By Jeremy Tiers, Senior Director of Admissions Services
2 minute read
It continues to be one of the most common mistakes that admissions counselors and enrollment marketers make each year:
Not communicating with the parents of admitted students in a way that feels personal. When you do that, parents become more of an obstacle than an asset.
Taking it a step further, there’s a very good chance that you currently have multiple admitted students who have received their financial aid package and want to submit their deposit, but their parents aren’t letting it happen yet because they have concerns and/or unanswered questions.
Saying, “Reach out if you have any questions” does not feel as personal as you might think. Same thing goes for cc’ing parents on different student emails. It’s helpful, but isn’t very personal.
Messaging that is truly personalized will oftentimes engage the reader and prompt a back and forth conversation where you receive context about their (parents) mindset and feelings on a subject.
The good news is you still have time to correct this mistake.
Here are some tips for the different groups that you’re currently working with:
First, focus on the parents of your admitted students who have received a financial aid package. Have you communicated that you understand the college decision affects the entire family, and that you’re here to listen and offer support for everyone? If not, you need to. Along with that, you could let them know that you believe their child would be a valuable member of your campus community, and that you’re excited about that possibility.
Then, depending on whether you’ve spoken with the parents previously or not, consider asking, “How are you feeling about <Student’s First Name>’s college decision?” Or, “What are some of the things that you think make us a good fit for <Student’s First Name>?” Or, “What do you still need to know about us to help you feel like <College Name> is worth the investment?”
Next, focus on the parents of your admitted students who have not received a financial aid package. Many of the same suggestions and questions I just shared also apply here. In addition, you might ask “What’s the biggest concern you have about <College Name>?” Or, if your school is far away from their home or happens to be in a setting that’s opposite of where they live now, “Tell me how you feel about where we’re located.” And here’s one more – When they receive their financial aid package, be sure and ask if the amount leftover is that an amount their family would feel comfortable investing for college.
Finally, as you start to have conversations with junior inquiries, make it a priority to gather parent contact information early on. Same thing goes for new senior inquiries. The key again is to make them feel like a valued partner in this process by asking different direct questions that encourage the parent to respond so that you can figure out how to best support them, or where to take the conversation next.
If you’d like to talk more about parent specific strategies, connect with me here.
And 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 the weekly newsletter here.