"Come to Texas weekend!" - The Branding of UT

So, as most of you know, I have been blessed enough to have been accepted to the PhD program at the University of Texas at Austin. I am super ready and pumped to get started as soon as possible. But anyway, so a couple of weeks ago, from the moment I received the letter of admittance, I have received many other flyers. Among these many flyers/ads, I have seen dorms, credit union(s), some apartments... and ALL of them are bombarded with verbiage that promotes the "longhorn/UT experience," which is awesome don't get me wrong, but they all seem to be basking on the association with the UT brand.

With that said, I was invited by the graduate advisor to a "Come to Texas" event, which is hosted by the Graduate School. These event is specifically aimed at recruiting minority groups who have been accepted to the program. The graduate school pays for most of your travel expenses, including board and parking, which in Austin tends to be slightly pricey (the parking downtown that is).

Anyway, so back to the my original story. So I'm currently staying at the AT&T Executive Center (also branded all over the place). The hotel is like any other hotel chain, but with the difference that there is longhorn paraphernalia all over the place. So far the experience has been exceptional, I have to say.

As of now, I have accepted the offer and will begin course work this fall (2009).

But I was thinking, how much do universities spend/have to spend in order to attract minority students? I mean, UT is among the best schools in the nation, and they still have to invest money to attract students. One thing is for sure though, these type of events lets you know they future of education in America.

I had some thoughts on this weekend, and wanted to share... interested in knowing what you guys think about these so organic branding...

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