Blog #2 Harvard Social Media

   The article I am blogging about is titled, "Harvard uses social media to attract record 37,000 applicants" written by Janet Lorin. This article starts out be stating that due to the heightened social media presence including a $150 million financial aid gift, Harvard's applications for Fall 2015 has increased 9 percent to 37,305 applicants. Six of the eight ivy league schools also announce that their applicant numbers have increased. However, when there is an increase in applicants, there also is an increase in rejection letters, a positive, yet sad correlation. "Colleges say they are increasing marketing efforts to reach top students, especially those from underrepresented groups" (Harvard uses social media to attract record 37,000 applicants). With their financial prize in hand, people who might not have been able to look at Harvard because of the cost can now apply and hope they not only get accepted, but get that financial grant. 
   However, with the increase in applicants, people are becoming outraged because Harvard is known for only accepting a small percentage of applicants. Sue Biermert, a college counselor at Adlai E. Stevenson High School described that companies are just using social media to show how competitive they are and that they are very selective. Harvard stated that they believe that more applicants applied to Harvard because of their new website and improved social media presence. Harvard invites students to follow them on various social media platforms, including, Facebook. Twitter, and Instagram. Harvard is happy with the increased numbers that they have received so far. Columbia University, Brown University, Princeton University and The University of Pennsylvania also had an increase in applicants. Yale has taken a different approach to target their applicants, they are cutting back on the marketing to target suitable applicants. 
   This relates to out social media class because it shows that social media can have a positive effect on not only am image of a company or a school but can also increase the activity associated with the establishment. To read this article the link is posted below:
http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2015/02/06/harvard-hits-social-media-attract-record-applicants/pB5D18gq6aAtHpbwsyHPEJ/story.html