• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Superheader

GET THE NEWSLETTER EVERY TUESDAY MORNING!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Click here to sign up for Jeremy’s Weekly Newsletter

Admissions at Tudor Collegiate Strategies

  • Who We Are
    • Our Leadership Team
  • Training Workshops
  • Communication Plans
  • Other Services
    • TCS Preferred Partners
  • Blog
  • Client Stories
  • Events
    • Book Jeremy to Speak
  • Connect With Us

Admissions, Consistency, E-Mail, Increasing Engagement, Repetition, Sales Basics · June 29, 2021

Stop Making This Mistake

By Jeremy Tiers, Senior Director of Admissions Services

2 minute read

In the words of one rising high school senior, “We don’t want college search pamphlets, flyers, and emails with a list of majors and every other kind of information on it. We want something shorter and more personalized, if that’s possible.”

Numerous quotes like that continue to show up every time we do focus group research.

Too many colleges and universities are overwhelming prospective students at the beginning of their search with loads of information that feels like a full-on sales pitch.

It’s not that a lot of the information isn’t important or useful, but when so much is thrown at students all at once, they remember little to none of it even if they choose to read it.

The other problem is, when prospective students get overwhelmed or annoyed, many tell us it leads them to ignore some or all of the future messages you send.

I cannot reiterate this point enough:

You don’t need to tell them everything all at once. You just need to share enough to get their attention and create engagement or action.

That rule applies throughout the entire college search process regardless of a student’s stage.

For example, consider sending rising high school seniors an email from their admissions counselor that addresses not wanting to overwhelm the student with tons of information, but instead wanting to get them information they care about. Ask them which one of these three topics they want to know most about right now – financial aid, student life and activities, or careers related to their major or the major they’re thinking about.

In our ongoing focus group surveys, those three topics continue to rank highest when we ask students, “When you started to learn more about different colleges and universities, besides a school having the academic major you were interested in, which one of these topics did you want more information about right away?”

Plan to spread out your recruiting story because it’s a more effective strategy. I want you to consistently give different groups of students small bits of information about specific aspects of your school’s value proposition – the location, academic environment, dorms/campus life, student resources, affordability, outcomes, etc.

There’s also value in asking those same students what they think about what you just shared. Replace some of your transactional calls to action with a direct question that feels personal and encourages engagement.

Over a long period of time this approach has resulted in more campus visits, applications, and deposits/commitments for our clients and others who have implemented it. Plus, this strategy aligns more with how this generation takes in information. It’s more likely to stick if you consistently deliver it in smaller doses, and you reiterate your strongest value points in a personal way.

Want to talk more about something I said this article? Just hit reply or connect with me here.

And if you found this article helpful, forward it to someone else in your campus community who could also benefit from reading it.

Filed Under: Admissions, Consistency, E-Mail, Increasing Engagement, Repetition, Sales Basics

Previous Post: « Important Part Of Your Campus Visit Strategy
Next Post: Getting Them To Share Any Hidden Objections »

Primary Sidebar

Blog Archives

Blog Categories

Admissions Blog

After They Visit Campus, Here’s What You Should Do

It’s Your Job To Pull Out Objections

Three Keys To Improve The Questions You Ask

Footer

Tudor Collegiate Strategies

11312 U.S. 15-501 North
Suite 107-105
Chapel Hill, NC  27517

866.944.6732

  • Who We Are
  • Training Workshops
  • Communication Plans
  • Other Services
  • Blog
  • Events
  • Book Jeremy to Speak at Your Event
  • TCS College Coaches Site

Keep in Touch

  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Copyright © 2022 Tudor Collegiate Strategies. · Website by Overlock Design Co.