It’s Not Too Late: 9 Tactics to Generate Late-cycle Enrollment
By Aaron Basko, Associate Vice President for Enrollment Services, University of Lynchburg
May 1 is not what it used to be. Admissions offices have been discussing the rise in students double depositing for years, but the events of 2020 undercut the normal calendar of National Decision Day even further. In the current competitive market, many schools will find themselves short of the number of enrolled students they want after May 1. All hope is not lost, however. You can still take action to identify new prospective students. Here are nine recommendations for driving new enrollment well into the summer.
Make One Last Visit - Are schools still open in your area? If so, make one more pitch to visit and get in front of students. Offer to fill in for a class that needs content, for example, to talk about essay writing for an English class. Alternatively, see if the school will bring students to you. At the end of the year, schools often need an excuse to get students out of the classroom to do something productive. Invite school groups to bring a mixture of juniors and uncommitted seniors to you for a visit.
Follow Up and Ask – School counselors often feel very underappreciated. Let them know you are grateful for their help. Make a list of all of the school counselors of your deposited students. Send them all a nice thank-you note. Include in the note a message inviting them to let you know of other students who have not yet found a match.
Check Out Third Parties – As schools wind down and are less able to help, look at your community to see who else has access to students. Often, there are community-based organizations that promote educational access in your area. Reach out and ask if they are working with students who have not decided on a college plan, or who took a gap year. Churches, synagogues, and other houses of worship are sometimes good places to connect with, as they frequently know students who are unhappy with their current choices.
Take an Independent Approach – Independent educational counselors can be wonderful allies in identifying good match students. With small case loads and personal advising, IEC’s know their students and can help them to make late-cycle decisions. They may know first-time students whose circumstances have changed so that they need more options. They also may be aware of students from previous graduation years who went off to college, but didn’t find a good match. Keep in close contact with independent counselors who know your institution and are willing to recommend you. Check in with them late in the year to make sure you haven’t missed anyone.
Call on Your Biggest Fans – No one has a better sense of what your institution has to offer than your graduates. One great way to identify new potential applicants is to reach out to your alumni and ask them to recommend students to you. Some will have neighbors, friends, or siblings who could be a good match for your university. Ask your alumni office to help you target a list of families in the right demographic who would have children or grandchildren of college age. Offer to waive application fees if the student comes recommended.
Don’t Take No for an Answer – Students’ plans change. You can benefit by leaving the door open. Send messaging to the parents of students who have withdrawn their applications. Tell them that you wish them the best in their choices, but that if their student’s plans change, they always have the opportunity to still enroll with you. You will be surprised how many families are still weighing their options or have become disenchanted with their choices. Sometimes all they need is a friendly message to see your institution in a fresh light. Make it easy for them to reconsider.
Go Back to the Future – Unfortunately, students don’t always make a good first choice, and in the last two years, some high school graduates have made no choice at all. By connecting with the National Student Clearinghouse, you can identify students who you admitted previously who did not end up enrolling at any higher education destination. Contact those students and let them know that it is not too late to get on the college path. If you are looking for transfer students, you can communicate with any students who were admitted to your institutions but did not enroll. Let them know you are happy to work with transfer students if their plans have changed. Some of these students made different choices because of the pandemic. You could be an option if they are rethinking their decisions.
Search Far and Wide - How strong in your international strategy? Although the time window might not be large, as it takes some time to have a visa processed, there are still ways to recruit international students into your class late. Build up your network of agents. Contact any that you are working with and ask them for late recommendations. Many international students are aiming for highly ranked universities and may not have been accepted by their first choice. You can also work with your coaching staff to reach out to agencies that specialize in international athletes. Again, many of these students may have set their sights very high and may not have as many options as they like. Your institution could be the answer.
Show the Money – When all else fails, you can use monetary incentives to try to squeeze out a few additional enrollments. It is important in doing this that you know what your break-even point in for revenue. But if you are able to generate at least some positive revenue, it is better than none. Go back to the students in your applicant pool who did not complete their applications and offer them a benefit and a deadline to get the incentive. Work with your most recent applicants with some financial flexibility to keep them moving quickly through the stages of the funnel.
These are just a few tactics for keeping the enrollment train rolling past the May 1 National Decision Day deadline. Stay positive and keep turning over stones to find new students who can be a match for your institution. Add your creative ideas to the list and keep pushing towards your goals!
