RELEASED: October 15, 2009

By Abby Malik

DANVILLE, KY—Centre College's admission office has created The Admission Centre, a blog for high school students who are in the throes of the college search and admission process.

The Admission Centre features tips and insider information about application and interview processes, how to obtain financial aid, and other questions most prospective students have about that ever-so-stressful search for the perfect place to call home for four years.

Adam Brown, digital recruitment specialist, admission counselor and creator and moderator of the blog, says that it's necessary for colleges to target the Millennial generation (those born after 1980) through new media, such as blogs.

"We're just now starting to see this generation dramatically influence the way media is consumed," Brown says. "In the past, we used magazines, billboards and TV exclusively...but now the Internet is creating a paradigm shift where on-demand content is consumed on the consumers' time, not the broadcasters'."

The Admission Centre acknowledges this generation's needs by meeting their expectations for interactivity, conversation and immediacy.

Centre's admission office wants The Admission Centre blog to be a forum for conversation.

"More than anything, we want people to talk to each other," Brown says. "We want students to have a place where they can ask questions in a casual online space and receive answers from the Centre admission professionals."

Students are welcome to ask Centre's counselors anything about the college application process, whether it's directly related to Centre or is a more general college search question.

"The information on the blog will be geared more to students interested in small liberal arts colleges akin to Centre, but any student should be able to find content pertinent to them even if Centre isn't one of their top choices," Brown says.

For example, a recent post titled "5 Things Everyone Else Also Says in the College Interview" offers tips that could be used in any college interview, not just interviews at Centre. And an upcoming post titled "27 Majors >100s of Majors" will show how more majors doesn't always mean more options.

"A lot of the content will draw from conversations prospective students might have with their parents," says Brown, who is a member of Centre's Class of 2007. "During my college search, my dad always asked questions that I didn't always know how to answer. Hopefully, the blog will be able to articulate the feelings some students have that they can't quite put into words."

In addition, Brown adds, parents should find the content on the blog useful. Eventually, the blog will include articles written just for parents.

The Admission Centre and its accompanying Twitter and Facebook page aren't just for admission counselors, but for the entire Centre community to contribute thoughts on the College.

"We want current students and professors reaching out to prospective students on our Facebook page and the blog," Brown says. "In fact, we invite students, professors and staff to begin posting their thoughts to the Admission Centre Facebook page. Be candid and offer advice for students who may drop by seeking a little information. Ultimately, we simply want to foster a relationship between our community and those interested in joining or who are just trying to get their mind wrapped around the whole college admission process."

Click here to begin exploring The Admission Centre.

Have comments, suggestions, or story ideas? E-mail leigh.ivey@centre.edu with your feedback.

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Consumers Digest ranks Centre No. 1 in educational value among all U.S. liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

For news archives go to http://www.centre.edu/web/news/newsarchive.html.