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UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA SYMPOSIUM:
Recruiting Surprises
Michael Summers, a chemistry professor and an HHMI investigator at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, asked students attending the symposium to rank the factors that most influenced their decision on where to attend college. Even though many students are high-achievers from campuses like Xavier University and Louisiana State University, which are known for excellence in the sciences, they gave answers that were eye-opening for many faculty participants.
1. MONEY MATTERS
The chief factor that influenced students was the offer of a scholarship or other financial assistance from a college. Most students reported that a college that did not offer any financial aid was automatically moved to the “No” pile.
2. CLOSE TO HOME
Students ranked a location close to home and family as their number two concern. In contrast to traditional students, who frequently express desires to move as far away from parents as possible, students in this break-out session said they usually have family obligations or want the added security or moral support from nearby parents. They also pointed out they can always move farther away at the graduate-school stage.
3. EASIER TRANSITION
Many students said they selected a college on the basis of an on-campus experience they had had as high school students. Many had participated in summer programs which, by exposing them to the campus, college research, and courses, helped them make “instant friends” either before applying to college or before the academic year began. Students suggested that a few extra days of orientation might help URM students make an easier transition to college.
4. REPUTATION COUNTS
Finally, some students noted that certain colleges with a reputation for graduating minorities in the sciences and for placing graduates in medical or graduate school programs had caught their eye. Some had received brochures outlining the campus’s success rates or had heard positive comments from family or friends who had attended the school.
After the student session, Summers shared the comments with faculty and staff participants, who brainstormed about ways to use the information when thinking about their own recruiting efforts. One participant from a large West Coast research university said her campus has a program that allows students to move into dormitories four weeks early and to take one class for credit. Such programs, she noted, might fit a university’s schedule better and are less expensive to implement than a full summer orientation program.
Other participants noted that, if staying close to home is so important to students, refocusing recruiting efforts at surrounding high schools might help. For example, several schools have “ambassador” programs, which invite college upperclassmen to return to their high schools to share their experiences. Students said that student-to-student recruiting phone calls or visits from current students made a big impression on them.
“Some of this is about convincing one student at a time that they will be supported,” by a department or school, said Summers.
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