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Thank you for all you have done and continue to do to recruit students to MSU. We invite your active participation in helping prospective students.

How can you help recruit students?

• Wear your Maroon and White.
  
  
• Speak positively about Mississippi State and your experiences.
  
  
• Proudly display your diploma in your office or in your home where prospective students and parents can see where you chose to receive your college education.
  
  
• Become a member of the Alumni Recruitment Network.  Click here for more information.

Here are some activities individual chapters and the Alumni Association have launched. You can be a part of our efforts to showcase your university.

• Make student recruitment a focus at chapter meetings. Staff members from the Office of Admissions and Scholarships are asked to be at as many chapter meetings as possible. Our goal is to be part of 150 student recruiting activities [e.g., the chapter offers a scholarship, hosts student recruiting events, invites an admissions counselor to attend a chapter meeting, or chapter representatives attend awards programs and/or college fairs].
  
  
• Invite a faculty member to speak at a chapter meeting. Included in this information is a list of those who have volunteered.
  
  
• Offer scholarships through your chapter. Many chapters are now providing this support.
  
  
• Designate a student recruiting chairperson for your chapter. This individual can help coordinate student recruiting activities for your chapter.
  
  
• Host in-home parties for prospective students and their parents. Some chapters doing this now tell us it has a tremendous influence on telling the MSU story. 
  
  
• Look for student recruiting information in each issue of E-Bark. We invite you to submit names of prospective students at the Web link provided.
  
  
• Become a member of the Alumni Recruitment Network.  Click here for more information.
  
  

For more information, visit admissions.msstate.edu.

"Live Conversations" Ranked Most Influential in College Selection

A new survey reveals that conversations with campus representatives can be the "most influential experience" for many students and their parents when selecting a college or university.

The "Communication Expectations of College-Bound High School Students" reports that 94 percent of prospective college students say it is "very important" to speak with a college representative during the enrollment process. "Live" conversations—campus tours and conversations with current students and admission representatives—are three of the four most influential recruitment activities, according to the report. A college website is the fourth most influential activity.

Other highlights:

• Facebook had the least impact with parents and students and was "not nearly as influential" as college brochures, which only had a "fair amount of influence."
• Nearly 70 percent of students and 72 percent of parents said they have had online video conversations using a webcam.
• Email was preferred "considerably more" than other forms of electronic communication.

According to the report, the "most surprising" result was the performance of live chats (instant messaging), which finished slightly ahead of social media. The report recommends that campuses, many of which have been reducing their use of live chats in recent years, make sure this is part of their communication strategies.

The report by Noel-Levitz, OmniUpdate, CollegeWeekLive and the National Research Center for College & University Admissions surveyed 1,300 high school seniors and juniors, parents and guardians about communicating with perspective campuses.