<p>Yes, this thread has gone off topic a little bit, but like many good Chicago discussions, it’s fine for the flow of conversation to meander.</p>
<p>JHS - You’re right about CHA, it is pretty anti-intellectual, and quite small. I was just throwing it in there as an Inter-ac school, I should have picked the schools more carefully. You’re right about the specific inter-ac schools Chicago should focus on more. It’s an uphill battle because Penn dominates on its home turf, but again, Chicago should be fighting this battle whereever there are large concentrations of top students. (I personally think it should focus a lot on areas like the southwest and southeast, instead of the mid-atlantic and east coast, which is uber-saturated with top-flight schools and has a very rooted population). </p>
<p>In terms of the situation in Chicago, yes Northwestern is a great university, and this will take away from Chicago dominating (in the way that UPenn does) on its home turf, but the bigger problem is, at least when I was at Chicago, the U of C has a very poor perception amongst top high schoolers in the area. Again, when I was there, Chicago was always “that weird school on the south side.” Sure, NU caters to a broader range of students and should get the generic top students in the region, but Chicago should at least be giving it a bit more competition. As of now, the top students are attracted to NU, a flagship state school’s honors programs, the ivies on the east coast, or Stanford and maybe Berkeley on the west coast. Chicago just isn’t really in the mix.</p>
<p>Hyeonjlee - I think you bring up a good idea. Lots of Chicago students don’t do much in late august or early september, so have them do a little work for the school’s behalf. Especially recent HS grads know their high schools well, so they could serve as great proponents of the school. I don’t know what the regulations are for this, but maybe have the U of C sponsor some lunches or coffees, and the PSAC volunteer could encourage the high school students to come back and meet with an actual admissions rep, who should be visiting just a few weeks later. If you could get maybe 6-8 highschoolers from each school come out for a coffee or lunch, maybe around half these students would decide to apply. If done at in an extensive manner, it’s certainly not a bad way to get a few hundred more QUALITY applications, all with very little work done by actual admissions counselors. </p>
<p>Now in terms of other specific tools that could help out:</p>
<p>1.) In a way, Chicago’s admissions strategies have always been quite distinct. They focus first on creating that thoughtful picture of the school. This is great, but can be modulated. I was struck, by example, when I visited Yale’s admissions office - the first thing I saw when I walked in were a couple of big rowing oars and a flat screen tv with a video of famous yale grads talking about how happy they were to be back at Yale (with alums who were Presidents serving prominently in the video). It seemed more like a video of a club than an academic institution. </p>
<p>While I don’t think Chicago should go that far, the admissions office as I remember it was a room with a lot of bookshelves holding course catalogs, maybe some notes about nobel prize winners, and some copies of the Chicago Maroon. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, parents (as one poster mentioned) who do not recognize Chicago’s “prestige” need to be convinced otherwise. So, do so. Have quotes around from Barack Obama or Michelle Obama. There is very little talk in the brochures (outside of maybe a shout-out to second city) about what a range of Chicago grads do. Have info on the Chicago grads that created the Xbox phenomenon known as Halo, from Axelrod, Mosley-Braun, whatever. Most parents, like it or not, are more concerned with their offspring’s chance of success, not necessarily his knowledge of Plato. Through video or otherwise, create that link between Chicago and power/success/innovativeness. Prestige is a perception. </p>
<p>Expand the mass mailings, create book prizes at top high schools, expand the outreach efforts. Right now, I think Chicago travels in conjunction with a bunch of schools - Rice, Columbia, and Brown. This is great, but Chicago should also travel alone or with one other school (maybe joint talks with schools prominent in the area - such as Duke in the southeast, Stanford on the west coast, etc.), in an effort to get its name out there. </p>
<p>A little known fact about Penn admissions marketing, actually, is I think a little while ago, the old dean decided to have Penn travel with two schools with much more pronounced national recognition - Harvard and Georgetown. This greatly helped Penn - a school that struggled considerably with recognition in the past - increase its brand in areas that don’t serve as traditional feeder regions. Chicago, at least initially, should follow suit.</p>
<p>In short, if Zimmer wants to ramp up admissions and selectivity - and all his comments indicate that he does - he needs to invest more in the admissions office. They’ll need more resources, perhaps more admissions officers, and a broader outreach program. Its necessary for Chicago to not let talent slip away, and to continually attract the types of students it wants to attract.</p>
because the overall profile of Chicago is lower than it should be. </p>