The Boston Globe just published an interesting article called Colleges turn to Web tools in hunt for ’08 freshmen. While most of the information is not news to higher education web professionals, it is another arrow in the quiver when convincing administrators that Web 2.0 tools are important in student recruitment. I particularly like the emphasis on being authentic:

Students say they are most drawn to features that give them a genuine glimpse of what the college is like and whether they’ll like it.

“This generation is very savvy to media,” said Karen Giannino, of Colgate University admissions. “They see right through the posed photograph.”

Everyone is starting to realize that we have reached the point where the web is more important than the traditional viewbook for prospective students.