Monday, November 12, 2007

Re: Search quiz on server

Hi, Darren,
Thanks for asking about this.
I asked on 10/23 whether you could host it and never heard definitely either way.
So I proceeded with having it hosted on creighton.edu.
Yours,
Christian
--
Christian Burk
Creighton University
Undergraduate Admissions
2500 California Plaza
Omaha, NE 68178
christianburk@creighton.edu
(402) 280-2703



From: "Wacker, Darren R. (James Tower)" <DRWacker@jamestower.com>
Date: Sun, 11 Nov 2007 21:44:36 -0600
To: Christian Burk <christianburk@creighton.edu>
Cc: Undergrad Website Issues <christianleftbehind.website@blogger.com>
Conversation: Search quiz on server
Subject: RE: Search quiz on server

What is the status of this?  I haven't seen anything, unless you took this live on your own?

Darren


From: Christian Burk [mailto:christianburk@creighton.edu]
Sent: Monday, October 22, 2007 3:20 PM
To: Wacker, Darren R. (James Tower)
Cc: Undergrad Website Issues
Subject: Re: Search quiz on server

Hi, Darren,
Thanks for your feedback.
Regarding the placement of the content. I believe we would want it to exist off the home (admissions.creighton.edu/college_entrance_quiz.html).
Regarding your other comments: I have passed them on to Jan who is handling that.
Yours,
Christian


On 10/22/07 2:40 PM, "Wacker, Darren R. (James Tower)" <DRWacker@jamestower.com> wrote:

Christian-

I was out of  the office on Friday due to travel, so sorry I haven't responded sooner to  this message.

I have people looking at what the issue is with  the file access you mention below.

Also, please  share where you would like this content to exist?  I am assuming, given  our conversations, that it is the Admitted students page?  Is that  correct?  Perhaps the home page?

Ok, I have  reviewed this quiz and run through it a few times.  Feedback:
1.   First, nice work.  I know you have largely used an existing  plug-in, but still, nice work.
2.  There are some misspellings and  typos throughout.  However, I won't point these out as you have likely  already identified them yourself and you are far more qualified to identify  that than I am.
3.  I would like to make suggestions on the wording  and content of a few of the questions if you are open to it.  My notes  are as follows and correspond to the page indicator in your bottom right  corner:  ( I hope this helps)

#1:   College Entrance Quiz....seems a little strong of a title and not fun.   Perhaps consider:  "Debunking Popular Admissions Myths.  Test  your Admission's I.Q.!!" or something along those lines.  "What do YOU  know about College Admissions?"  "What Colleges Want You to Know about  the Admissions Process."....something that doesn't force a student to be  "graded" or appear to do so.  Does this make sense?  In addition, I  would work with Jan to get a higher level quality for your header and footer  for the presentation, so that it matches the photos  better.

#2:  When applying to college or  university, high ACT or SAT scores are the most important factor.  If  your scores aren't high enough, your application will not be considered.   (suggested wording change to the question.)

In the  response, I would change the answer slightly to de-emphasize academic  success....since we are talking about the application review.  Maybe  something like:  "You're correct.  Classroom academic performance is  more important that your performance on standardized tests.  When  evaluating an application, your overall grades, test scores and other factors  will be evaluated together.  So, even if you are not satisfied with your  ACT or SAT score, there are a lot of other opportunities for you to shine in  the admissions process.

#3:   For this one, would you want to provide verbiage relative to AP  (advanced placement) rather than just saying challenging?  Isn't that  more the benchmark/verbiage?  I would also provide encouragement in the  answer.  Something like" Advanced Placement courses can be difficult, but  the benefits of enhancing your overall academic standing and the additional  knowledge you obtain are worth the effort.  Keep up the hard  work!!

#4:  Question:  Colleges prefer  students that are involved in a lot of different activities.
Answer:   False.  While involvement in a lot of activities can be viewed as a  positive, most colleges will prefer students with a significant level of  involvement and proven leadership in activities they are passionate about,  instead of limited involvement in a lot of general areas.  So, stick with  the activities you love and really make a difference!

#5:  (I  think this is fine overall...but since this is more of a parent issue,  perhaps....)  Recommendation letters should come from important people  that my parents know, whenever possible.  

#6:  fine

#7:  Another opportunity to speak to  parents....without speaking to them.  Ala:  "Contacting the  Admissions office nonstop with phone calls, emails and letters, or having my  parents do so, will help me get admitted.

False.   Remember, the college or university you are interested in probably wants  you to attend just as bad as you want to be a student there.  But,  constant badgering by a parent or student via email can create a negative  perception.  Once your application has been sent, wait at least 7 days  and then call to confirm it has been received and is complete.  Also, ask  when you should expect a response.  From there, as tough as it might be,  the best option is to be patient and wait.  If you haven't heard from the  college following then they said they would contact you, it is appropriate to  do additional follow up at that point.

#8:  I  would consider a new approach to this question or eliminating it.  I  don't know that we are getting across what we want  here.

#9:  Fine.

A few  additional items:  The width of your stage needs adjustment so that the  wings are no visible.
I know we want to keep this "generic" but I wouldn't  be afraid of including a few Creighton plugs here and there.  I would  ESPECIALLY do so on the Quiz Results page.  Provide contact information  for the Admissions Office.  Also, I would include an opportunity to  submit an email address and/or phone number to have Admissions contact this  person.  Maybe have them indicate if they are a parent or student.   Finally, you might want to explain more about the web site.   Perhaps split the Thank you from the Results, if you can, so more can be  shared on each page?

What do you think?

Darren

 

From: Christian Burk [mailto:christianburk@creighton.edu]  
Sent: Friday, October 19, 2007 9:04 AM
To: Wacker, Darren  R. (James Tower)
Cc: Undergrad Website Issues
Subject:  Search quiz on server
Importance: High

Hi, Darren,
We would like to put our flash quiz for  our fall search on the website. I have attached the latest draft (though  probably not the final draft) with the required files, so that you can see  just what we want to upload. When I tried to upload the zip file, the site  came back with a “restricted file type” message, meaning that I couldn’t  upload files of these types.
How can I be able to do  that?
Yours,
Christian


--
Christian Burk
Creighton University
Undergraduate Admissions
2500 California Plaza
Omaha, NE 68178
christianburk@creighton.edu
(402) 280-2703

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