My daughter wants to study cultural anthropology. Her dream job is to take the items dug up by archeologists and figure out what they are.

Since she will graduate in spring 2024, we decided to visit some universities. As someone who nerds out about customer experience, I thought I would compare our tour experiences with some simple CX advice for businesses.

We toured four schools that met most or all of the following criteria:

1. Coed
2. Large 
3. In a rural or suburban area
4. You could drive there in a day 
5. Has a good/reputable anthropology department
6. Not impossible for my daughter to get into
7. Not stupidly expensive 
8. High on the Campus Pride Index
9. Is in a safe area and is a safe school
10. Is in an area and state that lean or are liberal. 

The final four schools are (in order of visit):

1. University of Tennessee (Knoxville)
2. Appalachian State
3. University of Virginia
4. Penn State

University of Tennessee (Knoxville) – April 2022

1. Coed – Yes
2. Large – 28,000+
3. In a rural or suburban area – No. It’s in a city.
4. You could drive there in a day – Yes, 3.5 hours.
5. Has a good/reputable anthropology department – Yes, especially in forensics. 
6. Not impossible for my daughter to get into – 33% out of state acceptance rate
7. Not stupidly expensive – Eh. 
8. High on the Campus Pride Index – 4/5
9. Is in a safe area and is a safe school – The school is very good about student safety. Parts of Knoxville, like any city, should be avoided. 
10. Is in an area and state that lean or are liberal – That’s a hard no.

History

We visited UTK before Tennessee made political decisions that could affect my daughter. Tennessee was high on the list because, at the time, the program she was interested in was part of the Academic Common Market. This program allows some southern students the opportunity for in-state tuition for certain programs not offered at a university in their state. 

Part 1 – Admissions

Yes, I know. The schools want your child and your money, so they do the best they can with presentations. This was our first tour, so we didn’t know what to expect. 

Our presenter was just about perfect. 

He went through the admissions project step by step, giving tips on how to write essays and what to include. He was very specific. Because they get a lot of money from alum, UTK practically throws money at students. We learned about scholarships automatically offered for students with certain SAT/ACT scores, money for out of state students, and money for current students. He told us about the SAT/ACT (which was then optional). He said not to submit the scores if they are test-optional because once they see your score, they cannot unsee it. All in all, it was for the parents, but it covered pretty much everything we needed to know and was a great start to our tour. 

Part 2 – The Tour

The first thing UTK did right was give everyone water. It was a warm day, not insanely so, but the university has a lot of hills. They are also in a city up against a river, so they can’t build out, they have to build up. 

We had two tour guides – a woman and a man, both upper class students. They were very enthusiastic and punny (bad jokes). They spoke with the students and parents in between stops, answering questions and making more bad puns. A couple of weeks after our visit, we received a postcard from our tour guides with the text “Orange you glad you visited?” 

I don’t remember the actual order of the tour, but here are the highlights:

• The library – Very large, very impressive, lots of steps. They went through all of the offerings. 
• Dorms – We saw the staged dorm. They pointed out all of the safety features – 24/7 security monitoring, ID swipe to get in, ID swipe for the room, free laundry, mail on-site. They explained each of the dorm styles, the fact that people of the opposite sex will not share a wall. They spoke about where they live now (off campus) and what it is like. There’s free Uber after a certain time of night and the drivers will watch the students until they are safe in the dorm. 
• Dining halls – Impressive. The guides knew their audience and said that they have the only full-sized Chick-Fil-A on a college campus. They also had Steak-n-Shake and other options. Throughout the tour, these little robot things kept passing us. They were food delivery bots! 
• We visited a classroom and part of the business school. The school is impressive if that is your thing. They also bragged about their nursing program, which is very hard to get into. 
• Traditions – We went to the rock (spray painted by students), visited the torchbearer statue, and of course, the stadium. 
• We ended at the student center. 

We didn’t think to reach out to the anthropology department while we were there. However, we did a short tour of our own. We made a point of visiting their Pride Center. It was a small office in the student center next to a gender neutral bathroom, somewhat away from most of the action. We met a student who was studying anthropology (forensics) so that was beneficial. We had questions about the culture for LGBTQIA+ students on campus. The summary was that the school was trying. There was supposed to be a Living Learning Community for these students in Fall 2022, however as of now, I do not see that option. 

CX

The customer experience was amazing at UTK. I mean, I wanted to go there. They answered most questions before they were asked and had a lot of enthusiasm about their university. 

However, you can have an amazing customer support team, but still not be a great fit through no fault of your own. The best thing you can do is take those obstacles (as in state politics) and show what you are doing to support the customer in a hostile political climate. 

Appalachian State – June 2023

1. Coed – Yes
2. Large – 18,000+
3. In a rural or suburban area – Rural (We didn’t have cell service on parts of the trip)
4. You could drive there in a day – Yes, 2.5 hours.
5. Has a good/reputable anthropology department – Yes 
6. Not impossible for my daughter to get into – 75% out of state acceptance rate
7. Not stupidly expensive – Yes 
8. High on the Campus Pride Index – No rating, but the school is very LGBTQIA+ friendly.
9. Is in a safe area and is a safe school – Yes 
10. Is in an area and state that lean or are liberal – Yes (NC itself is barely liberal)

History

App State was not on our radar initially, but I was looking at schools that were relatively close and saw they have a good anthropology department. We looked at the online campus tour and YouTube videos from students, and my daughter had a good feeling about the school. The area is also similar to her hometown, just 1000 feet higher.  

Part 1 – Admissions

App State was different from Tennessee in that they have you sign up for the admissions information separately. 

The first thing that endeared me to App State was an email explaining parking. They gave step by step instructions on where to go and what to do. It was so easy!

The second thing was the email from student affairs. When applying for the visit, in the “other” part of the form, I mentioned my daughter was interested in anthropology. They arranged a meeting for us with the head of the anthropology department after our tour! 

When we got to campus and parked, we headed to the building where the information session would start. Here is where things went downhill a little. The building was a maze. There were permanent signs showing where campus tours started, but we were there for an information session, so it was unclear where to go. It was an office-heavy building. Signs posted with more information or even “Welcome to App State” would have been nice.

The staff however, were amazing and helpful. 

Our presenter was the same one who emailed us about the anthropology visit. I did not like that the presentation slides were exactly what was in the brochure they gave out. However, she didn’t read from the brochure and gave us a lot of helpful information. 

As with Tennessee, she said NOT to submit SAT/ACT scores unless we wanted to. Again, once they see the score, they cannot unsee it. She gave a lot of “insider” information, which was so helpful. She told us about their Living Learning Communities. She encouraged everyone to apply to them as it guarantees housing. Freshman get on campus housing, but sophomores do not. Those who live in a college town know that off campus housing is scarce, so you have to apply for it pretty much a year before you need it. 

She went through scholarship options, but then stopped and was blunt. She said there are so many private scholarships. There are people giving away money and no one is taking it. She was by no means overhyped in her presentation, but you could tell she really loved App State. Of course, she mentioned trouncing the University of Texas in football the year before. 

Part 2 – The Tour

Sigh. 

We had a new tour guide. She was being followed by a more enthusiastic guide who I don’t think was allowed to jump in to help, unless something was forgotten. You could tell she was focusing more on what she had to say than making it exciting. As a result, our 90 minute tour took over two hours and we almost missed a chance to talk with the head of the anthropology department!

It was a warm, windy day, but no water was offered. This campus is hilly and parts had me panting. At one point during the tour, a couple of us moms hung back and tried, unsuccessfully, to get water from a vending machine. Not the best experience. 

There were two tours at the same time. They didn’t want to be right next to each other, but instead of starting at different points at the university, they followed the same path. Since the other one was ahead of us, we would have to hang back and miss some of the cool sites in person. 

Here’s the tour basics.

• We started outside the student affairs building. The guides introduced themselves and had the students (she was very specific that the students speak up) introduce themselves. From this point we were shown which buildings were on that side of campus and were told about the bus system. 
• We moved on to outside the police department. She talked about safety, after hours safety, and the blue lights around campus. They explained parking for students as well. 
• Next we stopped outside a new dorm. The tour ahead of us was at the App State Mountaineer statue and the duck pond. We were told about the statue from a distance, the pond, the ducks, and the football tradition of following the team to the stadium on game days. 
• We went behind a dining hall. Seems weird, but it was to show their composting program. The dining program was explained to us, but we never got to see the inside of a dining hall. 
• On our way to the next top we went through one of the expression tunnels. These tunnels are where students can spray paint messages or art to reduce the instances of such off campus. She did give us a content warning before we went through. 
• Then we stood outside one of the dorms as she talked about the different types of housing. The staged dorm was under construction and we never got to go into the building. We had to ask about safety – which is a key card to get you into the dorm. Laundry is free and books (for the most part) are free. 
• Off to the library where we stood inside as she explained what was on each floor. 
• We ended at the student center in the international hall. Here they display the flags of students’ countries – but due to fire hazard reasons, they have to rotate them out. She also explained how App State is on Native American land and how they are reconciling this.
  

The tour was absolutely unimpressive. I really think it was our guide. I know she was new and needed a chance, but she probably should have done part of the tour and not all of it.

Rushing into the anthropology building, we met up with the head of the department. She was about to give up on us as it was 4:30 p.m. on a Friday. However, she answered my daughter’s questions. She also told us that since there is no graduate program at App State, she could do research and have her name published. She then took us around to show us the labs, the work students were doing, and showed her their library. We talked about field work, paid work, and more research. This is what sold us on App State. 

CX

The CS lesson here is, yes, what you specialize in is important, but customers need to see what they are investing in. Otherwise, they will have to go to outside sources to see what they are getting.

You also need to anticipate the needs of your customers – cold water, for example. If you have a new CX member, don’t throw them to the wolves. Let them shadow for sure, but give them parts of the experience to claim as their own until they are ready to go on their own. 

Use your subject matter experts. They can really hit that niche market.

University of Virginia – July 2023

1. Coed – Yes
2. Large – 22,000+
3. In a rural or suburban area – City (but more suburban)
4. You could drive there in a day – Yes, 2.25 hours.
5. Has a good/reputable anthropology department – Yes 
6. Not impossible for my daughter to get into – 25% in state acceptance rate
7. Not stupidly expensive – Yes 
8. High on the Campus Pride Index – 4.5/5
9. Is in a safe area and is a safe school – Yes
10. Is in an area and state that lean or are liberal – Yes

History

UVA is my alma mater’s rival school. It has a reputation for being exclusive. However, after speaking with a down-to-earth UVA mom about her daughter’s experience, I felt a lot better about my daughter fitting in. Their anthropology department is top notch. However, due to it being summer, there was no one to meet in the department, but they did offer a virtual meeting once the students return. They also offer the option to get both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in five years.  

Part 1 – Admissions

UVA has a great website for a university. It is easy to find what you are looking for. However, I was not a fan of the admissions tour email. Instead of saying “park here,” the email had a link to the parking website. In addition, App State gave us a discount on parking. UVA did not. Minor complaint. At least parking was right next to the building where we would start with the admissions presentation. 

We were not given any brochures, information, or water (it was in the 80s that day). 

The admissions presentation was the worst I have ever heard. 

There were hundreds of us in the room waiting for the tour. I did like the videos at the beginning that showcased the university from different perspectives. When the admissions staffer came up to speak, she asked a few questions to engage the crowd:

1. How many are rising seniors?
2. How many are in-state students?
3. Who traveled the furthest? The family from Saudi Arabia won that contest. 

The presentation was 15 minutes long and consisted of what you have to do to get in, why you have a slim chance of getting in if you are not an in-state student, and how they don’t look at your GPA, but look at the classes you have taken and your grades in those classes. She mentioned a couple of times that students should take the highest level classes they can. 

Yes, UVA has an elitist reputation. This presentation reflected this. To sum up the presentation “We are elite. You need to work your ass off in school and volunteer and do extracurriculars and maybe you will get in. No stress or anything.” There was no mention of diversity, a little on financial aid, and just a “you are lucky to be here” attitude. 

After the tour we spoke with an admissions employee about homeschooling admissions and gaps in education. The attitude was the same as the presentation – we need to see the hardest classes she took and she can explain her education gaps, but not too much.  

Part 2 – The Tour

On the other tours, each tour guide had a list of names who were to go with them. This was a little different in that our tour guides introduced themselves and then took rows of people on their tour. 

We were part of the accessibility tour. I am not sure if the other tours did this, but our tour included rest and water breaks. This was something previous colleges did not do, and it was appreciated as it was hot and humid. When we stopped as the tour guide spoke about a building or option, she would purposely stop in the shade. 

Our guide made a point of explaining how the land UVA was built on belongs to the Monacan tribe and the school was built by slaves and freed Blacks. UVA has been working hard to reconcile its colonial roots. I loved that our tour guide started with that. 

She also was honest. When we stopped outside one dorm and started talking about the food, she said that it was just OK. I liked that. 

What I didn’t like was the tour itself. You saw gorgeous buildings and went into some of them – but not the dorms or the dining halls. The presentation was great, but the content was lacking. I really did not learn much about what a student can expect at UVA. 

CX

Don’t use your reputation as an excuse to give an OK CX experience, unless of course, you only want customers who care about your reputation. Give your talented employees content to work with. 

Also consider customers with special needs by making your business easily accessible.

Penn State – July 2023

1. Coed – Yes
2. Large – 46,000+
3. In a rural or suburban area – Rural
4. You could drive there in a day – Yes, 6 hours (however I have family 30 minutes away)
5. Has a good/reputable anthropology department – Yes (top graduate program)
6. Not impossible for my daughter to get into – 35% out of state acceptance rate
7. Not stupidly expensive – Eh 
8. High on the Campus Pride Index – 5/5
9. Is in a safe area and is a safe school – Yes
10. Is in an area and state that lean or are liberal – Yes (believe it or not)

History

Ah Penn State. My dad loved this school as it was near his hometown. He would be proud to know his granddaughter was interested in attending. His dad went to Penn State – as a janitor in the dorms. So we are legacy? 

We checked out Penn State on a whim as it is near many of my cousins. I had no idea their anthropology department was so good. And like UVA, they offer the option to get both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in five years. An employee in the anthropology department tried to find someone for us to speak with in person, but no one was available. 

We also toured the campus online since the visit would require an overnight stay. The campus is lovely and the ability to look around campus online led us to a visit.

Part 1 – Admissions

Like UVA, Penn State had a separate admissions spiel and tour. All of the admissions presentations were full. However, they had an online presentation for those who could not attend in person. That was great and very helpful for my super inquisitive child. 

The emails we received before the tour gave specific parking instructions to ensure we were not charged for parking. They also had a link to local lodging options. Through that email, I found a hotel I had never heard of, and we ended up having a pleasant stay there. 

Part 2 – The Tour

We parked by the stadium and walked to the admissions building. We were given brochures with content similar to what was in the admissions presentation, but also with more helpful information about the other campuses. My daughter was quite pleased to see that Penn State made their high Campus Pride ranking part of their marketing. 

It was very hot that day and water was not offered. Like with UVA, we did have a break. We also spent time inside several buildings. 

We started of with the cheer “We are Penn State!” How fun!

Our tour guide was a graduate student “From a small town in Pennsylvania you may not have heard of – Philadelphia.” She was great! This was the first tour with a guide who walked backwards so she faced us, and she had a microphone. There were maybe 15 people in our group, so the microphone wasn’t needed, but was a nice addition for us older folks. 

Our guide took us through the student recreation center, showed us dorm rooms – both a staged room and not staged, took us to a small lecture room where we sat in the air conditioning as she explained some of the academic side of things, and walked us through one of the dining halls. We took a break in the student center. 

We were told the normal stuff you hear during a college tour, however she did get into the research opportunities, the ability to borrow books from other Big 10 schools, and talked about her experience. She also paid attention to the majors the students on her tour were interested in. She would point out buildings, colleges, or opportunities based on these majors. 

The tour conveniently ended at the Penn State Creamery. Of course, we had to try it out. 

CX

Listening to your customers and using what you know about them to personalize the experience will make an impression. Focus on your strengths and share how those strengths can help the customer.

If you are a brick and mortar business, sell your location. Showcase offerings that will encourage customers to spend time and money at other local businesses. They will learn to love the area like you do and will come back. 

Advice to universities

1. Take advantage of virtual tours. ENCOURAGE students to do their own tours. Let them show the good, the bad, and the ugly. 
2. If it is hot that day, give out water. Even if it is just warm, give out water. It’s a lot of walking.  
3. Give out brochures and marketing swag. 
4. Offer services like free parking, lodging suggestions, and things to do in the area. 
5. Show off the inside of your buildings. These students are going to live here for at least four years. Show them where they will eat, sleep, play, and learn. 
6. Pay attention to what the students want to study. Give them the opportunity to meet professors or students in that field.

The decision

August 1 is Early Action day for college applications. The choice as to which schools to apply to are up to my daughter. Here are her choices:.

1. University of Tennessee (Knoxville) – No. Recent Tennessee politics have made all Tennessee universities off the list.
2. Appalachian State – Yes. The anthropology department visit sealed the deal. 
3. University of Virginia – No. Although the university is LGBTQIA+ friendly and has a great program, my daughter did not feel comfortable there. “Pretentious” was the word she used. 
4. Penn State – Yes. Although far from home and expensive, she felt at home there and in the town. The tour made the large campus feel like a small university. 

Final Thoughts

A big part of the customer experience is before your customer is even a customer. With so many companies offering the same thing as you, you need to pay attention to every little detail to turn a potential customer into an actual one. Then keep up the amazing experience, because once they graduate from your business, they will send others your way.