Florida Our Alma Mater, Thy Glorious Name We Praise...

When did you become a Gator?

This is the headline of the University of Florida's new advertising campaign. After several attention-getting runs of "The University of Florida is in Gainesville. The Gator Nation is Everywhere." and "Go Gators," the University has now turned its marketing and advertising focus to the people that really matter: the students and alumni themselves. Because UF runs rampant with school spirit all year round due to its highly successful sports teams, there really is no other school that can possibly compare in terms of the enthusiasm it encourages from its fans, students and non-students alike. Why not play off of this raving school spirit in order to make an advertising campaign that touches the hearts of those already emotionally involved in the school?

More universities are now trying to increase their advertising budgets in order to attract the nation's best and brightest. They've realized that in this struggling economy and the increases in both tuition and budget cuts throughout the nation, the time has come to use their staggering endowment money for more than giving outrageous bonuses to university presidents (ahem, Bernie Machen). There's something more to a good education, and now, it's no longer merely how much you can learn, but also how much you can experience outside of the classes themselves. Potential college students are now asking not if the universities can provide them with what they need educationally-speaking to be successful (because that's become par for all higher institutions in general), but how they can build their networks, what extracurriculars and activities they can get involved with, what leadership and job opportunities are available both within the university itself and the surrounding town or city.

For $40,000 a year (give or take $10,000 depending on the school), where is the place that will give me the absolute best bang for my buck? Oh, and what scholarships does it offer?

Nowadays, the world of higher learning is becoming just as cut-throat and competitve a market as any product brand. Colleges now have to establish new ways to reach the hearts of potential students and inspire in them a drive to both do well in school and reach their fullest potentials as human beings. In addition, they must deeply touch alumni and philanthropists to drive donations and endowments in order to make this level of experience possible. Because the costs of getting degrees are continually increasing, it's important that universities cater to both audiences, and, like UF, really encourage the school spirit that lends money and experience to both the university and the students and alumni themselves. College is the place where most people find out who they are, what they want in life, and determine where they're going.

Let's face it: where would we be without our college days?