Admissions officers from many of Dartmouth's peer institutions travel more frequently and to a broader range of countries than do admissions representatives from the College, according to multiple college admissions officers. While the Dartmouth admissions office visits approximately eight to 10 countries a year in order to attract international students and increase visibility and awareness overseas, representatives from the College's peer institutions reported traveling to as many as 35 countries each year.
Dean of Admissions Maria Laskaris said that a "different allocation of resources" accounts for the disparity between Dartmouth's travel and that of other comparable schools. Dartmouth's admissions office reduced international travel this year due to a 10-percent reduction in its annual budget, The Dartmouth previously reported.
"Schools will travel different amounts depending on resources," Laskaris said. "All the Ivies are thinking about how they utilize travel resources that make the most sense for their goals and staff. We think about all the resources we have for travel, and how to travel to fulfill our recruitment goals domestically and internationally."
At the high end of the travel spectrum, University of Pennsylvania admissions officers visit 35 countries, ranging from Vietnam to Zimbabwe, according to Elisabeth O'Connell, associate dean of undergraduate admissions at Penn.
Following a 7.5-percent budget cut this year, Yale University's admissions officers traveled to 21 countries, the Yale Daily News reported, while representatives from Middlebury College visited approximately 16 countries this past year, according to Barbara Marlow, Middlebury's associate director for international admissions.
"We have definitely cut back on our travel, both domestic and international, this year, as a result of budget cuts," Marlow said. "We have fewer travelers and a smaller budget. We're looking at alternatives to travel."
Marlow said that Middlebury admissions visits typically last two to three weeks, depending on the country's location. In some countries, admissions representatives can speak at up to five schools a day, Marlow said.
Harvard University admissions officers, however, do not travel abroad at all, according to the Yale Daily News. Representatives from Harvard, Princeton University and Yale University declined to comment when contacted by The Dartmouth for this article.
The three most-visited countries for Ivy League school admissions officers are the United Kingdom, France and Switzerland, O'Connell said.
Laskaris said that Dartmouth's admissions officers focus their international travel on annual visits to Canada and Mexico. Recruitment trips to multiple sites in Asia and Europe occur "every year or every other year," she said.
"We don't do as much travel internationally, but we rely more on the web and e-mail," Laskaris said. "Obviously those are large areas, so we can't reach as many areas as we do in domestic travels. It's a greater reliance on communication, primarily electronic communication tools."
Admissions officers communicated with approximately 100 prospective students from the African Leadership Academy in South Africa via Skype in the spring of 2009 in order to make up for a lack of travel funds, assistant director of admissions Ben Schwartz '06 said in an e-mail to The Dartmouth.
"Going in-person is the surest way to build a strong relationship with prospective students, which helps encourage them to apply and ultimately attend Dartmouth if offered a position," Schwartz said. "However, we unfortunately don't have the budget to visit all the areas we'd like. Also, with so many applicants and projects in our office, we don't have the staff to travel and handle everything in the office."
Penn similarly uses online chat groups to encourage communication with students from countries that university representatives cannot visit, O'Connell said. At Middlebury, admissions officers have considered instituting Skype sessions or increasing mailing if travel funding remains at its depressed level, according to Marlow.
Dartmouth also relies on alumni living overseas and professors who travel internationally to increase the College's global visibility in places where admissions officers themselves cannot travel, Laskaris said.
When Thayer School of Engineering Dean Joseph Helble traveled to Hong Kong to explore potential exchange programs, he took time out from his scheduled trip to visit various high schools, conducting information sessions and meeting with guidance counselors, he said.
"A year ago, when the budget became tight, one thing we decided to do is reduce the amount of travel that we do," Helble said. "This was an opportunity that I saw, and an opportunity that Dean Laskaris saw as well. We can keep Dartmouth fresh in the mind of the students at these schools, and it doesn't cost anything additional."
Admissions officers also recently enacted the "Take Dartmouth Abroad" program, which encourages students who study or work abroad to visit high schools or attend college fairs on behalf of the College.
