Green College Tours

Opening a Virtual Window to Life on Campus

2010-02-22T08:10:00.000-08:00

Can early exposure via online broadcasting stimulate more student interest in excellent, lesser-known colleges? Colleges that do not enjoy frequent national name recognition rely on their direct recruiting efforts and alumni recommendations to generate applications. As effective as these marketing strategies have been, they do not reach the vast majority of talented college-bound students.

We are exploring how 'live' online video interactive meetings can introduce colleges to a larger student audience. Recently at the GCT Broadcast Network we conducted a pilot event where admission reps from DePaul University and The Art Institute made presentations then fielded questions from attending classes at North-Grand High School in Chicago. To review one of these recorded events, go to the: GCT Broadcast Network

We are gearing up to host live college broadcast events where 1,000 students in classrooms from across the country can interact with one or several colleges via two-way interview sessions. Colleges will have an opportunity to open a virtual window to campus life introducing their staff, professors and resident students.

But why not just send a text, directing students to their website virtual campus tour? Or mail a glossy brochure?

Is there a formula for online events that will capture the interest of these net generation students? What interaction will inspire their further investigation into the colleges conducting these online presentations?

These are the questions we will be exploring.

The Net Generation - Don Tapscott

2010-02-11T10:42:00.000-08:00

Check out what Don Tapscott has to say about this net generation

From The Consumer to the Conservation Society?

2009-07-21T08:27:00.000-07:00

Last time I looked outside, the sky was not falling. All of the extra, unneeded retail stores are closing. I see fewer shopping bags strolling through the malls. Maybe instead of shopping, people will find recreation at the beach or the park. Unfortunately the talking heads, print media and yes the Internet can project the pruning of our economy as a catastrophe. After all, bad news sells. Well if you lost your job, your home, took a beating in your 401K, you have had a lot of bad news. There is always dislocation and destruction, during a recession that forces most of us to make changes to survive the storm.

The good news...I am looking forward to what we transform into after the blatant failure of the consumer-driven economy. Will we become the conservation society? If we buy less, eat less, waste less, start saving, conserve on energy, go back to school, go to school, the economy will change. Are we on the verge of redefining an American dream that includes less stuff? Has there been enough pain to generate that kind of change?

It seems to me that the country that makes a genuine commitment to conservation of resources, doing more with less and discovering/implementing alternative energy solutions will emerge as a global leader in the 21st century. For making this kind of change, we will all have to go back to school. We will all have to learn new habits, new skills with the hope that we can gain employment. However, if we need less because we have determined how to get more out of fewer resources, life might turn out pretty good for most people. And when you consider that Americans on average use 5 times the energy per person than most countries there is a good chance that we can take what we already have left and learn to live in style.

So that puts higher education in the front of the cart as the new main engine of production. Production of ideas. Production of thinking people. But will it be higher education as it exists today? That is a question worth exploring.

April College Online Fair Pilot

2009-07-01T12:21:00.001-07:00

Ready Set, Chat! Several hundred high school students were online April 1st and 2nd, chatting live with college admission reps. Finding out more about their majors, campus life, and eligibility this online fair was a great first contact between admission reps and college bound students. As in all firsts we received great feedback for improving our fall events. To the degree that students have done their college research and have prepared questions regarding their specific needs and interests, chat sessions will be more productive for all participants.

We are getting ready for the our Friday Online Fair Series where we are expecting AVID students from classrooms in Chicago, San Diego, Orange, San Jose and Walnut Creek.

Coaching Corner - Radio Interview

2008-09-27T16:47:00.000-07:00

Check with our favorite college coach, Sean Connors from College Planning Specialists. Listen to a recent interview: Coaches Corner

Calling All College Students - Help Wanted

2008-09-27T16:43:00.001-07:00

We are looking for a few good college students to volunteer at their local college admissions office during our first 'Green College Tour this coming spring. High school students have as many questions about life on campus as they do about academics. Your help as a chat host is much needed. Find out if your college will be participating in the spring. Watch for news as we post the list.

Bringing Colleges to Us

2008-07-09T09:02:00.000-07:00

Did you know that over 51% of students that enter college do not finish? I wonder how many enrolled in a school that did not match their needs or interests only because a friend, parent or sibling attended. I have not read any surveys on why students are dropping out at such an alarming rate. Choosing a college may be like purchasing an SUV. Test driving a new, shiny SUV is like touring a beautiful college campus. Like the SUV, America's Top 100 Colleges were marketed to us to fit our lifestyle. However most of us did not anticipate the cost of getting to future destinations.

Financial Planning Required - Over 200,000 students who wanted to go did not apply to a 4 year school last year because they did not have the funds. At the same time, students who completed 4 years graduated with an average of $20,000 in debt. So let's invite financial planners, lenders and coaches to our event to help these college-bound students, put together a viable 4 year plan so they can pursue their education and ideally leave college with minimal debt and a job opportunity!

Necessity is the mother of invention. Thank you to engineers and visionaries who invented the Internet, live chat, blogs, streaming video,rss, and Google. We will use these 21st century tools to create a 'green" way for students, parents and faculty to tour many of the 4,500 colleges in the U.S. With these tools in our belt let's invite colleges to an on-line event where they can set up a booth to show their wares, chat with hundreds of remarkably ambitious students to identify candidates for future classes.

It is my vision that working together, parents, schools, businesses and foundations can attract many great yet little known colleges that are looking for our students to fill out their classes. We create the environment, then let the students investigate. One important measure of our success will be the number of students accepted by schools discovered at our Green College Tour event.