Companies often assign job and internship applicants a “buddy” — usually a relatively new hire — to chat about company culture, interviewing and life in the professional world. In light of general admission acceptances coming out soon, the Office of Undergraduate Admission and Fourth Year Trustees should consider implementing a similar system with recent U.Va. alumni.
Young alumni perspectives are useful for high school students, as they provide insight into both the college experience and life after graduation. Additionally, a pairing system would be helpful for high schoolers who cannot come to take a tour, as it would allow them to hear personal accounts from alumni who attended the University not long ago.
A pairing system would be especially effective for high school students who lack a developed college placement program at their schools. This would level the playing field for high schools that do not have extensive college alumni networks and college placement resources.
Providing accepted students with a recent University graduate as a “buddy” would not only help guide prospective students with their college search but also increase young alumni involvement with University affairs after graduation. One of the primary goals of Fourth Year Trustees is to “foster a sense of loyalty and responsibility in the students… during their fourth-year and beyond.” By offering young alumni a concrete way to give back to the University, this type of program would be in line with Trustees’ mission.
Educating young alumni on the importance of continuing their support for the University beyond graduation through class giving is another aim of Trustees. While a buddy system would not directly achieve this goal, its encouragement of a sustained alumni presence may promote other ways to give back, such as through alumni donations.
What makes this type of program further appealing is that there would be no cost and limited effort in arranging it. All it would require is a list of accepted students from the admissions office and sending an email to all young alumni to see if they would be interested in participating. 9,186 first-time, first-year applicants were offered admission in the 2015-16 year. With class sizes of nearly 4,000, if just half of young alumni for the past five years agreed to participate, then this program would be feasible. And if less than the desired number of young alumni were to express interest, then this opportunity could be extended to older alumni who would also be interested.
Increasing admissions yield and increasing young alumni engagement are worthwhile goals for the University. Establishing a pairing system between recent graduates and accepted applicants would be an effective way to achieve both without significant investment.
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