<p>anxiousmom, I certainly agree and would think that many adcoms would also take a closer look at different high schools and student background since that is supposed to be one of the hallmarks of holistic admissions. Yet, known feeder schools undoubtedly make it easier for adcoms to assess the value and rigor of the courses and the grades since it does appear that time and again GPA and standardized test scores come first in the evaluation process. I wonder if Oberlin will take a more flexible view of high school zip code zoning, as the college attempts to become better known and to cast its net wider to attract a larger applicant pool:</p>
<p>"Fearless Campaign Dissected : Edwards Designs View Book for Admissions"</p>
<p>"A striking new change in the Colleges admissions marketing campaign has invoked a student dialogue throughout campus. As a part of the Strategic Plan, the shift adopts the bold word fearless, replacing the previous catchphrase, Think one person can change the world? So do we.</p>
<p>Across campus, students are fearful that this development will alter the liberal landscape, innovative thought and creative spirit that defines Oberlin by attracting a different type of student who may not be as individualistic to think that one person can change the world.</p>
<p>We can understand the attachment, said Dean of College Admissions Debra Chermonte. We were very attached to it, and we still are This [new motto] doesnt mean that we dont embrace that [previous] philosophy. </p>
<p>Fearless is the creation of marketing consultant Mark Edwards, managing partner of the Boston-area firm Edwards & Company. While the Review has covered the change, this article will look at the goals of the Office of Admissions motivating the new campaign and the results of the work Edwards has done at various other institutions comparable to Oberlin in size and scope.</p>
<p>In his Sept. visit to campus, Edwards said, What happens too frequently is that Oberlin gets skipped over one of the challenges is making the place more well-known.</p>
<p>According to Edwards, making the institution more well known lies in an effective marketing approach that can compete at the same level with hundreds of other schools. He redesigned the Colleges student recruitment materials: the new view book features a black-on-black cover with bright colors inside, a strong statement made in order to attract the attention of prospective students who are browsing through stacks of brochures.</p>
<p>While some students expressed concern over the general appearance of the Colleges new view book that it was perhaps too strong of a statement Edwards brought an important point to light: These materials are meant for a younger audience.</p>
<p>The view book is targeted at 17-year-olds, he said.</p>
<p>Along with the full-length view book, the Office of Admissions has also started to distribute what it calls a travel piece. With similar design elements, this brochure folds out to reveal important facts and figures about Oberlin that prospective students would find relevant. </p>
<p>The view book is meant to begin a conversation and a relationship [its] not meant to tell everything there is to tell about Oberlin, according to Chermonte.</p>
<p>Its trying to offer [prospective students] something that will make them interested in Oberlin, said Vice President for College Relations Al Moran.</p>
<p>What the Office of Admissions has recently found is that students looking at various colleges today often depend heavily on the Internet as a resource. </p>
<p>All the pieces that were producing [are] designed to have people come to the web, said Moran of the site, oberlin.edu/fearless.</p>
<p>Miami-based agency Dotmarketing, Inc., which specializes in web-based solutions, is implementing the first part of a three-phase plan in strengthening the Colleges website. Known as the discovery phase, the purpose is to evaluate the current website and to conduct research concerning what prospective students and parents look for; this should be completed by mid-December.</p>
<p>After collecting this information, Dotmarketing, Inc. will combine their results with the research that Edwards has done, brainstorming recommendations to improve the website near the end of January. Phase three, which Moran predicts will take approximately a year, will be to make all those changes and launch an entirely new website.</p>
<p>Before Think one person can change the world? So do we, there was A place to thrive. Oberlins most recent student recruitment materials had been in place for eight admissions cycles, already twice the average life span, since typically, colleges would revamp their images after four or five years, according to Chermonte. After almost a decade, a change was needed to put Oberlin on competitive footing with other schools in the market.</p>
<p>According to the Office, the idea of one person changing the world is no longer innovative, as a number of other schools have adopted similar catchphrases.</p>
<p>There were so many takes on that message it just wasnt unique [anymore], said Senior Associate Director of Admissions Leslie A. Braat.</p>
<p>Right now, the College is in its prime recruiting season. The admissions staff has traveled across the country and around the world with the new Edwards-approved brochures.</p>
<p>Braat has been to college fairs and given a number of presentations, where other admissions representatives have praised Oberlins bold new endeavor, and students have been reeled in by the glossy publication...</p>
<p>Edwards Finds Success at Other Schools</p>
<p>Last Sept., Edwards mused about what prestige meant. He felt it was best explained by a student who once told him that it was the look on your friends face when you tell them where youre going [to a certain college].</p>
<p>Fifteen years ago, Oberlin was ranked as 14th among liberal arts colleges nationwide in the 1991 edition of U.S. News and World Reports Americas Best Colleges; the most recent 2007 edition places the College at 22nd.</p>
<p>In 1991, Grinnell was ranked two below Oberlin, but has now settled ahead by eight notches. Harvey Mudd, under the Claremont Colleges umbrella with Claremont McKenna, Pitzer, Pomona and Scripps Colleges, was not even included in the 1991 rankings, however, the school now places at 14th. </p>
<p>If, in fact, one of the Colleges goals is to climb the numbers for a higher ranking, therefore earning greater prestige, then implementing an effective marketing strategy is key.</p>
<p>The Edwards and Co. website says, If you are interested in affecting real and positive change for your institution, we encourage you to contact us. As agents of change, Edwards firm has also worked with an impressive list of schools including peer institutions Hobart and William Smith, Macalester, Grinnell and Carleton Colleges, Wesleyan and Harvard Universities, as well as Massachusetts Institute of Technology...</p>
<p>However, it seems that the research Edwards conducts at every college results in very similar results: the given school, while excellent in academics, the arts and student life, is not as well-known as it should be. In addition, all these schools mentioned above have similar goals of attracting a larger pool of prospective students, standing out among other liberal arts colleges, becoming more of a household name and moving aggressively onto the Internet.</p>
<p>In addition, the materials that Edwards revises for each institution show strong similarities in design. While this may be in part attributed to a personal design philosophy, Edwards seems to have found a fail-proof marketing strategy that can be tweaked for every school. At Skidmore, in the first year alone, website hits tripled and at HWS and Wesleyan, admissions statistics have improved significantly.</p>
<p>But maybe a marketing consultant who throws around numbers and compiles statistics can still understand the Oberlin experience.</p>
<p>I dont think theres another school like Oberlin anywhere. I think its a very unique and distinctive place, said Edwards."</p>
<p>Oberlin is not going away and a marketing campaign or a new president or a new board of trustees will not change who and what we are, said Moran."</p>