The Zinch Report

Last month we rubbed shoulders with hundreds of US colleges and universities at the NACAC (National Association for College Admission Counseling) National Conference. People from a few schools stood out to us. First let me shout out to Peaches (Bryn Mawr), Denny (Tufts), Ben (MIT) and Densil (Stanford). I will say this, ain’t no party like a West Coast Party...!

A few new faces that stand out include those from Carleton College, University of Rhode Island, Columbia, and George Mason. I caught up this morning with Andrew Flagel, Dean of Admissions and Associate Vice President at George Mason. If you remember, Mason made an incredible run to the 2006 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four. It gives me the chills just reminiscing on their tournament run. Andrew rode the team’s excitement to share George Mason’s message with literally hundreds of thousands of high school students. He effectively reached out to the student audience using both an opportunity and medium that is a large part of the students’ lives.

What type of students thrive at your school?

Students who come here tend to want the ongoing engagement and excitement and diversity. The diversity of the campus distinguishes us from the other DC campuses. A student who wants a less residential campus but also wants to get off campus- study abroad, work experience, concerts, lectures; students that love NCAA athletics but also want to see professional sports.

The student has to want a diverse atmosphere. If they want to only be with students with similar backgrounds- a homogenous campus- then this may not be the best place.

How do you connect with kids in your recruiting?

One of the things we've been fortunate in- maybe because we're a younger university- we're not bound by traditional methods. Our networking activities (Facebook, blogs-notjustadmissions.wordpress.com, masonmetro.com) are some non-traditional methods to reach the students where they are. We’re also connected to community-based organizations. It also doesn’t hurt to have your team go to the Final Four. We’re also the largest school with an SAT optional process (at least that has self-identified). Mason has a program that leaves it up to the students to decide whether or not to use their score, and that seems to have broadened our already growing appeal.

You mention your run to the Final Four- tell us about it…

I was at a prior institution when we went to the Sweet 16 and another when we won the national football championships; so I had a somewhat similar experience before. Then I came here and we went to the Final Four. Thanks to an incredible team and coach, and beating truly amazing odds against us, Mason gained even more national attention than the other teams. Based on my past experiences we had developed a "Sweet 16 plan” - a plan for how to take advantage of the spotlight if something incredibly cool happened. The Sunday we made it into the Sweet 16 (beating UNC), I came in and blew the dust off the plan. I updated it and marched it down to the President’s office and met with the budget committee at 10 am. Theother institutions where I’d been I think that would have sat for at least a week before a decision. At Mason I had a response in an hour. In the next 12 hours I pulled every favor I had. Collegeboard got us 100,000. Abeedle.com helped us launched the masonmetro.com website Wednesday morning. We put out 40,000 pieces of mail and 1/2 a million emails were sent out by NRCCUA. We launched 150,000 emails the minute the game ended, and the staff member from NRCCUA stayed at work until the buzzer sounded to launch them. I was available for the media- meaning I was on everything I could get! For all our efforts, however the piece that I believe had the biggest impact was that we had a coach that really loved the school. He would always talk about the school, even when he was being asked about the team; he had pride in student athletes and pride in our University, along with bringing class and honor to his game, that permeated every article and interview.

What makes a student stand out?

I think it's funny when colleges paint a picture that makes students feel they have to jump through hoops. It almost always comes down to academic record. I want academically talented students. We may have other needs, but it boils down to this. Two of the great myths about college admissions are: 1) the process is really complicated but 2) really easy to predict. The truth is it's really simple- 1) it's about grades. Who is the most academically talented? But 2) you never know what else I might be looking for in any given year, like a double reeded woodwind player, a strong male dance major, or a few more computer science majors. So my advice is that students find a range of schools- some that are a reach and some that are guaranteed admission, some in between – but all that would thrill you to attend.

The unfortunate thing is that you have 4,000 deans trying to convince kids that 1 school is the best. The fortunate thing is there are probably more than a dozen, if not dozens, that will thrill each student. The degree to which you invest your excitement and energy in the school you attend is where you'll find the biggest payoff. Invest most of your energy after you've decided to go, not beforehand.

If I were a junior in high school looking to go to college, what advice would you give me?

Big advice- Stop worrying so much about college! We in admissions have turned high school into nothing but a "how do I get into college" experience. It pains me to hear kids that drop activities because they 'want to go to college.' The idea of shifting the decision making to outside people (admissions) that don't really know you is wrong. We don't know them that well; we're never going to totally know them that well. We are not their friends, parents; we are individuals trying to make decisions based on a lot of data. If you turn all of your decisions over to that process I think that has a really unfortunate set of consequences and sends a bad message. The students that are doing the things they are most excited about tend to do the best in college. It’s sort of counterintuitive, but it’s the truth.

Don’t get sucked in by all this commercialization. Realize that colleges are out to sell to you. There are plenty of them out there. They shouldn't pin all of their decision about how you get in somewhere. If they do the things that make them happy, they are more likely to be successful. Of course, all things being equal, they’ll probably be happiest at Mason.

If you would like to check out Andrew’s blog, visit http://notjustadmissions.wordpress.com/ I’ll be keeping my eye on Mason hoops this season!