The latest trend in student recruiting efforts involves Facebook. That's right, now you can not only keep in touch on the day-to-day affairs of your 300 closest friends, you can also contact admission officers and learn about Canadian MBA programs.
Why?
The general thought would be that, for MBA Schools, it another cost effective way to reach potential applicants and any chance to let them know about your program is a good thing. Plus it lets applicants to voice their issues and concerns and see what other students are going through in the admission process.
What?
The Facebook groups are typically run by an admissions officer from the MBA school and feature some application info, news stories, and links to different program information that may be of interest. They are also very good for answering questions posted by students. By joining one of the groups, individuals let the school know of their interest in the MBA program and their friends can also see that they are interested in pursuing their MBA.
Who?
The following schools have MBA Admission groups on Facebook:
Rotman (University of Toronto)
Ivey (University of Western Ontario)
John Molson (Concordia University)
So with a few of the leading schools moving their recruiting efforts into Facebook can you expect to be evaluating all the different schools this way in a couple of years? One the one hand, its very easy for schools to add a Facebook group for their MBA program and its a good way to interact with applicants. However, it requires a fairly strong time commitment as those who use Facebook to communicate are likely to expect quick, almost instantaneous responses. A bigger concern might be the applicant who is in the "Rotman" group on Facebook and is rejected from the program. All of their personal friends on Facebook would see when they leave the group and would know that their friend was rejected. It could be rather embarrassing for some people.
Personally, I think its great that schools are trying different ways to reach out and connect with potential students. However, Facebook makes it very easy for anyone to start a group. A lot of student groups are set up to connect classmates at virtually every MBA school in the country. For the admission officers its impossible to review what others are saying about your school and what thoughts/pictures students will post on their own site.
Why?
The general thought would be that, for MBA Schools, it another cost effective way to reach potential applicants and any chance to let them know about your program is a good thing. Plus it lets applicants to voice their issues and concerns and see what other students are going through in the admission process.
What?
The Facebook groups are typically run by an admissions officer from the MBA school and feature some application info, news stories, and links to different program information that may be of interest. They are also very good for answering questions posted by students. By joining one of the groups, individuals let the school know of their interest in the MBA program and their friends can also see that they are interested in pursuing their MBA.
Who?
The following schools have MBA Admission groups on Facebook:
Rotman (University of Toronto)
Ivey (University of Western Ontario)
John Molson (Concordia University)
So with a few of the leading schools moving their recruiting efforts into Facebook can you expect to be evaluating all the different schools this way in a couple of years? One the one hand, its very easy for schools to add a Facebook group for their MBA program and its a good way to interact with applicants. However, it requires a fairly strong time commitment as those who use Facebook to communicate are likely to expect quick, almost instantaneous responses. A bigger concern might be the applicant who is in the "Rotman" group on Facebook and is rejected from the program. All of their personal friends on Facebook would see when they leave the group and would know that their friend was rejected. It could be rather embarrassing for some people.
Personally, I think its great that schools are trying different ways to reach out and connect with potential students. However, Facebook makes it very easy for anyone to start a group. A lot of student groups are set up to connect classmates at virtually every MBA school in the country. For the admission officers its impossible to review what others are saying about your school and what thoughts/pictures students will post on their own site.
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