@CrispyBullet : Perhaps, but marketing is likely a top down thing and whatever admissions markets is a result of whatever positive messages the university wants to push. So until recently it has been kind of confusing I suppose. Also I guess I should be using the term “showcase” instead. I’ll be the first to admit that the admissions office under Latting is far more superior and aggressive. He seems to project Emory as more “human” than before. For most of the time I was there, Emory’s admissions was pretty much as generic as others and trying to portray this “work hard play hard” story by placing emphasis on the social lives of the students it did feature. Now, there has been a shift to actually showcase what they are doing professionally and academically (and through that certain opportunities would be showcased) so it is certainly a start. At one point I thought Emory was going to go to the “grow app. pool fast” strategies doing things like dropping supplemental essays altogether or making it basically a repeat of the common app. personal statement, but it seems they are actually trying get a different type of student intellectually. However, the academic diversity attempts are going to be more difficult unless things like the QSS major and some new programs are showcased via the admissions office.
You can’t attract students in new areas of strength if they don’t know they exist. I’ve never even seen an ILA/IDS major featured and it is among the most unique and top ranked among such programs and there is nothing more that will attract a more curious mind than telling them that there is a department that basically lets them craft their own major and interdisciplinary academic pursuits. When it comes to that, my guess is that the admissions office may be as removed from all Emory has to offer as are many students applying. As in, the admissions office knows well that NBB, business, biology, nursing, and English/Creative writing are super strong programs just as applicants do. However, things like the chemistry, history major, political science, religion, environmental science, and newer programs that get lots of funding get little spotlight. I also get the feeling that many tour guides come from the cliche areas of strength so naturally will discuss those in more depth, so it’s possible something like English gets hardly ever gets no more than the “we’re top ranked for writers” pitch as opposed to anecdotal experiences with it. I know I’ve seen loads of pre-meds and STEM folks as tour-guides. Maybe an effort should be made to intentionally balance or have better talking points for programs outside of the guides’ interests. There is also the fact that special opps that target freshmen seem only get notice after a student is enrolled.
For example, I would tell prospective students that things like the Voluntary Core exists along with the fact that you can get into SIRE as a freshman (because many students always wonder if they can easily become involved in research early. At Emory, it is a resounding yes and there are programs such as SIRE that serve as a venue). It just needs to give certain programs or successful students in them, a bigger spotlight. It isn’t enough to just list it if we’re really good at it. Emory’s homepage and other outlets (including the Wheel I guess…) showcase programs and courses but naturally a student may not surf around that much on Emory’s website if interested in applying. They’ll just go straight to the admissions page. So if the admissions page isn’t featuring these things, they may very well never see or hear of it. I think it is honestly just as simple as refeaturing/ripping some of the Emory News stories on the admissions page which they have done before (like the “shaping the freshman class” one-they ripped that from an Emory magazine article) and then they dressed it up nicely as a main feature on the admissions page. They just need to do it for things that are not directly admissions related but do ultimately function as marketing or showcasing.
It likely has nothing to do with them being incompetent, in fact evidence shows otherwise. It may have more to do with them simply not thinking about this because no many other schools bother to. Again, most schools stick to flashy campus photos, statistics, specifics about applying, showcasing social opps, their city, and perhaps new construction (which is basically having the same effect as flashy campus photos). Emory’s office has dramatically improved but is ultimately doing something very similar to that with slight deviations or “Emory twists” (I am Emory was good while it lasted for example…and was cool in that it even featured incoming students at one point). If I were them, I would be hard-pressed to see what else needs to improve. Because based on what other schools do, we are now doing everything “right” (as in, finally replicating their strategies at an acceptable level).