When considering their future college, what is this new generation looking for? During my week long, 10-college campus tour, my son Christopher and I learned many things. It was a fantastic experience for both of us and it was particularly interesting for me. I couldn’t help but think how different things are today compared to when I was prepping for college. We didn’t even have college tours or pick a school based on how good their sports program was, unless we were a super athlete (like my two younger brothers)!
My generation attended a school based on its academic reputation. This is no longer the case, as academics and reputation aren’t the only things which kids base their decision on. Three key observations occurred to me during our trip.
1. The look and feel of the school was really important. I was aware that my son Christopher had a certain look and feel in mind and it will play a huge factor in his decision making process. He felt much more ‘at-home’ with certain student bodies and campuses vs. others. Size didn’t matter so much to my son, but SPIRIT did! Did the kids love and adore their school? Was the student body wearing their college sweatshirts? Did students have great things to say about everyday life on campus? These were all motivating factors for Chris.
2. Christopher and I quickly realized how differently each college had prepped for our visits. While some schools had done their homework and knew what Chris was thinking about for a major, his likes/dislikes and his hobbies, others did not. This made a lasting impact on my son’s decision.
3. There was one other big difference that is a real advantage for today’s Millennial generation – New Media! This was very interesting for me to see on college campuses, especially because it’s such a present “hot topic.” The current and future generations are completely “connected.” This generation uses new media in virtually every aspect of their lives – from doing research for a paper to figuring out how to get to the nearest mall to meeting with new friends. To this generation the term “new media” is an oxymoron – it’s truly just “media” – and just as we’ve embraced online publications as an adjunct of their paper siblings, as PR practitioners we need to embrace these new communication avenues. From YouTube to RSS Feeds to blogging, there’s a lot going on out there and we all need to dive in!
Christopher was very impressed with the schools that were wireless. One of the schools provides each student a laptop their freshman year and one their junior year. This is their way of encouraging their students to use their computers while embracing conservation (no paper)!! Another school had amphitheatre style classrooms with each workstation having its own PC and keyboard. It also had room for a student’s personal laptop. The schools which were not wireless or tech savvy, were a turn off for my son. These kids live and breathe New Media, so it’s vital to their existence!
New Media is changing the world of public relations as well. We are on the forefront of embracing technology and educating ourselves and our clients. We encourage everyone to blog, to participate in podcasts, and make sure we’re all keeping ahead of the curve.