Colleges turn to Web tools in hunt for ’08 freshmen

Interactive sites aid recruiters, school-shoppers

Once dominated by glossy brochures, college fairs, and campus tours, the college admissions landscape is rapidly shifting toward online social media, as schools blanket the Internet with podcasts, blogs, and videos to recruit wired high school students.

With virtual campus tours, live chats with college students, professors, and admissions officers, and videos about campus life, colleges and universities are increasingly turning to interactive and multimedia technology as recruiting tactics to connect with prospective students who are far more likely to scroll down a Web page than thumb through a college viewbook.

Think of it as College Admissions 2.0, college officials and consultants say.

By Peter Schworm

Full Story: http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/01/07/colleges_turn_to_web_tools_in_hunt_for_08_freshmen/