A word to schools about post-application surveys

21 May

Posted by Sam Jackson as Admissions, Internets, Teenagers, marketing

I only got an invitation to fill out one survey, personally: Tufts asked me to fill out a survey explaining why I asked for information and all but then never applied. Yale hasn’t sent me anything yet, so I assume they aren’t going to be sending one at all. However, I have been talking with many friends who applied to more schools than I did (# > 1 ) and they related their experiences dealing with the forms.

Here’s the long and the short of it, and this mirrors my experience just with the tufts survey: they are not only very long, but they are tediously long. People seemed to be genuinely interested in filling out these surveys and helping out, but help us help you. Long forms with redundant questions are a no-no. Complex matrix-like button pushing is also out. I think if the survey entry process could be simplified and brought up to a more professional, 2007 standard, there would be less angst on the part of participants. Throw some AJAX in, make it look less like SurveyMonkey, and you’re set. Shortening and tightening the questions wouldn’t hurt, either.

But please–no surveys asking for feedback about the feedback surveys.

One Response

A Brief Word About the Yale Admitted Student Questionnaire

July 8th, 2007 at 1:37 pm
1

[...] what I said two months ago about a survey Tufts sent me? Here’s the long and the short of it, and this mirrors my experience just with the tufts survey: [...]

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Who is Sam Jackson?

I'm currently a sophomore at Yale University and I've been blogging about college admissions and higher education marketing trends since I began my college application process in 2005. I now also write about my experience here at Yale, and am an official Yale blogger. Click here to read my 'about' page.

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