2013 social admissions report
TRANSCRIPT
The 2013 Social Admissions Report
March 2013
Methodology
Background: Objec&ve is to get greater insights into high school students’ use of social media, in general, and in selec&ng a college or university Methodology: Survey invita&ons were emailed to Zinch high schools students and Chegg college students Survey Dates: January -‐ February 2013 • 2012 Social Admissions Report was fielded in early Fall 2012.
Trends are highlighted throughout the presenta&on. High School Students: -‐ 4,025 surveys completed
-‐ 63% gradua&ng 2012 or 2013 -‐ 36% gradua&ng 2014 or 2015
Male, 23.00%
Female, 75.10%
Gender Year of High School GraduaHon
10%
10% 1% 1%
12%
13% 53%
18%
Prefer not to answer
Two or more races
NaHve Hawaiian or Pacific
American Indian or
Asian
Black or African American
White
Hispanic or LaHno
Ethnicity
9%
54%
24%
13%
2012
2013
2014
2015
Top States of Residence
48%
31%
14%
6%
1 to 3
4 to 6
7 to 10
More than 10
Number of Schools Applied to
Respondents represent ethnic and geographic diversity of students
CA : 16%
TX : 8% FL : 7% GA : 4%
PA : 3%
NY : 5% MI : 4%
OH : 3% IL : 4%
Rise of mobile
Yes 70%
No 21%
N/A -‐ I don't own a mobile
device 10%
Q4. Do you access social media on your mobile device? (iPhone/Android/Tablet) Q5. Have you accessed a school's site on your mobile device? (among those who access social media on mobile)
Access social media on mobile Access school site on mobile
Yes 87%
No 13%
7 in 10 students access social media on mobile. Among those, 9 in 10 of them access school sites on mobile
More students access school site on mobile: 71% to 87% YOY
65%
78%
68% 73%
60%
74%
60%
69%
Asian Black or African American
White Hispanic
2013 2012
Social media and ethnicity
Q4. Do you access social media on your mobile device? (iPhone/Android/Tablet)
Access social media on mobile
Social media on mobile device varies by ethnicity
8%
11%
19%
22%
24%
48%
6%
5%
8%
6%
9%
22%
7%
5%
6%
5%
8%
9%
4%
3%
3%
2%
4%
2%
10%
10%
12%
7%
14%
6%
64%
66%
53%
58%
42%
13%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Tumblr
TwiSer
Google+
Mul&ple &mes a day Once a day Once a week Once a month Every once in a while Never
Social media usage
Use of Social Media
Q3. How oden do you use the following different social media websites?
Half use Facebook mulHple Hmes a day Instagram passes Twifer as second most acHve true social network
88%
43%
30% 24%
30%
87%
47% 42%
36% 34%
Facebook TwiSer Instagram Pinterest Tumblr
2012
2013
Shifts in social media usage
Use of social media (2013 vs 2012)
Q3. How oden do you use the following different social media websites?
Facebook maintains importance, use of visual plagorms increases by 50%
In our 2012 study, Instagram and Pinterest were barely on the map. In 2013 both networks saw an increase in
adopHon of over 50%
8%
22%
37%
21%
12%
1 = not at all influenHal
2
3
4
5 = extremely influenHal
Social media and college research
Influence of social media to research college
Q1. Have you used social media to research college/universiHes? Q2. How influenHal was social media to your college/university search?
Yes 72%
No 28%
Use of social media to research college
Nearly three-‐quarters use social media to research colleges; a third find it influenHal
Overall use is up from 68% in 2012
33% show strong influence of social media during research.
Should colleges have a social media presence?
Q8. Do you think colleges should have a social media presence? Please explain why you feel that way. (among those graduaHng in 2013 and later)
Why Not?
77%
4%
19%
67%
7%
26%
Yes
No
Unsure
2013 2012
Should colleges have social media presence?
Why?
Over three-‐quarters think colleges should have a presence on social media to reach students
Because of social media sites, I found colleges that I would
have never heard of otherwise.
I think social media allows schools to
become too personal with their students.
2%
2%
4%
4%
11%
7%
11%
2%
2%
3%
4%
7%
5%
10%
3%
3%
3%
4%
8%
9%
14%
2%
2%
2%
3%
4%
8%
8%
5%
6%
6%
10%
10%
21%
21%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
Tumblr
TwiSer
Google+
YouTube
Mul&ple &mes a day Once a day Once a week Once a month Every once in a while
Facebook maintains relevance
Frequency of viewing social media for colleges considered afending
Q12. How oden do you view the following social media sites for college/universiHes you have considered afending?
Facebook ranks first among social media sites visited for college informaHon followed by YouTube.
49%
42%
38%
32%
32%
24%
18%
14%
4%
37%
47%
49%
44%
54%
49%
43%
40%
20%
14%
11%
13%
24%
14%
27%
39%
46%
76%
Conversa&ons I had with students (in person or on the phone) who aSend the school
News and updates from the college
Conversa&ons I had with my friends (in person or on the phone) about the school
Conversa&ons I had with students that aSend the school (through social media -‐ facebook, twiSer etc.)
Photos I saw of the school
Conversa&ons I had with my friends about the school (through social media -‐ facebook, twiSer etc.)
Student blogs I read
YouTube videos
TwiSer feeds
Major influence Some influence No influence
Social media and student conversions
Q7. How much did (or will) each of the following influence where you decide to enroll?
Influence on deciding where to enroll
Three-‐quarters say student conversaHons on Social media influence school they enroll at
Social media and enrollment
Q9. Did you (or would you) use social media as a resource when deciding where to enroll? Q10. How influenHal was social media during your college search? (among those who did use social media to decide where to enroll)
7 in 10 use social media in deciding where to enroll; up nearly 2x from 2012
Yes 59%
No 41%
Use social media in deciding where to enroll
39%
75%
class of 2012 (2012 data)
class of 2013 (2013 data) All 2013 respondents
Social media and enrollment
Q9. Did you (or would you) use social media as a resource when deciding where to enroll? Q10. How influenHal was social media during your college search? (among those who did use social media to decide where to enroll)
Nearly 40% of the 2013 respondents that used social media said it has influenced their decision
Class of
2013
5%
18%
39%
24%
14%
1 = not at all influenHal
2
3
4
5 = extremely influenHal
Of the 75% of the class of 2013, 38% of those respondents said they were influenced by social media.
61% 60% 58% 62%
44% 39%
31%
38%
Asian Black or African American
White Hispanic
2013 2012
Variation in ethnicity in social media usage
Q9. Did you (or would you) use social media as a resource when deciding where to enroll?
Use social media in deciding where to enroll
Lifle variaHon by ethnicity in use of social media to decide where to enroll; huge increases year-‐on-‐year
Relevancy of social media posts
Relevance of informaHon posted on school’s social media sites
Q13. How valuable/relevant do you find the informaHon posted on school's social media sites? (Among those who use social media to research colleges)
6%
13%
39%
28%
14%
1 = not at all relevant
2
3
4
5 = extremely relevant
Class of 2013
42%
4 in 10 students find informaHon posted on school’s social media sites relevant
While many find content relevant, there is room for improvement
Improve colleges’ social media presence
Q15. What could have been improved about colleges' social media presence?
The college could have posted about scholarship and internship
opportuniHes much more oden as the opportuniHes became available
More informaHon for students who are applying as
undergraduates and give brief explanaHons of the process.
Newer videos, videos about more specific subjects like classes
How to improve colleges’ social media presence
More photos of the campus
It could be more publicized because I
didn’t realize there was college social media.
Most valuable information
Q14. What informaHon was valuable for you from schools' social media sites?
Most valuable informaHon on schools’ social media sites
What potential students find important
InformaHon from colleges on social networking sites that resonates most with students
Q16. What informaHon from colleges resonate with you on social networking sites? (select all that apply)
10%
41%
51%
66%
68%
69%
Other (please specify)
Athle&cs
Career services
Campus visits
Deadlines
Clubs and organiza&ons
Scholarship, financial aid, costs/tuiHon, housing, pictures, social/on campus life
Info on clubs/organizaHons, followed by deadlines and campus visits resonate most with potenHal students
12%
15%
17%
23%
33%
38%
41%
48%
49%
61%
82%
CollegeView
College Confiden&al
US News and World Report
MyCollegeOp&ons
CollegeWeekLive
Fastweb.com
Cappex
CollegeProwler
Scholarships.com
College website (i.e. www.school.edu)
Zinch
Zinch is a top online resource
Online resources used to review college informaHon
Q27. Please tell us which of the following online resources you used to review college informaHon? (select all that apply)
Zinch is a top online resource used for college informaHon, followed by college sites
Zinch increased From 64% in 2012
Pages and groups for admitted students
Q17. Did your college/university provide a Facebook page or group for admifed students? Q18. Please rate your experience on your school's admifed students page/group. (among those with a group)
Q19. Would you (or did you) join a social network created by your college/university specifically for accepted students?
Your school has a Facebook page for admifed students
Likelihood of joining a social network for admifed students
Early in year; class of 2013 not yet fully admifed
72%
9%
19%
39%
11%
50%
Yes
No
Unsure
Class of 2012
Class of 2013
70%
18%
12%
60%
24%
16%
Yes
No
Unsure
A third say their school has a page/group for admifed students
Pages and group experience
Comments on experience in group
21%
33%
37%
7%
2%
5 = great
4
3
2
1 = terrible Class of 2013 in 2013
Experience on school’s admifed students page/group
Most like the experience in the page/group for admifed students
Q17. Did your college/university provide a Facebook page or group for admifed students? Q18. Please rate your experience on your school's admifed students page/group. (among those with a group)
Q19. Would you (or did you) join a social network created by your college/university specifically for accepted students?
I love it! It had been a wonderful opportunity to start meeHng others and has given us a place to share our ideas.
It’s okay. I read about the acHviHes on
campus, it’s not wicked useful to me yet.
20%
32%
31%
41%
33%
48%
40%
43%
39%
41%
35%
45%
32%
42%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
Alumni
Administrators
Faculty
Guidance Counselors
Other admiSed students
Admissions Counselors
Currently enrolled students
Very important Somewhat important
Social media interaction
Q20. How important was/is it for you to interact with the following people via social media?
Importance of interacHng with people via social media
Increased since 2012
Students and counselors are most important to interact with on social media
49% 48%
36% 42%
53%
61%
41%
58%
43% 40%
31% 33%
Asian Black or African American
White Hispanic
Current Students Admissions Counselors AdmiSed Students
Ethnicity and social media interaction
Very important to interact with:
Q20. How important was/is it for you to interact with the following people via social media? (very important)
Hispanic Students and African Americans most value interacHon with admissions counselors on social media
Following schools on social media
Schools students follow or like on social media
Q22. Did you “follow or like” a college you were considering going to on a social media service? Q23. Which schools did you "follow or like" on social media? (leave blank if none)
Yes 49% No
51%
Follow or like a considered college on social media
Half follow or like a school on social media
Schools’ performance on social media
Schools doing a good job on social media – by number of menHons
Q24. Are there any schools that did a parHcularly good job with social media? Please specify the school, the plagorm and why you thought it was good. (e.g., San Jose State University updated their facebook page frequently with photos)
UCLA, NYU, Cal State, Stanford, Yale cited as good on social media
UCLA TFT program Facebook page was extremely helpful in that the school is so big, we came in already part of the department.
NYU They give lots of pictures and quotes from students.
Stanford constantly updates on new findings and things done by both students and alumni.
Yale tweets a lot about how great their students are.
22 22*
2 19*
22 14*
22 14*
* Number of comments school received
Most valuable information
Q14. What informaHon was valuable for you from schools' social media sites?
Most valuable informaHon on schools’ social media sites
Key insights
Nearly three-‐quarters use social media to research colleges and two thirds find it influenHal. Half follow or like a college on social media. 7 in 10 students access social media on mobile. Nearly 9 in 10 of them access school sites on mobile. Nearly three-‐quarters think colleges should have a presence on social media. Info on clubs/organiza&ons, deadlines and campus visits resonate most with students. Zinch ranks first among most common sites visited for college informaHon. 7 in 10 view Zinch for colleges; 4 in 10 do so weekly. A third say their school has a page/group for admifed students; 56% of students would join such a group. Most like the experience in their group.
6 Ohio State posted a bunch of videos on YouTube a while ago for prospective students that were very helpful.
6 Penn State updated their twitter constantly. It helped give me a inside look at the school and its activities.
6 Portland State has a great housing facebook page with updates
6 San Diego State had current info that had just happened.
6 San Jose State University updated their facebook page frequently with photos
6 SUNY Oneonta also has Youtube videos for campus tours and their website has a virtual tour.
6 University of California is always showing something new every week.
6 University of Florida Google+ showed some of their style of playing basketball.
6 University of Illinois and because it constantly put up posts and sometimes pictures.
6 University of Miami; give a lot of insite as to what goes on within the school and lets you know about the campus activities.
6 University of Wisconsin Madison seemed to update photos often
6 Xavier University does update photos and informative statuses, which is always fun!
5 Biola did a good job with the information they presented about the classroom settings and dorming situations.
5 Cal Poly kept their page up to date 5 Columbia College Chicago 5 Georgia Tech University constaly
updated theit v.i.p admissions page with current events.
5 Loyola University- Maryland updated their Tumblr frequently and Georgia State University and the students who attend post videos on YouTube frequently also.
5 Michigan State was able to communicate with all it's potential students more efficiently.
5 Monterey State University displayed social and educational programs and interests often, and they were very easy to attain.
5 Northwestern University updated events occurring on campus on Facebook.
5 Savannah Collge of Arts and Design because they add pictures often, and they talk about the upcoming activities/ accomplishments the school has done.
5 SDSU updated their site with photos 5
University of Houston updates their facebook page frequently with photos, statuses, and shared links from students and staff regarding Cougar Pride and the Keep Houston Red project. Fans are also reminded of sporting events and recitals on the page, which is awesome.
5 University of michigan leaves updates constantly
5 University of Texas was informative on facebook with pictures and posts of athletic events and achievements.
5 University of Washington has several student-made Facebook pages and a complete profile on college social media sites like Zinch and Cappex.
5 Whitworth University has a lot of outreach for seniors to get them interested in their educational program.
Schools’ performance on social media
UCLA, NYU, Cal State, Stanford, Yale cited as good on social media
Schools doing a good job on social media – by number of menHons, cont.
Schools’ performance on social media
Schools doing a good job on social media – by number of menHons 22 UCLA TFT program Facebook page was extremely
helpful in that the school is so big, we came in already part of the department.
19 New York University. they give lots of pictures and quotes from students
15 Cal state 14 Stanford constantly updates on new findings and things
done by both students and alumni. 14 Yale University twits a lot about how great their students
are. 12 Arizona State University 11 Harvard University did a great job in inspiring me through
its student success stories. 11 Texas A&M University keeps their Facebook page up to
date with reminders of deadlines and also with the status of their sports teams.
10 Duke University updates their website with valuable information.
10 University of Southern California updated their Summer Program for high school students.
9 OSU does great updating campus visitations. 9 UT- updates on going events frequently 8 Florida State University kept up to date posts on events
and student life 8 Liberty University- updates very frequently and makes it
look fun to go to!
8 Marquette University updated the admissions twitter feed often
7 Ball State constantly highlighted important events, news updates, and deadlines
7 Brown University did a good job at incorporating post that people could interact with.
7 MIT uploaded cool videos about their experiments in YouTube
7 Purdue University gave admitted students a good facebook group to talk and learn about the school.
7 UC Berkeley had many people similar to me on their blogs giving me advice!
7 University of Minnesota always had their day-to-day activities and events. They were always posting deadlines do things and new inspirations in why to choose that college.
7 University of Oregon updates student events frequently 6 Full Sail University, they update frequently and I can find
other people interested or already enrolled at the school. There are also people there to provide helpful information, that could be useful to someone interested in the college.
6 Johnson and Wales University has faculty available to answer any questions you have when it gets posted in facebook
6 Ohio State posted a bunch of videos on YouTube a while ago for prospective students that were very helpful.
Q24. Are there any schools that did a parHcularly good job with social media? Please specify the school, the plagorm and why you thought it was good. (e.g., San Jose State University updated their facebook page frequently with photos)
UCLA, NYU, Cal State, Stanford, Yale cited as good on social media
Application decisions and social media
Q11. What social media resources did you (or would you use) at different phases of the college admission process? (select all that apply) (among those who did use social media to decide where to enroll)
Social media resources used at phases of college admission process
66%
34% 37%
27%
48%
23% 30%
21%
43%
18% 19% 19%
39%
23% 32%
21% 27%
15% 22%
18%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
When deciding where to apply
Aler applying Aler being accepted
Aler deciding where to enroll
Facebook pages from the college Facebook pages of current students
Google+ Facebook pages of accepted students
TwiSer
Mul&ple write ins: Zinch Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest
Self ini&ated vs. outbound outreach by the college
Students turn to social media most when deciding where to apply
Most valuable information
Q14. What informaHon was valuable for you from schools' social media sites?
Campus Students InformaHon
Events Social
Most valuable informaHon on schools’ social media sites
What students want on social media sites
Q25. What are some things you would like to see more of on college/university social media sites?
Students want to see more about student life and acHviHes, photos
Students School
InformaHon Events
Photos
26%
35%
33%
39%
35%
47%
47%
42%
39%
42%
36%
43%
33%
36%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
Alumni
Administrators
Faculty
Guidance Counselors
Other admiSed students
Admissions Counselors
Currently enrolled students
Very important Somewhat important
Posts by students and counselors
Q21. How important was/is it for you to read comments/posts by the following groups on a school's social media site?
Importance of reading comments/posts by people on a school’s social media site
Students and counselors are prioriHzed the same way in ranking importance of posts
6%
8%
11%
19%
22%
24%
48%
14%
6%
5%
8%
6%
9%
22%
33%
7%
5%
6%
5%
8%
9%
11%
4%
3%
3%
2%
4%
2%
25%
10%
10%
12%
7%
14%
6%
12%
64%
66%
53%
58%
42%
13%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Zinch
Tumblr
TwiSer
Google+
Mul&ple &mes a day Once a day Once a week Once a month Every once in a while Never
APPENDIX Social media usage
Use of Social Media
Q3. How oden do you use the following different social media websites?
Half use Facebook mulHple Hmes a day Zinch ranks second only to Facebook in regular use (half use at least weekly)
2%
2%
4%
4%
11%
7%
11%
7%
2%
2%
3%
4%
7%
5%
10%
11%
3%
3%
3%
4%
8%
9%
14%
22%
2%
2%
2%
3%
4%
8%
8%
10%
5%
6%
6%
10%
10%
21%
21%
19%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%
Tumblr
TwiSer
Google+
YouTube
Zinch
Mul&ple &mes a day Once a day Once a week Once a month Every once in a while
APPENDIX Zinch ranks first among social media sites
Frequency of viewing social media for colleges considered afending
Q12. How oden do you view the following social media sites for college/universiHes you have considered afending?
Zinch ranks first among social media sites visited for college informaHon 7 in 10 view Zinch for colleges