Abilene Christian University is giving incoming freshman a choice of a free iPhone or iPod Touch, providing helpful applications to students, such as directions to class or checking meal balances, according to ArsTechnica.com.
Instead of lowering tuition by $500, the university is putting it toward the Apple products. According to the university's Web site, tuition is $24,900, which the school assumes will be offset by the giveaway. Lowering tuition to $24,400 wouldn't affect student's wallets too much.
While this move on Abilene's behalf may seem generous, in reality, it's a marketing ploy. Private schools are just like businesses. ACU wants to get students to study there. If attending a Christian university with strong morals isn't enough, there's the lure of free swag.
Students are consumers. They need amenities to hook their interest. Costs and resources are important too. UB can't rely on cheap tuition or increasing population through UB 2020 as its sole marketing point.
People want a school that will give them what they want. In ACU's case, it's free Apple products. For UB, it's more complex. Parking garages and a new health clinic on North Campus are what current students want. Alluring iPods for 27,000 people is more of a pipe dream than anything else.
If a school offers free iPods, in the short run, studying there may seem like the better choice. Potential students should consider what's right for them, not what they'll get for sending their tuition checks a certain way.
American capitalism is at its finest when an iPhone is the deciding factor on where to go to school.
Someday the Princeton Review will rank schools on their free giveaways, but in the meantime, students should attend the best school for them.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
