The Web not only is more efficient than a mailing in providing basic information on a college's academic programs, but it also can convey a richer, more intimate picture of what it would be like to attend the school. Besides taking the virtual campus tour, which is standard on most of the sites, prospective applicants can e-mail questions to professors, see which lecturers are making visits and read student testimonials. Meet Ashley, a freshman at the State University of New York at Buffalo. School officials gave video cameras to her and eight other students, asked them to videotape their lives over several days and posted the images on the Web alongside their comments. College admissions officials are quick to acknowledge that the content and design of a Web site are crucial to honing a school's image.
Students use the Web.
They can find a list of Vassar bragging rights. N.Y. He said the number of students who first learned about Vassar through its Web site doubles each year. Some sites share little information about the location of the school, while others flaunt their college's address. Smack in the middle of the home page for American University are photos of the Washington Monument and the U.S. Capitol dome. All the surveys tell us location is everything.