NEWSROOM
Six Student Personas: Which One Are You?
Finding a good college fit starts with defining yourself
July 27, 2006
Does the thought of going to a reputed “party” college make you grin or grimace? Does a liberal-arts education strike you as well rounded or unfocused? Do the vines of the Ivy League feel like an elite embrace or financial strangulation? If you’re among the nation’s high-school students who are beginning their college search, a new study has found that you’re likely to fit one of six student personas. Matching that persona with compatible schools can greatly narrow your focus.
“In some ways, college is like a four-year relationship,” said Steve Kappler, Executive Director of Consulting. “Finding a good match can help determine how happy that relationship will be over time.”
Stamats Educational Services Group conducted the study, called TeensTALK™, using data from 800 interviews of high-school juniors and seniors across the United States who said they plan to attend college. The students rated 31 key attributes for their college choice. From their answers, six distinct personas emerged, with nearly every respondent belonging to one of them:
1. God and service first
You care much more about a school’s religious affiliation than do those with other personas. In fact, you’re willing to sacrifice some graduate outcomes –such as a higher likelihood of finding a good job after graduation – for a college with a stronger religious affiliation. Your lifelong goals include helping to save the environment, becoming involved in national politics and your local community as well as your church, and generally creating change in society. You’re a homebody, less willing to travel far from your family for college. Sixteen percent of study respondents share your views.
2. The collegiate experience
How nice are the college grounds, what is there to do off-campus, how friendly are the people at school and how good is campus housing? These are the questions you’ll likely ask first. Compared with other personas, you’re twice as likely to be influenced by current college students in your school decision. You consult with those already at a prospective school to get the lowdown on college life. In your vision of college, a small student-teacher ratio and strong athletic or fine-arts programs aren’t that important. Social aspects and amenities are high priorities. You want college to be a fun experience in a cool city or area. Fourteen percent of study respondents share your views.
You’re all about the outcome when it comes to college. Your prospective alma mater should be a place where graduates get good jobs or can go on to good graduate schools. It must offer honors programs because you plan to be in one. You’re twice as likely as those with other personas to major in pre-law or political science, although biology also attracts you. Your parents probably earned at least a bachelor’s degree before going on to successful professional or white-collar careers. You want to surpass them, with life goals that include fame and adventure. After graduation you plan to live in a major city. Seventeen percent of study respondents share your views.
4. Nontraditional traditional studentsBottom line: college is expensive. What mainly drives you to or from a prospective college is its cost. Since four-year public schools generally are cheaper than private ones, you gravitate more to them. Or, you may be considering a two-year community college. To trim expenses, you’re much more likely than others to live at home and commute to school. Campus amenities don’t concern you as much as they do other personas. Neither do attractive campus grounds or strong athletic programs. You may be the first person in your working-class family to attend college. You think it’s very unlikely that you’ll develop lifelong friends at school. Twenty-one percent of study respondents share your views.
5. Image and reputation consciousMoney isn’t an issue for you when it comes to college. You probably come from an affluent family with parents who have professional careers. A school’s overall academic reputation and the quality of campus amenities are much more important than cost. You want the best in an education, and it doesn’t matter if you have to travel farther from home – even a plane ride away – to get it. You’re more likely to major in business or engineering than are those with other personas, and you have less desire to incorporate community work, volunteering or religion into your life. Private-independent colleges are definitely among those schools you’re considering. Eleven percent of study respondents share your views.
6. Personal enrichment – liberal artsCollege for you means getting a well-rounded education. English, music, education or psychology – those majors hold your gaze longer than others. But that gaze tends to look right past four-year public schools. You want what a lot of four-year private colleges offer: academic excellence; a small student-faculty ratio; honors programs; and a positive reputation for graduate outcomes, where graduates find good jobs or get into good graduate schools. Compared with other personas, you’re more likely to want to live outside the United States at some point in your life. During college you plan to serve your community or join a student club. You probably draw the line, though, at pledging with a fraternity or sorority. Fifteen percent of study respondents share your views.
“Colleges and universities can use the study’s findings to help tailor their marketing messages to prospective students, but the use of persona works both ways,” said Becky Morehouse, Stamats associate vice president for research. “These places also have personas of sorts. Reputation, history, word-of-mouth assessments, location and rankings all contribute to a school’s image. Once college-bound teenagers get a sense of an institution’s persona they can use it to concentrate on schools that complement their own personas and eliminate those that clash.”
Online resources
www.stamats.com
www.princetonreview.com
www.petersons.com
www.usnews.com