Many might assume that the role of a Charter School Admissions Officer is easy. Since Charter schools are required to accept candidates solely based on space availability, there must be little work other than collecting applications , running a quick lottery, and collecting registration forms. It’s not about building relationships like a selective private school admissions team, right?

WRONG.

Actually, Charter schools Admissions Officers (like those at the KIPP Schools) need to do significant work to build strong relationships with families and incoming students. They do interviews, they require placement tests and recommendations. It is their responsibility to ensure that parents and students understand the goals and the mission of the school. The difference is they do this work after announcing acceptances rather than before.

With that said, it is crucial for these administrators to make the most of their limited time and invest in technology to streamline their admissions and registration process. Many have implemented online applications and registration forms, which not only save time in data entry, but they also reduce paper – they’re green. But so often, that’s where the technology stops.  They don’t have effective tools to use that data in their relationship building.

That’s where CRM (customer relationship management) systems come into play. In talking to teams at Charter schools, one of the biggest challenges is that their online application and online registration data is going into their school database, which is great for the rest of the school, but not so great for managing those post selection relationships.

 The KEY technology your admissions team should have:

1.  Online Applications and Registration forms
2. Parent Portal where parents can see registration process, complete forms, and upload documents
3. Data should flow into a CRM where the admissions team can:

• Log notes from interactions with families
• Set reminders for follow-up with families
• See where a family is in the registration process
• Send custom mass emails and letters (WITHOUT mail merges)

Check out SchoolAdmin Admissions for Charter Schools!

Your “mission” may not involve scaling skyscrapers or penetrating highly guarded government buildings, but your assignment is no less important, nor is it easy. The hard work and attention to detail demanded by this marketing task begins in the spring, continues through the fall, only to begin again renewed. It takes a dedicated team to successfully plan and execute this mission each school year.

In the popular Mission Impossible movie franchise, Tom Cruise plays agent Ethan Hunt; a top notch spy known for his ability to successfully complete missions. His ability to carry out these missions is partially ascribed to his cutting edge tools and technology. Similarly to how Agent Hunt exploits his gadgets, so should schools take advantage of the technology available to them as a means to showcase their school to potential families. A few easy ways of doing this are through your school’s website, blogging, and social media.

The Value of a Website

Many schools underestimate the value of having a great website. Schools fail to acknowledge that the quality of their website is a type of reflection on the quality of their school. Therefore, having a website that’s not only easily accessible and user friendly, but that’s also aesthetically pleasing and well stocked with up-to-date content is crucial for successful admissions marketing. For instance, a potential parent’s first introduction to your school is likely to be when they visit your website. In fact, mtmConsulting, a leading marketing firm among schools, released a survey showing that an overwhelming amount of parents were unimpressed by the school websites they had visited. If fully utilized, having a website with great content can be a powerful force in converting website traffic into more meaningful school inquiries.

Blah, Blah, Blog

Admissions teams should take a lesson from the current generation of young people who have figured out how to turn something as simple as a blog into an overpowering marketing tool. Blogs, ranging from cosmetics to rock climbing, have sparked entire businesses and are an excellent way to heighten awareness about your school. By frequently blogging news related to your school, you are drawing more traffic to your school’s website. And as mentioned above, a well crafted website can help you convert web traffic into inquiries.

One of the beautiful things about a blog is that it’s creative and open to imagination. With so many students and so many events, schools have a wealth of material to draw from. Blog about the upcoming school basketball game, write about the history of your school, highlight a student who has done exceedingly well in academics, introduce a new teacher, or even blog about the success of the last school carnival. The possibilities for blogs are endless.

Harnessing the Power of Social Media

As we all well know, social media is a powerful force to be reckoned with. The advent of social networking tools such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and more have completely re-shaped the way people communicate. So what does this mean for schools? Well, the development of social media has created an entirely new medium for schools, parents, and students, to communicate. It’s an easy and fast way to disseminate information to the masses, a.k.a. the individuals that make up your school community. Furthermore, unlike traditional forms of marketing such as radio announcements and newspaper ads, social media is a valuable way to truly connect with your audience because it’s a 2-way street. Individuals can comment and respond to your news. In essence, social media is an invaluable tool for all schools. If properly harnessed, it can transform your school’s communication and relationship with the community.

At times, marketing your school can seem like an impossible task. Yet given all the technology that we have access to, such as Twitter, Facebook, e-newsletters, blogs, and more, there are endless opportunities added to the marketing mix that you can take advantage of to promote your school. Since each coming school year signals another cycle of admissions marketing and school promotion, your “mission” may never seem complete, but it is not far from impossible.

Posted by Kimberly Feng
 

The principle of “mass-personalization” is straightforward: by gathering data on individual customers, a company can target its advertising or product. For instance, if we look at Amazon.com, the reality is that it is a giant impersonal company. However, if you shop on Amazon, you’ll realize that Amazon can pretty accurately suggest books you would like to read or products you would like to buy. They use sophisticated engines that make recommendations based on your purchase patterns. They don’t know you, but it SEEMS like they do. This is MASS-personalization.

Why Mass-Personalization is Relevant to School Admissions?

“I deal with hundreds of families and each of them expect me to know them personally.”

-Anon Admissions Director

Parents are getting younger and their expectations are changing. Every business they’re dealing with knows all about them, and they expect you to know them as well. Even if you are talking with hundreds of families just like them, they are probably only talking to a few schools. If they are going to invest the money, a personal connection will be important to them.

So, you need to make sure you are connecting more personally with more families. Now, I’m not asking you to create a complex engine like Amazon has done. That would be crazy. But I will share some strategies I’ve learned from other school admissions teams about how they are connecting personally in an efficient way.

1. When a parent or prospective student calls, you should be able to pull up their record, see the notes you logged from your conversation at the open house, know what football team they cheer for, and see where they are in the application process. This makes prospects feel like you remember them. That you care.

2. In order to make #1 possible, you need to share these notes and records among the team in a way that they can be accessed and updated immediately. If an inquiry calls you, you should know that your assistant had been trying to get a hold of them to set up an interview. Or if your admissions coordinator is out sick, you should be able to see their to-dos for the day and pick up where they left off. You’re a well-oiled machine.

3. There are ways to make even bulk emails feel personal. The trick is to choose the groups with whom you have something relevant to say. E.g. sending an email inviting 50 people who expressed an interest in theatre to the new play. Even though it’s a bulk email, it feels like it’s made for them because it’s based on their interests. The trick is finding which groups to target brings me to #4.

4. Map out your admissions communication plan – an organized plan to talk to High Value Groups specifically about the things they care about.

In an upcoming post, I’ll discuss how admissions teams are building those communication plans.

Posted by Elyn Roberts

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Learn how schools can connect more personally with prospects with SchoolAdmin Communication Tools.

With everyone entering the social media market and it being the status quo to host links to your Facebook and Twitter accounts on your website and in emails, it’s important to remember that there is an unwritten code of conduct. It’s actually been written a number of times in a number of ways however, a lot of what you’ll read about in searching for social media etiquette is aimed at the casual user (and abuser) of Twitter and Facebook as well as some businesses. But what about schools? Here are some best practices for how you as a school should conduct your social media business that will help boost your online presence.

Keep Posting

• The most important thing for a school to do is build an audience of people who are both interested in being part of the school as well as interested in hearing what’s going on with the school. The best way to do that is to post about a variety of things to widen your audience, but keep it relevant and keep it coming.

1.  Admissions: App requirements, deadlines, the status of review
2.  Extra Curricular: Sports, plays, dances, etc.
3.  News: About the school (openings and closings) and the community (as it affects the people who read)
4.  Meetings and Events: PTAs, Fundraising etc.

Keep Engaging

• Try and always respond to those who reach out to you on social media.

1.  For students, it can be as convenient, if not more convenient, than calling the office or sending an email — so long as it’s not about sensitive information.
2.  And try not to take forever.

• Follow students, but only if they follow you first.

1.  One of the 7 ways to use twitter in education we covered earlier brings this idea to the table. No one likes the idea of “big brother” always  watching – even though we know you always are.

Be Positive

• No doubt people are saying great things about your school online. Retweet, mention, and reply to that, let the world know. It’s also possible that people will say terrible things about your school online. Instead of ignoring them completely, invite them to call your office or email the appropriate counselor. That way, when people read your posts, they see that you care.

Be Fresh

• It’s easy to have a stale feed if all of your posts are in the same tone or are the same type. If you or a member of your team is at an event and is an early adopter of things like Instagram or Cinemagram, add some of those posts.

Posted by Van Winn

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I’m expecting my first child next month (a little girl!) and I’ve been evaluating daycare centers like crazy. There are some fantastic choices, but boy are they pricey: upwards of $12K per year! One thing I can’t get over is their lack of technology for enrollment. Each school gave me giant packets that I will have to complete, with questions I can’t possibly answer about my unborn child. (“Describe your child’s behavior?” Ummm… she kicks a lot?) Furthermore, I’ve learned that this is paperwork I’ll have to fill out once or twice a year! The same stuff! And I have to pay a deposit by check! Grumble.

Admittedly, I do work at an admissions and enrollment software company. I know that there are tools out there that these schools could implement that would make the enrollment process so much easier for me, and if I’m paying so much money, I expect it. But I don’t think my experience makes me biased. I think ALL parents expect more.

Here’s why all schools should be using online enrollment software:

Parents Want It

• Paper makes today’s students and parents grumpy. It’s not just me. We’re used to shopping, paying taxes, checking our bank statements, making friends, booking travel online. We expect that level of technology everywhere.
• Paper makes today’s students and parents procrastinate. I have one month left until delivery, I know the daycare center I’m choosing, yet I have not filled out the paperwork. I just never get around to it. It’s not just me. I talk with countless admissions and enrollment teams that literally have to hunt down parents to get all the necessary paperwork back.
• Paper re-enrollment makes today’s parents and students want to find another school. The idea that this school that is taking care of my child every day needs to collect the same information from me year after year makes me think they don’t know me. It makes me seriously question their ability to keep track of important information. It’s not just me.

It Will Help Your School

• Paper enrollment makes you less efficient. You’re printing out enrollment packets, stuffing envelopes, mailing them out, following up with procrastinating parents, making sure everything is returned prior to school starting, keying all of this information into your SIS or database, and updating last year’s information in your database. All this takes valuable time.
• Paper enrollment holds up your budget. Those procrastinating parents and students are withholding deposits and the financial tuition commitment you need to plan. I talk with so many schools that are delaying hiring decisions and critical projects because they’re still waiting on the revenue from enrollment.
• Online enrollment and re-enrollment can give your image a boost. Your customers are your BEST marketers and if they are DELIGHTED they will talk about you. When parents and students can eliminate hand writing and mail, they’ll be happy. When online re-enrollment paperwork is already pre-populated with last year’s information, they’ll be thrilled. And when they talk with friends who still have to do it the old fashioned way, you know they will rave about your wonderful school.

Posted by Elyn Roberts

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

School Admissions is an extremely tough, yet critical part of any successful Independent School or College. In fact, admissions efforts generally result in more than 80% of a school’s annual revenue. However, admissions teams are frequently left with tools that are unsatisfactory, or in use purely because they came with the school-wide SIS.

In talking with hundreds of Admissions Directors across the country, I’ve learned that many administrative teams just don’t have visibility to all of the work that goes into building relationships with prospective students and families and moving them through the admissions funnel. Alas, it’s often difficult for Admissions Directors to  get budget approved for school admission software.

But, there’s a solution! Here’s how you can build the business case to afford school admissions software.

• Brainstorm all of the manual/administrative tasks you’re doing in admissions today. Some ideas include:

1. Entering data from paper (or emailed) applications and inquiries
2. Exporting contact information into a spreadsheet to do mail merges and send emails
3. Answering questions about admissions process and paperwork still due
4. Scheduling shadow days, interviews and tours

√  Calculate how much time you’re spending on these tasks. (Note: I’ve talked with teams spending upwards of TEN WEEKS on activities like these. These types of tasks can be ELIMINATED with many admissions software solutions out there. Just imagine having 10 weeks of extra time!)

• Brainstorm all of the activities that cannot or should not be reduced. These are the activities that help you build relationships – that improve your numbers.

1. Feeder school visits
2. Open Houses
3. Tours
4. Interviews

√  Calculate how much time you’re spending on these tasks. (Note: this list is HARD. There’s so much you do in admissions and it’s tough to quantify it all, but with time, you’ll think of almost everything. )

• Brainstorm the admissions activities you could add (if only you had additional time!)

1. More frequent school visits
2. Communicating more frequently with inquiries
3. Planning new marketing initiatives
4. More PROACTIVE calls to families and prospects

√  Calculate how much time you would need. (Note: These are the activities that will impact your yield or selectivity statistics. You’ll be finding more inquiries or applicants, or better communicating with those you have.)

Finally, put all this information into a report to present. The business case should be clear (or you’ll realize that you’re fine with the tools you already have in place today!)

The reality is that most school admissions software solutions out there (even if the price tag seems scary) can be easily paid for based on the results you’ll see!

Posted by Elyn Roberts

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Many companies implement Employee Referral Programs because they are an extremely effective way find top quality candidates, without a whole lot of overhead. As I talk with Independent School and College Admissions teams, however, it isn’t very often that I hear of Referral Programs to help recruiting efforts.

But just last week, I had a conversation with a Director of Admissions who has built a successful incentive program to help recruit students. Each time a current parent recommends a prospective student that ends up enrolling in the school, that parent gets a $1,000 bonus: one-half paid upfront  and the other half paid during re-enrollment for the next year. For this school, it is a small investment to find quality candidates, considering the lifetime tuition generated from each. I thought it was a great idea.

So how can school admissions teams build successful referral programs?

• Figure out the Incentive. It could be cash money, decreased tuition, meal vouchers, etc. You might even be able to negotiate with 3rd parties to get volume discounts on those products or services that you will award to parents. That way you can offer the same value, but at a lower price. Over time, you will be able to hone in on the perfect incentive that works for your school.
• Determine the Rules.You might want to limit the number of referrals to ensure parents are only referring top candidates with a high probability to enroll. You might choose to pay out referral compensation in stages.
• Communicate the Program to ALL Parents. Make sure parents are aware of the program, that they understand the rules, that they know what kind of candidates are best to refer.
• Market the Program to SELECT Parents. Some parents will be better equipped to find quality candidates than others. Learn who your top “recruiters” are and make sure you continuously promote the program to them – make sure they’re excited about it and have the tools they need to succeed.
• Analyze Performance. Set goals around participation and referrals received and measure your return on investment. Review referrals of previous years to see which were best and why. Then modify your program accordingly for next year.

Happy recruiting!

Posted by Elyn Roberts

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A proven entrepreneur, Jack is also the Co-Founder and Chairman and of PeopleAdmin, and a co-founder of Lone Star Overnight. Lone Star Overnight and PeopleAdmin have both been recognized as Inc. 500 companies. Jack has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Texas MBA program, and he helped found the Acton School of Business where he teaches entrepreneurship.
Jack’s entrepreneurship has enabled him to focus on something we value so much more – “saving lives”. He uses his flying skills for relief and rescue missions to save humans and endangered wildlife.

Check this article by Acton School of Business which talks in detail about Jack and his aviation aid missions to Haiti, Mexico and Belize.

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FLYING THE GOOD FLIGHT WITH MASTER TEACHER JACK LONG

By Omar

Aviation Aid Missions to Haiti, Mexico and Belize Take Jack’s Plane to “Highest and Best Use.”

Next week Master Teacher Jack Long, Chairman and Co-founder of SchoolAdmin, will take to the skies. Once again he’s volunteering his plane and piloting skills in what’s become an ongoing series of aviation missions that he’s run to support medical aid and wildlife conservation.

Jack’s Pilatus PC-12 in Sheridan, Wyoming

In the last two years, Jack has flown medical supplies and personnel to Haiti shortly after the 2010 earthquake, brought a couple of seriously injured Haitian girls to the US for extensive medical care, and transported endangered wildlife across North America to support species growth and repopulation.

We talked to Jack recently about his missions, how his entrepreneurship enabled them, and how his June 2012 trip builds on one he flew last year.

Launch

As often happens with entrepreneurs, the opportunity and launch of Jack’s missions came about after harvesting a business he’d co-founded. Late in 2008, after selling software startup PeopleAdmin, Jack treated himself to a new plane, a Pilatus PC-12, built by the Swiss company Pilatus Aircraft Limited.

“It was a more capable plane… and it’s the nicest plane I’ve ever had,” Jack admitted. “I’ve been an aviation buff for more than 30 years. In college, I got a job at an airport fueling planes and funded my own pilot certification. I’ve been flying ever since.”

The remaining component came came into place in January 12, 2010, when the Haitian earthquake created a real need for help and provoked thousands of Americans to action. That’s when Jack rallied with three other Pilatus owners to fly doctors and medical supplies to Haiti, inadvertently beginning his aviation missions.

Medical Excursions To Haiti in 2010

Six days after the quake, Jack and the three other pilots collectively picked up 15 medical professionals – doctors and nurses – and 15,000 pounds of medical supplies. They convened in Miami and flew the next day to the Haitian town of Jacmel, southwest of Port-au-Prince where they unloaded the passengers and supplies and returned to the US.

On the Ground in Les Cayes, Haiti

A few weeks later, Jack was again en route to Haiti, this time flying his neighbor, a doctor at Austin’s Dell Children’s hospital, and a hold full of supplies. After delivering passenger and cargo, Jack flew to the Dominican Republic, Haiti’s wealthier neighbor on Hispaniola not directly impacted by the quake. A Dominican missionary group had set up a staging ground for critical supplies, while Jack and other pilots like him handled the logistics, making three of four runs per day. Jack ran relief supplies all over Haiti for five days before returning to Austin.

“These flights were my first flights outside of US airspace and in Haiti it was like the Wild West,” Jack said. “There was no air traffic control and military planes, from any number of countries, could just come out of nowhere.”

After commercial service was restored, and coordinated flight transportation in Haiti resumed, Jack decided that continuing his flights would not be the “highest and best use” of his resources and assumed his flights to Haiti had concluded. However, two months later he was asked to make the run a third time.

“There were two little Haitian girls, both had their legs crushed in the earthquake,” Jack explained. “They’d reached a point where, if they stayed in Haiti, their legs would be amputated… all four legs.”

UTSA Medical had agreed to contribute all medical services and two San Antonio families had committed to provide foster care for the girls while they recovered. The only missing piece was transportation, so when Jack was recruited to help, he agreed and brought the girls safely back to San Antonio for treatment.

“I felt like I did some good in Haiti,” Jack commented on his overall experience there. “And the flying was challenging and very different from what I had known. It was a good use of my plane and I was interested in finding more ways to use it like that.”

Enter LightHawk – Running Wolves and Falcons

After his Haiti trips, Jack began working with LightHawk, an environmental aviation non-profit that acts as a middleman between environmental and conservation-related organizations and pilots who can help their causes. Jack has run several missions, transporting Mexican Gray Wolves and Orange-breasted Falcon chicks across North America.

“My wife Carolyn and I are very active and supportive of The Nature Conservancy and conservation causes in general,” Jack said. “So LightHawk represented good fit for me.”

Mexican Gray Wolves

Monterrey Bound- Male Mexican Gray Wolf

Since 2009, the Mexican Gray Wolf has been the most endangered mammal in North America. The Mexican Wolf Species Survival Planaims to repopulate the species and reintroduce it into the wild. This involves both pairing and breeding wolves in captivity, for release into the wild, and moving wolves around amongst captive breeding sites, keeping the wolves’ DNA pool varied.

Jack has piloted several LightHawk flights to support the Wolf’s survival, flying wolves from New Orleans to Mexico City; Albuquerque to St. Louis; and Soccoro, New Mexico to Monterrey, Mexico.

On each flight, Jack carried two wolves, each set in an individual crate just a few feet behind his pilot’s seat. Jack pointed out that while he was accompanied by wildlife handlers on his US flights, he flew solo with his canine cargo on his flights south of the border.

The Orange-Breasted Falcon Project

In June 2011, Jack shuttled two crates of rare and very endangered falcon chicks from Sheridan, Wyoming to Belize. Together, they flew with an entourage of three biologists and 4,000 pounds of frozen quail.

Adult Orange-Breasted Falcon in Sheridan, WY

The Orange-Breasted Falcon is extremely rare and has only been bred in captivity in one location, overseen by one man. Celebrated falconer Bob Berry, himself an entrepreneur who sold his insurance company years ago, oversees the Orange-breasted Falcon Project, which seeks help from pilots like Jack to transport the captive chicks to their native Central America, where they can be transitioned into the wild.

When the chicks hatch, there is a very narrow window of about two weeks in which you can introduce them into the wild. If it is done too soon, they’ll die. If it occurs too late, the birds will be too attached to their handlers and unable to survive on their own.

Round Two of the Orange-Breasted Falcon Project

Jack’s next mission, with wheels up the morning of June 11, 2012, builds on last year’s experience with Bob Berry and his Orange-breasted Falcons.

Jack Long and Falconer Bob Berry in Sheridan, WY

“This time, my wife is going with me,” said Jack. “Bob Berry invited us to go with him once we land in Belize, as he takes the birds to their new habitat.”

Once they arrive, the chicks will be transferred to hack sites, where young falcons are placed in a raised, enclosed habitat designed to resemble a forest canopy. To avoid human imprinting, all human contact is concealed and the birds are fed with the use of puppets that help them learn to become experienced hunters.

Flying for a Purpose

“I love everything about these flights,” Jack said. “They help organizations whose causes I love. I love the flying and I love using the plane for a good purpose.”

Everyone at Acton is very proud of our friend, colleague and Master Teacher Jack Long. And we love that Jack’s entrepreneurial success and personal drive have afforded him new opportunities to help change the world.

Approaching Port-au-Prince, Haiti on February 6, 2010

1. Share Photos and Videos – Sports tournament? Recital? Graduation? Mayor visiting your school?  Use Facebook to share those pictures and video clips. As they say, ‘a picture is worth thousand words’… and a video is worth a thousand pictures! Here is a great example of a how Walnut Hill School used Facebook photos to create their unique yearbook.

• Advantage:  People can ‘like’ and comment on pictures and videos, sharing them with their friends and fans. You never know when that amazing picture or video might go viral!

2. Make Announcements – Admission Deadline? PTA meeting? Let your current and prospective parents know about the deadlines. You can also use Facebook to update parents in case of emergency.

• Advantage: Reach parents in an efficient way without flooding their inbox. Parents can also collaborate, ask questions and get answers.

3. Create Events & RSVPs – Creating events in Facebook is simple. Just provide details of the events, allow RSVPs from attendees, and post updates. Facebook shows it on your school page schedule, saving your time in sending reminders.  See how The Country Schools uses Facebook to create events.

• Advantage: Gain insights on what kind of events generated the most interest.

4. Community Forum -  Facebook can be a place where students, parents, alumni, prospects and your school can interact. Use it to discuss general topics, create polls and answer questions.

• Advantage: Generate interest and collaboration among your audience. As a bonus, you may get some great ‘marketing’ ideas based on what they’re saying!

5. Show School Pride – Going to basketball game? Give your fans the details. Won that game? Update your Facebook status to let your fans know. Another great way to showcase school pride is to invite your fans to submit photos that represent their love for your school. You can then use these as the cover photos on your Facebook timeline. See the example of Sheridan School showing their school pride through Facebook.

• Advantage: Keep your audience engaged. Who doesn’t love sharing and showing their school pride?

6. School Timeline – With the new Facebook timeline, you can share your history all the way from the beginning by highlighting milestones, pictures from different years, etc.

• Advantage: A fun way to introduce fun facts and important achievements of your school.

7. Virtual Tour – When everything is moving online, why not move the campus tour too. And better yet, integrate it into Facebook to reach a larger audience. Virtual tours are great tools for students and parents to explore the campus, get 360 views of the beautiful campus and glimpse of campus life from the comfort of their homes.

• Advantage: Serve the out-of-town students and international students. Allow them to interact with the school in a more personal way.

Let me know how your school is using Facebook in the comments section below.

Posted by Sharanya Srinivasan

I don’t doubt that you have some combination of the basics: your name, mailing and email addresses, phone and fax numbers — ignore what everyone says about the irrelevance of fax numbers. In the admissions world, it can be the most important number, so keep it. You might also have a link to your school’s website already, but think about making that a link straight to the admissions homepage. That way, prospective parents and students have easy and direct access to more info should they need it. Also, if your school or admissions department has an active Twitter or Facebook, link that too.

If your school is like most others, you have a wide range of events — highlight them. This is especially useful if you’re going to have an open house or information session, but even if it’s just a yearly tradition that makes your school unique, chances are someone might be intrigued and take a look.

Lastly, a little (I repeat, a little) school spirit never hurt anyone. For example, most emails from Admissions Counselors at The University of Texas add “Hook ‘em” just before their name. Similarly people at The University of Michigan add “Go Blue”. There’s no need to make the text in your email Burnt Orange or alternating Maize and Blue, but if your school has a quick slogan and it sounds natural, throw it in.

However, at the end of it all, remember: everything in moderation. Your email signature is definitely going to be a mess if you add everything I’ve mentioned in a list. Decide what’s important and organize it well. It should be something that represents you and your school, but at the same time is effective in delivering information people might not yet know they need.

Posted by Van Winn