Are You LinkedIn?
We in Admissions talk, strategize, and puzzle over communicating with candidates at every stage of the admissions process. One of our challenges is determining what is the best way to communicate with you.
My staff and I have entered a really exciting time of year, one in which we have released many rounds of decisions and are speaking with all our admitted and deposited students. The admissions staff contacts everyone who is admitted by phone and by email.
Remember the telephone?
Phone calls, though, are not always a successful communication form. We often don’t reach live people; leaving messages, particularly about sensitive issues like admissions decisions, is complicated. When someone does answer, she is often hesitant if not suspicious of why we are using the phone at all.
Text? We don’t text, yet. Some things in life, like being admitted to a premier MBA program, require a weightier method of communication. As the Director of Admissions, I am uncomfortable sending this type of message to an applicant, who has spent approximately 18 months making the decision to apply and is poised to spend between $90,000 and $150,000 on a graduate education:
U R in. Congratz. Bbson Admssns.
What to do?
As admissions professionals, my staff and I thrive on live events and in-person encounters. We enjoy nothing more than a roomful of interested and interesting MBA candidates. But we can’t reach everyone, as much as we try. So, we rely on email. It delivers what we want you to know and you can access it immediately, from a multitude of devices. We also utilize social media, to keep you current on Babson and to offer you fresh information about what our students and faculty are doing.
In a very new development, we are now offering LinkedIn groups for admits from each of the four MBA programs who have accepted our offer by submitting a deposit. We set up these groups to facilitate your communication, actually. We use the Admitted Student portals to give you administrative information. But we also wanted a way to contact you with topical or time-sensitive information or opportunities. Our marketing director suggested LinkedIn groups, and so — you now have your own space, a place to meet and greet each other, continue conversations started at one of the Welcome Day events, or exchange apartment search tips. Enjoy. Let us know what you think.
In closing, let me ask: what are your preferred methods of communication? What could you not live without—Twitter? Facebook? Do you answer your phone?
Good luck. Think Big.
Best, Barbara