Shandong University's approach to attracting students is refreshing

Now that the results of this year's national college entrance examination have been released, one university after another has posted "advertisements" on social networks in a bid to attract those students who performed well in the exams. Beijing News comments:

For the past several years, it has already become common practice for universities to post such advertisements on social media to attract high school graduates.

However, in the past, their advertisements were rather basic. Most of them simply boasted how many of their students got good jobs upon graduation and how many famous professors they had. The advertisements were full of cold numbers.

This year, Shandong University took a different approach. It released an ad featuring its big swimming pool, well-decorated gyms, highly rated canteens, as well as "lots of cute stray cats on the campus".

Other universities quickly followed its example. Even Tsinghua University and Peking University, widely believed to be the top two domestic universities, issued similar ads.

This is a welcome trend, that would not have been possible without the emergence of the mobile internet culture. Just think about 20 years ago when the internet was not so popular: High school graduates and their parents had nothing but the printed materials of colleges to learn about them, and most of the materials had nothing but official expressions and cold numbers.

Now, in the age of the mobile internet, dry statistics and an official tone are no longer enough. Especially, as micro blogs feature interaction among different users, the culture could spread easily.

Of course, good canteens are not the primary reason high school graduates apply to a particular university. They still hope to enter a university that promises them a good future. But by issuing such advertisements, the universities show they have a good culture, which helps to shape the student too.