Arenberg 1

The College Choice

Bailey Arenberg
Independent Research II GT
June 3, 2016
Advisors: Caren Hoffman and Heidi Reigel
Instructor: E. Leila Chawkat

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Abstract
The college choice is a difficult process. A student must consider innumerable
factors such as cost, location, programs. But what if there was a tool to somewhat ease
the pressure-packed decision of selecting a college? Social media can be that tool. Social
media can allow a student to experience a campus environment without actually visiting
the campus in person.
What are students like on campus? How can questions be answered with the snap
of fingers? What opportunities does a university allow to flourish? All of these questions
and many more can be answered through the facilitation of the college selection process
with social media.
This paper will uncover at what points throughout the college selection process
students utilize social media, as well as how frequently students turn to social media as a
tool for college selection. With tools such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram in the
palm of millions of college-bound students hands, the possibilities these new
technological resources create are endless. But how can students, parents, faculty, and
even colleges themselves effectively use these technologies in the future? This paper will
explore the untapped potential of social media and the college choice.

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Introduction
College. Higher education. Career opportunities. Momentous decision. Social
media? How does social media relate to choosing a college? Liking puppy pictures on
Instagram is one thing, but how can social media help when selecting a college?
Social media has more substance than one may think. Students, parents, teachers,
and colleges can all communicate with the ease of never making a phone call or visiting
an office. With all of the important factors to consider when selecting a college, social
media presents a platform where concerns can be discussed and handled. Social media
allows for instant communication, whether at non-business hours or halfway around the
world.
This paper will seek to help the reader to understand the difficult decisions
prospective college students face, evaluate previously conducted studies and articles,
conduct and analyze an independent survey about the role of social media in college
selection, and encourage future college choices in a less stressful and more resourceful
fashion.
Review of Literature
Regardless of intelligence, background, or confidence, choosing which college to
attend can be a daunting task for all. What once may have been a simple choice, to attend
school in your local region, now has expanded to universities on a global setting. Despite
increased access to resources, information, and technology, the college decisions process
is an overwhelming series of events. Students not only have to consider loans, debt,
majors, and degrees, but also must plunge into a decision that will affect them for the rest
of their lives. With this increased pressure, comes an increased need to provide resources

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that can benefit and inform students, their families, and their supporting school staff
members during the trying times of the college application and decision process.
Three major factors seem to be prominent when a student is deciding where to
attend college: cost, reputation, and incentives. Cost can entail anything from tuition fees
and room and board to the amount of debt a student may incur prior to graduation.
According to Robert Morse of U.S. News & World Report, who was interpreting a survey
conducted by the University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA), The cost of attending
this college was in fourth place as a reason for attendance and was cited by 45.9 percent
of students, the highest in the 10 years the survey has measured it. Especially in modern
times, students fear the insurmountable debts that can arise from expensive college
expenditures.
While cost is an integral factor, reputation seems to surpass cost, according to
Morse. Reputation relates to the overall prestige and how the public, especially future
employers, perceive the university. Morse writes, [] the No. 1 factor students in the
survey cited as influencing their school choice was a college's good academic
reputation. The percentage of students who considered a good academic reputation a
significant factor was 64% (Morse, 2014). Additionally, students will be more inclined to
select a university based on the opportunities the school provides through its reputation
and networking capabilities. Valerie Strauss of the Washington Post cited Michael S.
Roth, president of Wesleyan University, stating, Many students today seem to think they
should pick the university at which they will acquire the credential that will land them the
most highly paid job. Students want to feel secure about their financial and educational
decisions. Selecting based upon prestige and opportunities can increase this sense of
confidence for the future.

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Incentives also play a large role in a students decision on where to attend college.
Incentives can include anything from financial aid, scholarships, athletic opportunities,
and academic opportunities/programs. A major factor in determining where to attend
school is whether the school made the cost of tuition more affordable to the student,
Morse implies. 48.7% of students in the UCLA survey, discussed by Morse, reported
being offered financial assistance, which ultimately contributed to their decision to attend
the college that they selected (Morse, 2014). Incentives also attribute to overall feelings
of security by the student and may persuade the student to attend one school if the other
does not offer the same activities or perks.
While all of these factors play a pivotal role in the culminating college decision,
what if a student cannot visit the college in person? What if the student has unanswered
questions about the programs offered at the school or campus life? What if the student is
unsure if the university will be a good fit for them? This is where the use of social media
comes into play. With the increased pressures of college admission, students can relay
their quandaries to an alternative medium, which can provide the answers and
information that hopeful students are desperately seeking.
Students who cannot attend college tours or even visit schools face a unique
predicament. Jackson Barnett was one of those students, according to Laura Stampler of
Time Magazine. He recalled, One of the most challenging parts of the admissions
process was not getting to see all the colleges I was applying to, [] (Stampler, 2015).
Social media can provide an alternative to an in person campus experience. While social
media may not fully be able to replace or even supplement the on-site tour, it may come
extremely close or even exceed a tour in other ways.
Social media allows the student to access multiple perspectives about a university,
instead of a tour guide, who either is scripted or only voices their own opinion. Stampler

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interviewed another student, Isabel Song, who stated, Ive noticed that weve all been
using Instagram to see the authentic side of the college, beyond the pretty, glossy
brochures []. Social media can allow a student to view multiple opinions of a school
and opinions that are often more authentic from both student and college accounts.
Vast amounts of students turn to social media when researching schools. Ryan
Lytle, contributor to U.S. News & World Report, conveyed in his article that, [] 68
percent of respondents noted that they used social media to research schools. Of this
68%, Lytle notes that roughly 55% used Facebook to research schools, with some even
using Facebook before the traditional search engine, Google. This trend depicts the evergrowing social media presence. His article was published in 2012, which can only lead to
the assumption that as technology and the presence of social media has continued to grow
in the past four years, a greater number of students turn to social media now more than
ever when selecting a college. When respondents to the survey were asked whether
schools should have a social media presence, an astounding 66% reported yes.
Additionally, 45% of respondents reporting that a schools presence on social media
platforms influenced their overall college decisions experience (Lytle, 2012).
In addition, 38% of respondents to a survey Lytle cites in his article report using
social media when selecting a college. Fast forward to 2015, when according to Stampler,
roughly three fourths of teenagers use Instagram, not to mention countless other social
media sites. The number of studies indicating increased use of social media for college
research purposes has probably increased drastically along with the increased user
interface of social media. According to Pidaparthy and a Dartmouth study, 100%
universities participating in the study confirmed that they use social media when
communicating with students compared to roughly 60% in 2007. This is also a drastic

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jump signifying the increase in technological dependence and use of social media among
universities themselves.
The interview with Heidi Reigel (see Appendix A), Director of Admissions at
McDaniel College, validates information extracted from other sources depicting social
media as a growing presence in the process of selecting a college. She believes that social
media is an excellent way to promote interest in a school as it allows the student to
develop a more authentic view of campus and university life (Reigel). However, like
Laura Stamplers Time Magazine article suggests, Reigel believes that many students do
not turn to social media to evaluate or validate college selection until after they have been
admitted to the university. For one student at Lehigh University this was the case, as
With one tweet, she [the prospective student] was connected and engaging with
members of the Lehigh community who were able to give her a sense of what the
university might have to offer her (Weaver, 2015). Social media allows for quick
answers to ever-sprouting questions, along with opportunities for relationship building
between prospective students, current students, staff, and alumni.
However, some schools may avoid a social media presence, repelling student who
value a social media presence. Some schools may send out little information that actually
influences or interests a perspective student, such as come visit the campus mail, as
Shaws article about why students do not think college social media is effective suggests.
Therefore, students do not follow the college on social media, as it is not pertinent to
them. Oppositely, some schools may not use social media at all to appeal to students or it
is updated infrequently, as Pidaparthy addresses. This can show that some schools may
not care to deeply about prospective students and may choose to answer a limited amount
of questions and concerns. The students then, once again, become disinterested in

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anything the college has to report on social media and may even perceive the university
in a negative light after a poor experience. However, utilizing social media may prove
invaluable to a university, as Lytle implies when 68% of respondents utilized social
media for the researching of schools.
High school counselor, Caren Hoffman (see Appendix B), and Reigel both
corroborate that in the future, social media will have an increased presence in decisions
made to enroll in college. Hoffman believes that, Although it [social media] won't give
you a full picture, it will give you some important highlights. It is a valuable tool [].
When asked to estimate what she believed to be the percentage of students who turn to
social media for help regarding their college decision, Hoffman estimated 75%. The
survey conducted for this project will seek to discover the current figures and the truth
behind the ominous numbers behind the role of social media in the process of selecting a
college.
Research Methods, Data Collection, Results, and Data Analysis
Meta-analysis was used as it allows for comparing and contrasting a
variety of sources and studies to evaluate and support additional research, such as an
independent survey. This type of evaluation method was the most appropriate because
culminating a repertoire of sources and utilizing their statistics and research allowed
sources to validate and authenticate one another.
Data collection showed that Reigel, Stampler, Hoffman, and Pidaparthy all agree
that social media can be a useful tool to determine what the atmosphere and campus of a
school may be like. However, those sources also agree that social media should not be the
only tool used to determine campus feel. Hoffman encourages her students to talk to
current students and professors in order to discover personally, among other aspects of a
school, what their likes and dislikes are and receive advice. Corroborating several sources

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of information, such as social media, persons on campus, and online sites, can help a
student to gain a better understanding of a university and its culture.
In order to validate the research collected through meta-analysis, the researcher
created a questionnaire to distribute to high school seniors at Glenelg High School. Out
of roughly 231 possible responses, the survey received 184 total responses, or a 79.7%
completion rate (Arenberg).
Out of those attending college, 29% will be attending a two-year college, while
71% will be attending a four-year college. 59% of respondents planned to attend college
in-state, while conversely 41% planned to attend out-of-state. Of those students planning
to attend college out-of-state, an astounding 94% of those students will be attending a
four-year college. As a validation of the accuracy of this survey, significantly more
students with a grade point average (GPA) greater than 3.5 attended a four-year college.
In addition, 85% of those attending a four-year college have taken at least one Advanced
Placement (AP) course. These two statements may not be greatly shocking; however,
they demonstrate the already predictable correlation between grades and higher
education. Additionally, significantly more of those who used social media when
selecting a college will be attending a four-year college (Arenberg).

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Percentage of Students Using Social Media When Selecting a College

80
66.7 65.2
70
58
60
50
40
27.5
30
Perecentage of Students 20
10
0

7.2
2.9

2.9

Type of Social Media

In the comprehensive survey conducted for this project, 41.9% of students attending a
college stated that they utilized social media when making their college selection. 66.7%
of respondents utilized Facebook, that being the most common, while a close second
went to Twitter at 65.2%. Instagram was not far behind, coming in third with 58.0%.
Snapchat played a prominent role as well, coming in fourth place with 27.5% of the
social media and college selection respondents using that medium of social media
(Arenberg).
Interestingly, more female participants tended to use Facebook when selecting a
college versus their male classmates, by well over 20%. However, male participants were
more likely to utilize Twitter than females, with males having roughly a 10% higher rate.
More male participants also utilized Snapchat, with roughly an 18% higher percentage of

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male students using Snapchat when selecting a college compared to females (Arenberg).

Percentage of Students Using Social Media When Selecting a College

90 79.3
80
70
70
58.6 57.5
58.6
57.5
60
50
35
40
Percentage of Students 30
17.2
20
10
2.53.4 3.4 2.53.4
10
0

Male
Female

Type of Social Media

Students did not limit their social media research to solely official college
accounts. While 80.0% did utilize these college accounts, a close 75.7% also viewed the
social media accounts of currently enrolled students. Significantly more of students
attending a four-year college viewed currently enrolled students social media than
prospective two-year college students. Student accounts provide an unfiltered view of

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college and campus life. In order to get a feel for the atmosphere and academic culture of
a school, a student may find it beneficial to view all perspectives on a university
(Arenberg).
Surprisingly, of those who used social media when selecting a college, 68%
utilized social media both before and after being admitted to a school. Additionally,
73.1% of all respondents to the survey believe that social media is a valuable tool for
receiving and discovering information about colleges. 85% of respondents believe that
the use of social media among students selecting colleges will either somewhat increase

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or significantly increase over the next five years (Arenberg).

At What Points Students Used Social Media When Selecting a Collge

Before being admitted only; 9%

After being admitted only; 24%

Both before and after being admitted; 68%

Social media is not a resource to be ignored when selecting a college. While

Lytle, in 2012, writes that 38% of respondents to a survey he cites report using social
media when selecting a college, the independent survey conducted for this project
demonstrates that the use of social media is on the rise. In May 2016, the Social Media
Survey conducted for this project reveals that roughly 42% of students attending college

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used social media when selecting a college. While this is not a drastic increase, the
roughly four percent increase may signify a greater dependence on social media when
making college related decisions in the future.
Discussion and Conclusion
A majority of students utilized social media both before and after being admitted
to a school. Therefore, universities with official social media accounts should tailor their
content and outreach to students throughout the entire admissions and selection process,
not solely before or after. Additionally, colleges should focus mainly on mediums such as
Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram as students review these accounts the most when
selecting a college. Students themselves, along with parents and faculty, should realize
the growing value of social media when selecting a college, with nearly three fourths of
students vouching for the value of social media for receiving/discovering information
about colleges. If three out of four students asked about the value of social media when
selecting a college believe it is of value, why are others not more open to using social
media for these purposes as well?
Students are utilizing social media when selecting a college. This is a fact for just
under half of students selecting colleges. When students have questions or concerns about
a school, when students want to learn more about campus life, when students want to see
what the life of a current student looks like, they will often turn to social media. Social
media serves as a way for students to receive quick answers to their questions and to
visualize a college the best they can without a physical visit to the university. A student
has the ability to view multiple mediums of social media at the touch of their fingers,
with Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram being the most popular mediums.

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With 80% of students who used social media when selecting a college viewing
official college social media accounts, an increased pressure is placed on the universities
themselves. They can no longer neglect the social media marketplace. Schools have the
ability to reach out to students more quickly and more directly than ever before. An
increased pressure is also placed on the student. There is no longer any opportunity for
communication between school and prospective student to fall through the cracks. The
ball is in the students court. The student must effectively use their available resources to
make informed decisions. Social media does not have to be the method in which a student
must communicate and inform themselves, however, in many cases, it can prove
extremely beneficial for quick communication and getting questions answered promptly.
Students have the ability to utilize social media from the decision to apply to a
college through admission, even through selection and eventual attendance. Social media
can be a great tool that can be used by students, parents, and faculty to help make
educated college choices. Social media can be the one go-to resource in the arsenal for
college decision making. While it does not supplement college visits and speaking inperson to college representatives, social media may prove invaluable for the college
choice.
Appendix A:
Interviewee: Ms. Heidi Reigel
Interviewer: Bailey Arenberg
BA: I wanted to start of very generally, just on your opinions on the college decisions
process from the students. I wanted to know what factors did you think were the most
relevant to students today when theyre deciding or picking the college that theyre going
to attend.
HR: After theyve been admitted and theyre choosing, for the students I think its
coming down to fit for them. Where do they feel most comfortable? And where they
belong. And then if theyre an athlete, its where can I get the playing time. Or if they

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want to be involved with theater, did I make the audition for the theater department or the
music department?
But ultimately family influences students, and family holds onto the purse strings. And
money is a huge factor as well. So the bottom line cost, I think overall for the family is
driving the decision.
BA: And now a lot of kids, when they pick their college, may think of something thats
more important to them at the time and then later on they realize, gee, maybe I shouldnt
have picked my school because of that. Like some kids may want to go as far away from
home as they possibly can. Do you think that theres certain factors like that, that students
maybe show too much of an importance.
HR: I think sometimes that they give too much credence to being far away from home,
and really theyre only as far away from home as their cell phones lets you. Theyre still
talking to mom and dad. It doesnt matter; you can be, you know, ten miles from home
and go to college and not have to see your parents every single day. So I think that
sometimes there are those odd factors that they think are important, but in the end, when
looking back, they really arent.
Or theyre so zoned in on like an educational track. They think they want to do
engineering, so instead of looking for schools that will give them a foundation while
theyre thinking about engineering, they are zoned in on getting into an engineering
school, even though theyre not one hundred percent about it. And then they get into an
engineering school, go, and they are not happy because they dont want to do
engineering. So I think sometimes they get pigeonholed with what they think they should
do versus with really listening to their gut.
BA: My last more general question before I go more in detail If you had to give a high
school student, who is making the choice, advice, what would you say to them?
HR: When I talk to students who are admitted and I try to answer any questions that
they may have, I always ask them if you could toss money aside, take money out of the
equation, what else do you need answered? What else do you need from us that will help
you choose McDaniel? And I think the biggest piece of advice that I can give is, when

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you narrow it down to your top three colleges and youre finalizing your college choice,
you should make sure that you ask all of those colleges the same set of questions. So if
youre asking me whether or not we have an intermural lacrosse team because its really
important to you, but you didnt ask it somewhere else, its not fair to the other college.
Or if youre looking for a really great biology program, but you didnt ask me that
because weve been talking about political science the entire time, and then you go off
and choose another school, and I find out its because of biology, you didnt give me a
fair shot. So you want to make sure youre comparing apples to apples. So get your set of
questions answered at every single school.
BA: Okay. And, so this is where I think I want to take my project for the rest of the year.
So I wanted to know, on the record, what role do you think that social media plays in the
college selection process from the student perspective? So not how they look at students
social media, but how the schools social media presence makes the student want to go
there.
HR: I think that there is a lot of social media presence that colleges are doing to try to
drum up interest from students, but the students have to be following that school to begin
with. And I were finding out that students arent watching schools on Twitter or
Instagram until they are admitted. And then thats an opportunity for them to meet other
admitted students during that social platform. And then, you know, what we see is who is
coming to our admitted student days by watching, you know, seeing these conversations
that are happening right out there on social media. So I think that its important because
its allowing students connect with other admitted students and learning more about the
school and all the happenings real-time. But I dont think theyre getting into it until after
theyve been admitted to those colleges.
BA: Do you think thered be any way that a student would be more interested if the
schools did something different on their part to, kind of, advertise themselves more?
HR: Yeah, I think if theyre advertising, theyre pushing students to come and visit and
then theres always a giveaway. Or sometimes well do scavenger hunts on social media,
but its once youre at our college and doing an open house day. But I dont know if I can
confidently say that, and I know I havent even heard that, a student is choosing a college

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based upon the colleges social media efforts. We use it to push whats going on, on
campus, and everything that we are doing for our students, so our admitted students can
see the types of experiences and opportunities that were offering McDaniel college
students.
BA: Now, do you think that the school based social media, not the students, is an
accurate portrayal of what actually goes on the campus and what the colleges bring to
light?
HR: Yeah, because when we are pushing out for us, Im not gonna speak for other
institutions, but for McDaniel, when we push out stuff on social media, its coming right
out of our Office of Communication and Marketing, you know. Its the story of the kid
who went to his home country in Africa and was there during civil unrest, during a
political election. Its having Kevin Culley come back from Under Armour and speak on
our campus. So yes, its very much whats happening.
BA: And, I did a little background on McDaniel, and what I could find on Google, I saw
they had a Facebook page. Do you know how, by just using the Facebook page, do you
happen to know how many people you reach? Or what the main audience is?
HR: We have multiple Facebook pages at McDaniel, so with the Office of Alumni has
one because its a way for all of the alums to stay in touch with whats going on, on
campus. Office of Communications and Marketing has one as well, and it allows them to
stay in touch with any entity out there who wants to know all things McDaniel.
But then we have Facebook groups for and pages and groups for class of you name
it 2016 for the students, parents, and families of class of 2016. So its a platform that
we use to get information out to the students as well as the parents and families as to
whats going on, on campus.
So for instance, what we did this week was they are, we are going on spring break next
week. There was a thing put out from our health center about the Zika virus and if youre
traveling, you know, where that virus is, these are some precautions that you could take.
Talking about March Madness, and we call it Laundry Madness, and you do your laundry
so many times during the week of you know, and you get entered to win was it Tide

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Pods and gift cards for the laundry machine. And so, you know, were using it as a way to
keep the students engaged and let them know whats going on, on campus, but then the
families also know too. And they know what their students been told. So I think its used
very heavily from a perspective of media outlets looking at us to find stories of what they
can write about McDaniel College, alumni staying connected, and then keeping the
parents, families, and current students connected with whats going on, on campus.
BA: Do you think in the future that colleges will try to take more of an advantage of the
social media presence?
HR: I think so I think were headed down that way, but you know, theres still people
who dont have smart phones, you know, so its the good old-fashioned recruiting. Were
finding that students we actually have an information card online that students can
check off and tell us how they prefer to be contacted. And its that social media, but
students prefer to be contacted via text, instead of a good old-fashioned phone call.
Nobody checks voicemails anymore. So I think that social media will be big, but and
its having a bigger presence.
It can also be negative too, if something comes out about the college, but its also the
quickest way to squelch something and get the truth out as well. So, you know, we use it
to our advantage in many ways. If families are there, we encourage them to Tweet or to
tag yourself, you know, youre at McDaniel College having a tour. Let all your family
and friends know. We want them to do that.
BA: And leading into the negatives you were just addressing, what negatives do you
think that you could see coming from too much social media investment by the students?
HR: Well, nothing from the college because college PR is not going to put anything
negative out. But, like to squelch something, so lets say they a family was out on a
tour and doesnt like one thing that the tour guide says Depending upon, you know,
how many friends they have, and that gets picked up, it just kinda snowballs, so were
gonna squelch it.
Ill give you a great example of social media and negativity, it is I wrote a personal
notecard to a student, okay, I met him at a high school. I based the notecard off of the

Arenberg 20
information that he gave me, which meant that it was his handwriting. And I can only
decipher so much. Not very nice handwriting at all. And I sent the notecard to him;
obviously I was able to decipher it enough that it landed in his mailbox. But you know
what he did with that? He took a picture of the notecard and says, So you really want
me? Learn how to spell my name correctly. And tagged McDaniel College, so our
Office of Communications and Marketing found you know saw it, it popped up, they
knew it was my handwriting we all know each other at McDaniel, and I was like,
Youve got to be kidding me. And guess what? I still had his card that he filled out.
Now Im not posting that on social media; he just posted his address on social media, so I
took a picture of the card, and I screenshot what was sent on social media, and I sent it to
his counselor. And I said, Please tell me that you would have deciphered this any other
way. And it was a lesson in social media for that student, but that student tweeted it. And
it was negative. And it made it look like we didnt know what we were doing, but the
student didnt have legible handwriting, and he removed his Tweet. I didnt ask him to,
but I think his school made him do it. So you know, I think its a great way to combat
things, but hopefully theres not too much negativity going on. I mean youll see it here
and there.
BA: Do you think that a school having different forms of social media could potentially
be a detractor to a student? Like some student thinks that if a school is really serious then
they [the school] shouldnt be on Twitter.
HR: No, I dont think so. I think its just a platform. Its todays world. Any big media
outlet that you read news wise, you can share it with your friends. How are you going to
share the article that you read? Twitter, Facebook, email it to them. So I think that I
dont think thats it at all. I think that people look at it to see how savvy schools are.
And then I think the flipside is, youre talking about negativity amongst whats being
said about colleges, its what are colleges looking at too from a student perspective and
looking at their accounts and like I said before when we were walking up the hall, there
are schools that take time and look at accounts. Theyre looking at what kind of behavior
does this kid have. What they say in their essay, is it really being reflected in the pictures

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that were seeing that arent shut off from us, when we can just go onto Facebook and
search for them.
BA: Do you find that students I dont know if youve found this because you dont
really look at social media when youre looking at students but would you say that if a
student didnt have a large media trail, that that could be a potential, either something
more positive or more of a detractor or doesnt really make a difference.
HR: I dont think really doesnt make a difference. I mean I have accounts. I hardly
ever use them. I use Facebook more than anything, but I think students are like that too.
Its just, just because youre not on it doesnt mean you dont care. It means you have
other things that youre doing with your life. And really its a big time suck if you ask me.
It just kinda absorbs you. But there are some things that we look at. If a mom calls and is
upset with the type of placement a student received as far as a roommate, and the mom
does not like that placement, meaning that a student was diverse from her own daughter,
you better believe we are going onto social media and looking at that girl, and then we
are realizing that mom doesnt know who her child hangs out with. Her child hangs out
with students of color all the time, so mom has a problem with it, daughter doesnt. There
is a reason why mom called and not daughter, so its weird I might have gone on
maybe three times, in my nineteen years of admissions to go onto social media to actually
check something.
BA: I know how you said that you think that technology and social media will be more
prevalent in the future. Do you think that maybe, eventually, it would switch over entirely
to modes of social media, like Facebook instead of texting the person chatting with
them on Facebook or following them on Twitter?
HR: We chat with Facebook students all the time. You know, I have students right now in
my class of what 2020 saying, I think Im coming to McDaniel, but I have a
question about the political science department You better believe Im pointing
somebody on campus and saying, Get online. Answer this kids question. Or their
messaging me on the side. Its on the bottom, Im sure you saw it on the bottom of my
email. Friend me on Facebook or follow us on Twitter. We want people to do that and ask
questions because sometimes they have really good questions and we can just throw it out

Arenberg 22
there and answer it for the good of the people because not everybody wants to ask their
question on a social platform. So well answer them for sure.
I think its just another line of communication, and the reason why its nice is because our
office is open when students are in school. So students do not have the ability to take time
out of their lives during the school day and call us to ask us questions. So when are you
going to pose a question? Maybe at ten oclock at night, when youre lying in bed before
you go off to sleep, and youre fooling around on social media. Well Im gonna pop this
question over to McDaniel College, and maybe one of us will be up, but if not were
gonna get to it the next day. So I think that its that has been real helpful for students.
And I find that students who arent really into email, they tend to get into it as they go
through their college search because theyll actually create an email account that will
allow them to I guess it is more user friendly, or they just dedicate it only to colleges.
So then anytime they visit a college or go on and want to get on a college mailing list,
they list that email address.
BA: I know, personally, that I receive many, numerous, almost to the point of filling my
inbox up entirely, college emails, and they all say, Oh, follow us or Oh, show your
interest. At McDaniel, I dont know if you send out emails for that purpose, but if a
student were to show interest and click on the links in the emails, is there any priority that
they would receive in admissions?
HR: Not at all. What it is, is it shows an affinity where the priority comes in is how
much are we going to push you to apply. So if we have sent you something, and we can
tell, you know, we sent you something via email and there are links in there, and we can
tell that youve clicked thirty different things, you know, through to six different pages on
our website, that you were really taking time to search it. So if I have to make phone calls
one night to talk to students and ask them if they have any questions about McDaniel and
encourage them to apply, and Ive got two hours, and I can make twenty phone calls,
have twenty great conversations, but there are forty students on my list, Im going to pick
the twenty that have showed some sort of, we call it affinity to McDaniel, and that
affinity would be how many times did you click through, did you even open the email.

Arenberg 23
So we will watch things like that to give you priority over anything. That doesnt mean
that youll be admitted over somebody else who didnt click through, no, not at all. But it
means we might push you a little harder because there is more of an affinity and there is a
greater chance that a) you will apply and b) you will be admitted and c) you will
hopefully come.
Appendix B:
Mrs. Hoffman Interview Questions with Responses (Conducted via email)
1. If you had to give a student advice when choosing a college, what would it be?
Find a learning environment where you feel comfortable. Look around the campus at the
students that attend the school and get a sense if you fit in. Talk to the students that are
attending that school and find out what they like about their university. It's easiest to
learn and grow if you feel comfortable with your surroundings.
2. What role do you think social media plays in the college decisions process from
the student perspective?
I think that the images and messages that are shared via social media with the general
public gives an impression of what that college is like. When a student is trying to
choose the list of schools they would like to apply to or narrow down from their list of
acceptances, they might use the Twitter or Instagram pages of those schools to get a
better feel for what that school is actually like. Just as colleges will try and locate their
applicants on social media to try and form a greater understanding of that student,
students will look at colleges to form a picture of what it would be like to be a student
attending that university.
3. How might a school's social media presence appeal/not appeal to a student?
Depending on what images a school chooses to share, the student can form a judgement
of that college. Students that want a certain type of social scene (athletics, campus
events, etc.) will want to see those images reflected on social media.
4. In the future, do you think that colleges will try to take more of an advantage of
social media for appealing to potential students?

Arenberg 24
Yes! Colleges know their audience/consumers and what they have to do to remain
competitive and attractive to high school students.
5. Do you think social media should be used when selecting a college? Is it an
accurate depiction? Is it a valuable tool or perhaps even not a tool?
I think it should be used. I think the types of ways that s school tries to advertise itself on
social media says a lot about their values and what they see as their assets. Although it
won't give you a full picture, it will give you some important highlights. It is a valuable
tool but should not replace a campus visit. I think a campus visit coupled with social
media use as well as talking to students on campus (professors too) will help to give an
interested student the most accurate picture of a school.
6. Do you think current students using social media to select a college focus more on
school based accounts or students accounts when searching for information?
I would imagine student accounts (college students that attend those schools). They can
see how the students spend their free time and get a feel for how satisfied the students are
at that school.
7. What percentage/proportion of students do you believe turn to social media for
help regarding their college decision?
My guess would be 75%

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