Shaping Snow College’s Future, One Student at a Time By Lauren Matthews College recruitment is changing, and Snow’s new focus on recruiting high school juniors is incredibly fruitful. In the past, statewide focus was concentrated on recruiting seniors though presentations and visits. This shift to statewide “junior tours” is visionary, resourceful, and more than a tad unconventional. “The junior tour is just one tactic we use to get our message out to potential students,” explained Teri Clawson, assistant vice president for enrollment management. “Any chance we have to get in front of students and share what makes us unique and how we can participate in creating our students’ stories of success is an amazing opportunity. For many students, the junior tour or Utah Higher Education Day is their first interaction with the college and we always want to make the best impression possible.” Through junior tours, virtual visits, and other means, Snow College’s recruitment team is committed to sharing the Spirit of Snow with potential students. These advisors have a great impact on Snow enrollment, but they can’t do it alone; they call on alumni, employees, and others to share their love of Snow College. Snow College’s Junior Tours A 2019 presentation at the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), “Finding
Untapped Potential in Your Own Backyard,” stressed the “untapped” potential college candidates in high school sophomores and juniors. Presenters Robert Alexander and Vaughn Toland shared research indicating that recruiting high school seniors is less effective; to effectively prepare and prime potential college candidates, look to the juniors and sophomores. Middle schools and high schools alike are now incorporating college recruitment into their classrooms. There is a push across secondary education (and even from elementary schools) for recruitment presentations, campus visits, and college swag. Jill Trythall, assistant director of admissions, reports that her office fields roughly 10-15 weekly requests from schools nationwide. The research from Alexander and Toland supports this change; Trythall shares that studies suggest that colleges are “more likely to enroll by engaging [students] as a sophomore, and the older [students] get, the lower that percentage drops.” Recruiting tours put Snow College on the radar of prospective high school juniors. This early appeal invites students to explore and prepare, long before the crunch deadlines for college admission. The tours are exceptionally creative, using staggered chair layouts and sensory stimuli (in the form of orange-scented spray, candy, and Snow College mints). Using these techniques for
Snow College admissions advisors and ambassadors travel to high schools throughout the state. Pictured with counselors from Farmington High School (center, in Snow College t-shirts) are (left) Ambasssador President Kai Kaluhikaua and Admissions Advisor Ashley Shell and (far right) Ambassador Oakley Dunn.
26
S N O W CO L L EG E M AG A Z I N E | 2 0 2 0
