Caitlynn Flynn
Staff Reporer
The McDaniel College Admissions web site was officially updated this past October, and the office continues to incorporate innovative strategies to connect prospective students to the college community.
The most recent strategy involves the use of Flip video camcorder ? which essentially yields informal film footage created by students using small video recorders.
“It’s a way for students to see McDaniel in a way that they might not see on a tour,” said Senior Jennifer Sandler, who works for Admissions and has created Flip footage. “The film is pretty raw, but it is a creative way to convey ‘this is where I hang out with my friends,” or ‘this is where I study.’ We filmed a snowball fight once.”
Sandler is one of several Student Ambassadors who have used the Flip to create short snippets about campus life, according to Gina Rende King, admissions director. Their footage is posted on the website and ultimately serves as a way for prospective students to have a first person point of view of the McDaniel campus.
Although “mini-videos” are far from professional, they are exceedingly informative, King and Sandler said. There are a total of 29 videos currently posted on the site, with more to come.
Flips and the new web site help students from out of state who can’t visit campus as often, if at all.
“We will bring our community to them,” King says, “And this is the way to do it.”
When accepted, the prospective student can log onto the site and see who else has been accepted from their area. Students can also create a profile and chat with other accepted students, which is somewhat similar to the Facebook application online.
Approximately 70% of McDaniel’s accepted applicants have logged onto the web site to view videos and create their own profile, according to King.
The site is managed and hosted by the Internet marketing company James Towers, which is also the creator of the Red Dot program used on campus.
The printing and postage budgets for the school have been cut 20-25% this year, and the cost-benefit of the web site has ultimately paid for itself, King said.