Monday, October 22, 2007

Blog university

Applying for college is a two-way street.

Students are not the only ones vying for their top choice. Colleges and universities are competing between one another to attract the best and the brightest. To ensure they do, many have been taking the next step to reach out to more computer-literate generations.

In the past couple of years, many colleges and universities have added new features to their web sites that are based on the success blogs or the billion-dollar video web site YouTube and video blogs (vlogs).

In this area, Boston University has added a video podcast. The podcast is not just a virtual tour of the institute’s campus, but rather follows a handful of students through an “average” day on campus. It can be viewed on the school’s web site, but they push the aspect of being able to download all of the 10-part podcast and take it with you to watch on your iPod. The most entertaining part is that all of the outdoor shots make Boston seem constantly sunny and warm. If only those out of state students knew what they were in for.

Wheaton College, a private school in Norton, takes a more traditional approach. It offers perspective students the chance to read up on the college through the blogs of five of its students. The blogs don’t seem to be updated too frequently, but the posts sound sincere enough and don’t appear to be censored by the school. They don’t give it as good play as the BU podcasts gets on its web site, but interested enough students should be able to find these blogs.

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