by Dan Christensen, Tudor Collegiate Strategies
In the late fall and early winter, it gets to be more and more critical (if it isn’t too late already) for your prospects to start the admissions process at your school.
This process includes getting in their application, FAFSA, and any other admissions requirements like an interview or recommendations.
This can be hard. Especially if you’re not the top school on your prospect’s list.
But if they never apply, they’ll never officially get admitted to your school and never get to be part of your team.
So, what do you do? Try these two things:
1) Relate with how they’re feeling
Is filling out college applications fun? No.
Is filling out the FAFSA fun? No.
Instead of hammering your recruit with a message pushing them to take these steps, take a step back yourself.
Recognize that this part of recruiting isn’t much fun. It can actually be kind of daunting and stressful for recruits. Tell your prospects that.
“Sarah, I totally get that this time can be overwhelming. A lot of applications, essays, deadlines. It can be a lot. How is it going for you?”
And then follow up by asking them what they would need to see or hear to get them started with the process at your school.
“So, Jimmy, I know you haven’t started your application here at Tudor University yet. I understand you’re probably still figuring out what schools you want to bother applying to because, again, I know it can be a lot. What would you want to hear about from me that would make you feel ready to start the application process here?”
When you connect with them emotionally, it allows you to have a better platform for asking them to apply to your school.
2) Ask them if they feel ready to commit
Remember, the application process can be overwhelming. And so, your recruits are probably not going to apply to every school they come across.
They’ll want to apply to the schools where they feel the coach is serious about them. What better way to show them how serious you are than asking them if they feel ready to commit?
And, Coach, I get that if they haven’t even started the application process, they’re probably not ready to commit. That is fine.
Our goal in asking is to separate yourself and show how much you want them. If you were lumped in with several other schools that all seemed the same, now all of a sudden you are different.
You may be the first coach to ask. And even if they are not ready to commit, you asking will help kick them into gear so they can start the process. When you ask next time, they might just be ready to commit.
Need help working your recruits through the process more efficiently? Dan Christensen and the team at Tudor Collegiate Strategies are helping over 500 programs around the country with their recruiting strategy. Want to know what this looks like? Email Dan at danchristensen@dantudor.com with questions.