Jun 17th 09 Posted by Eric Sickler

How Teens Predict Success After College

Like nearly all of us, there’s one question rumbling in the subconscious recesses of prospective undergrads’ heads pretty much 24 x 7 x 365: “What’s in it for me?” It’s an occupational hazard of being human. Call it survival instinct or whatever. The fact remains that all of us face most of life’s decisions with one chunk of our brains listening intently to that subliminal... read more

Jun 9th 09 Posted by Eric Sickler

There’s a New Generation in Town…

… and age has nothing to do with it. Last year I had the good fortune of working with cultural analyst Patricia Martin, author of RenGen: The Rise of the Cultural Consumer, on a National Arts Forum project funded by MetLife Foundation. As I read her book, listened to her presentations, and traded stories with Patricia, it became clear that her research packs a significant punch for the future... read more

May 1st 09 Posted by Eric Sickler

Admitted Students: Too Much or Too Little?

According to findings from Stamats’ most recent TeensTALK© study: One in four college-bound high school students wants more information from the schools to which they have inquired Only 12% of prospective students tell us they’re receiving too much information from colleges at the initial search stages of their college hunts Participants perceive home visits by recruiters as less intrusive... read more

Mar 31st 09 Posted by Eric Sickler

Will I Fit At Your School?

“Oh, you’ve done a great job of recruiting me. I can’t think of anything you could have offered or done differently. It’s just that I felt like I fit better at the other college…and not at yours.” Admittedly, recruiting students is largely an exercise in matchmaking. And while no recruiter worth her/his salt wants to woo a prospect if the match between school and student isn’t a mutually... read more

Mar 5th 09 Posted by Eric Sickler

Defining Your School’s Academic Quality

In Stamats’ most recent TeensTALK® study, we did a “deep dive” into four timeless topics of interest to recruiters the world over. And because there’s more detail to share than a blog like this can accommodate, I’ve committed myself to offering up selected findings over the course of 2009. This is the first of several installments of what might be best called TeensTALK® Tids & Bits. Defining... read more

Feb 2nd 09 Posted by Eric Sickler

Recruiter on a Mission: mROI

I’m on a mission, of sorts. Fueled by the perpetual guilt of having sustained an “intuition-driven” recruitment marketing program for my former employer and alma mater for too many years, I have pledged myself to the task of helping college recruiters and recruitment management practictioners understand the inherent dangers of trusting only their gut to judge the impact and potential return... read more

Jan 19th 09 Posted by Eric Sickler

Resolutions to Grow By

As the years roll by, my “candid factor” seems to lurch so unapologetically upward that I may well be nearing curmudgeon status well before my time. So it is with just a modicum of diplomacy that I present a handful of New Year’s resolutions that are assured to make you more valuable to your school. And who can’t use some of that? 1. Be a learning machine in 2009. Don’t make a decision about... read more

Jan 14th 09 Posted by Eric Sickler

All That [Marketing] Jazz

I’m a musician. After hearing me, some folks might argue the point. But as someone who regularly finds joy, satisfaction, healthy distraction, and artistic expression through music, I often find myself comparing making great music to the magic of creating a great recruitment marketing program. A couple of years ago I attended a remarkable event…a 3-hour performance by an extraordinary quartet.... read more

Apr 27th 07 Posted by Eric Sickler

Shift Happens: Positioning Your Campus for Change

  Campus communities are infamous for many dubious distinctions; among them, being averse to and especially suspicious of anything new that smacks of marketing. So how should the enlightened, well-intentioned, campus-based marketing practitioner position her campus to modify foolishly cherished paradigms?   As noted English theologian, author, and preacher Richard Hooker observed in the 1500s, “Change... read more