By Jeremy Tiers, Vice President of Admissions Services
2 minute read
Finding out that a student has chosen another college can be hard, especially if you were feeling like your school was going to be the pick.
Even if you do everything to the best of your ability, you will still receive some “No’s.” Remember, there isn’t a college, a university, or an admissions counselor that yields 100% of their admitted student population.
Let’s start by discussing how to handle your “No’s.”
Whether it’s in the moment after you make the ask, or in the first few days after a student declines their acceptance, you should always ask direct questions and work to gain context on their decision making process. Respectfully and empathetically asking for honest feedback from a student while everything is still fresh in their mind is important.
Always start by congratulating the student on their decision.
Next, let them know you’d like to ask them a question:
“<First or Preferred Name>, what did your decision ultimately come down to?”
Your goal should be to pin point the why, and if possible, the when (i.e. have they known for a while that your school probably wasn’t going to be the choice).
If the student seems open to having some additional discussion, go ahead and ask a couple of follow-up questions:
“What were one or two things you wished you could have changed about our school that would have made us your top choice?”
“What did your parents have to say about your decision?”
“What’s one thing I could have done better to make your college search less overwhelming?”
All of that context is extremely valuable because it’s important to determine if students are choosing another school because of things that you can control (i.e. your customer service, your campus visit experience, the way you communicate), or for reasons out of your control like location, size, or cost.
As you’re gaining different insights from students, look to see if any common themes emerge that warrant additional discussion with your colleagues or your manager. Self-evaluation is a key component of growth.
At the end of your conversation, wish the student all the best and let them know that if anything changes, you would welcome the chance to talk with them again about their options.
One final thing I encourage you to do – Write a short email with the same ‘Congrats and good luck’ message to the student’s parent(s) or guardian(s). That kind of professionalism is key because positive word of mouth can help lead to future interest from other students. Plus, you may gain additional context about the student’s decision from their parent(s) or guardian(s).
If you found this article helpful, please forward it to someone else on your campus who could also benefit from reading it. You can also encourage them to subscribe to my newsletter.