
<p>And I love my school, although I hardly ever wear the banana slug tie.</p>
<p>I understand what you mean about rah rah people choosing the school but there has to be more to it. D1 is an introvert’s introvert who chose OSU for linguistics. Yet when she travels, she frequently wears an Ohio State shirt. I’m not sure why. She hates talking to strangers!</p>
<p>Data loss happens - it’s part of our modern world. Boston College had one of these many years ago. One of the companies that they had contracted for soliciting contributions had a security breach (there’s no evidence that the hacker took or used the data). This happens all over the place. TJ Maxx had the problem of weak router encryption. Fidelity Investments suffered a laptop theft.</p>
<p>It is very hard to get staff to understand the seriousness of data issues and it isn’t possible to explain the threats technically.</p>
<p>If you love your school after you graduate, chances are you had a good experience there and that you are satisfied with your post-college opportunities and experiences that are directly or indirectly related to there.</p>
<p>I loved my LAC. I had a blast there. Whenever someone asks me about it I enthusiastically launch into an impromptu presentation about it. I have tons of merchandise (and I want more) and I wear it proudly. And I’m saving up so I can give a nice-sized gift on my 5th reunion year, as is our tradition, even though I’m only in graduate school. This has nothing to do with sports, as I went to a DIII women’s college.</p>
<p>I’m like geek_mom’s son’s stranger-friend. If someone asked for information about my alma mater, I will send them an essay detailing my experience and how much I loved it. If they want, I will meet them for lunch and chat with them about it – I have DONE it before. I do it for my lovely graduate school, too, except their paraphernalia is more expensive :D</p>
<p>I"m with you Juillet. D3 Womens college and there’s no more loyal alum than I am. I play powerball here on occasion and always say that if I won I’d donate a dorm or scholarship to my college. Choosing it at the ripe old age of 17 was far and away one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I’m wearing a school tee shirt as we speak!</p>