<p>I have been looking at quite a few college websites and I really like the Dickinson College website - especially this page: the custom academic viewbook. </p>
<p>The Boston College website is also a great user-friendly resource - replete with easily found and fully spelled out application tips designed to cut through any possible confusion or questions. There are also well-mapped out "Admissions Process" resource pages for both U.S. and international undergraduate applicants and their parents - the applicant tips are worth the read even if for those "not looking" at BC.</p>
<p>Selecting the Class
<a href="http://www.bc.edu/admission/undergrad/process/selecting.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.bc.edu/admission/undergrad/process/selecting.html</a></p>
<p>Applying Early Action & the SAT Subject Tests
<a href="http://www.bc.edu/admission/undergrad/process/tips/s-sat2.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.bc.edu/admission/undergrad/process/tips/s-sat2.html</a></p>
<p>Presenting Your Case:
using your application to put your individuality in focus
<a href="http://www.bc.edu/admission/undergrad/process/tips/s-presentingcase.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.bc.edu/admission/undergrad/process/tips/s-presentingcase.html</a></p>
<p>Also on the Dickinson College site is a simple and quick approach to "College Planning Made Simple" 1. Know Yourself 2. Know How Colleges Match Your Personality And Needs 3. Know How To Distinguish Yourself In The Applicant Pool and 4. Final Thoughts </p>
<p><a href="http://www.dickinson.edu/tips/planning/%5B/url%5D">http://www.dickinson.edu/tips/planning/</a></p>
<p>I was also looking at Northeastern - the Northeastern University Parent Message Board "Parent's Corner" looks like a great resource fielding questions that range from where to rent a fridge to problems adjusting to college and dorm life.</p>
<p>Berkeley's Caltube makes great use of You Tube video clips:</p>
<p>A good friend of my S is now a freshman at Muhlenberg College - she found a lot of great user-friendly help on the Muhlenberg College Admission website - that, and a great financial aid offer, sealed the deal for her.</p>
<p>The Real Deal on Financial Aid</p>
<p>The FAQ page has lots of links to really help answer or find the answer to all those things parent or student might want to know but don't always ask directly. The links to the Office of Financial Aid are quite good and the information both informative and entertaining.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.muhlenberg.edu/admissions/faq.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.muhlenberg.edu/admissions/faq.html</a>
<a href="http://www.muhlenberg.edu/finaid/index.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.muhlenberg.edu/finaid/index.html</a></p>
<p>as is the page for international students: </p>
<p>I also really like Mt. Holyoke's virtual College Tour - it is both fun and easy to navigate and it gave me a real sense of immediacy and - all in all, factoring in the inherent PR nature of all of this, it comes off as a vibrant and informative introduction to the Mount Holyoke College community.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.mtholyoke.edu/cic/tour/index.php%5B/url%5D">http://www.mtholyoke.edu/cic/tour/index.php</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/majors.shtml%5B/url%5D">http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/majors.shtml</a></p>
<p>First Year Curriculum Guide
<a href="http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/firstyear/%5B/url%5D">http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/firstyear/</a></p>
<p>Inside Higher Ed article "Facelifts for the Facebook Generation" has got it right - these days "Web sites arent about throwing some text and pictures onto a page anymore." </p>
<p>
[quote]
They can be demanding, this new cohort, and in the ever-intensifying marketing contest to attract the most qualified applicants, universities are turning to one of their most effective recruiting tools: their Web sites, often the first stop for those shopping for colleges and usually tailored for those off campus, not on it.</p>
<p>I think that design is increasingly important, said Steven B. Lewis, the treasurer of a group of Web professionals in higher education called HighEdWeb and the Web manager at the State University of New York at Brockport. Universities, he noted, are realizing that the Web is a primary marketing tool....</p>
<p>...more recent redesigns suggest that when institutions go back to the drawing board, the entire process is informed by a more all-encompassing conceptual framework that views site visitors as content creators, values user input and emphasizes showing over telling.</p>
<p>In short, Web designers in higher education are starting to embrace the grab bag of technologies loosely referred to as Web 2.0, a realm in which streaming media are readily available, people can share or remix content and communication is always a two-way street.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Last year, I sent an email to one of the Admissions Counselors at Penn State basically saying I liked the website itself, but the font size on the Admissions website was too small for 40-50 year old eyes. This year, there's bigger font!</p>
<p><a href="http://admissions.psu.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://admissions.psu.edu/</a></p>
<p>Good for you, SpringfieldMom! The new font size you inspired works for me.</p>
<p>Another Inside Higher Ed article on all this "The Facebook Style in Finding Applicants" on the latest trends at the NACAC and the PR value of user-friendly, interactive, approaches for enrollment management.</p>
<p>
[quote]
At the annual meeting of the National Association for College Admission Counseling, companies helping to design the perfect viewbook are much rarer these days, while companies helping colleges IM with applicants or redesign their Web sites are much more evident.../quote]</p>
<p>Colby's parallel websites provide good examples of some of the new trends. They have a traditional admissions website:</p>
<p>But students who make contact with the college are directed to a parallel universe, "insideColby" where the content is largely student generated, definitely hipper, and aimed at giving prospective students a sense of the institution:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.insidecolby.com/index.php%5B/url%5D">http://www.insidecolby.com/index.php</a></p>
<p>insideColby includes traditional stories, but also blogs, podcasts, profiles of students, a link to contact a Colby student where you can read a short profile of a dozen students and then e-mail the one who seems most simpatico, MySpace-style photo albums, and more.</p>
<p>Two factors in a good college website- appearance and content. The above posters are talking about the WOW factor for content, I wish some (many) schools would just get up to average. I find the organization and bright red color print of UW-Madison much easier to navigate than some who use ordinary typewritten appearing black wording, especially underlined or boxed in (those lines always seem totally unnecessary and distracting, don't they know how to vary their fonts?). I also have discovered an amazing amount of material by pursuing subsites and links (especially nice since I am one of the mothers-of-sons club members- no info from him!). With universities having a computer science dept you expect more than posting the typed pages someone handed in... Another downer is schools that don't utilize the whole screen, using gray bars as in TV mismatched 3:4/9:16 formats, and home pages where you can't find the academic calendar link, campus maps or other stranger friendly links. Good organization can go a long way in promoting a school. Each school has its own flavor, so I don't expect all to use the same format, but unfortunately for some the website gives a dull, disorganized, uninviting impression of the school.</p>
<p>Good points. These days it is quite safe to say that the "wow" factor is a happy combination of appearance, content, and, of course, ease of navigation. Nothing more off-putting than having to wade through dense layers of web pages chasing links that lead to yet other links only to dredge up rather sparse information.</p>
<p>I think that Stony Brook University deserves a mention for a site that is both visually appealing on the "wow" scale with a wide range of multi-media options on the undergraduate admissions page that really gives good, easily accessible info.prospies are on the look-out for. Then, for those question that still need to be asked (burning or not) their virtual adviser does a pretty good job at generating answers that actually make sense. Someone who knows the campus well might comment on just how well the site communicates SB's "flavor".</p>
<p><a href="http://sunysb.askadmissions.net/sunysb/aeresults.aspx%5B/url%5D">http://sunysb.askadmissions.net/sunysb/aeresults.aspx</a> </p>
<p><a href="http://www.stonybrook.edu/ugadmissions/%5B/url%5D">http://www.stonybrook.edu/ugadmissions/</a></p>
<p>Thanks MM88 for calling attention to the Muhlenberg College’s “Real Deal on Financial Aid” web page on another thread - it really is a great resource page.</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?p=4785340#post4785340[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?p=4785340#post4785340</a></p>
<p>Another set of web pages I find to be written with great sensitivity and wit offer another kind of helpful resource for any student facing the transition from freshman (with all the support and not to mention organized fun and games that have come to be associated with the freshman experience) to sophomore is Beloit’s “Sophomore Year Initiative”. Information via links are provided for study abroad, career advising, as well as tips and advice on how to simply just hang in there:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.beloit.edu/~syi/welcome_back.php[/url]”>http://www.beloit.edu/~syi/welcome_back.php</a></p>
<p>More friendly advice, this time from the Skidmore site:</p>
<p>Ten Tips for a Successful College Interview</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.skidmore.edu/admissions/inquire/interview.htm[/url]”>http://www.skidmore.edu/admissions/inquire/interview.htm</a></p>
<p>These days it is folly not to recognition that “the Web has become an important resource for any academic institution; whether the goal is to increase enrollment, raise additional funds from alumni, or increase administrative efficiency, the Web can be the best tool available if properly utilized.” In this vein, Earlham College recently revamped its website and kindly provides a “how to use this site” page for those who need help to navigate the vast and often rambling cyber spaces of these sites, as well as to merely figure out where to point and click in order to get the most out of all those extra IT features and gizmos, such as Earlham’s Newsplayer.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.earlham.edu/content/how_to_use.html#NewsPlayer[/url]”>http://www.earlham.edu/content/how_to_use.html#NewsPlayer</a></p>
<p>According to a new report from the National Research Center for College and University Admissions, “the vast majority of college admissions web sites are lacking key features needed to attract prospective students of the internet generation.”
nth.
“College admissions web sites found lacking”</p>
<p>
</li>
</ol>
<p><a href=“http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStory.cfm?ArticleID=7439[/url]”>http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStory.cfm?ArticleID=7439</a></p>
<p>The above list shows that the quality of the institution is not related to its website ranking. Maybe lesser colleges try harder to market themselves?</p>
<p>I like the Brown site.</p>
<p>Some of the websites already mentioned blunder in easy-to-apply usability guidelines. </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20030825.html[/url]”>http://www.useit.com/alertbox/20030825.html</a> </p>
<p><a href=“http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9605.html[/url]”>http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9605.html</a></p>