By Jeremy Tiers, Vice President of Admissions Services
1 minute read
Which of your admitted students are close to making a decision, and who still has a lot left to figure out?
Last week during a training workshop I told the admissions team that instead of randomly sending emails and text messages telling students to click the link and submit their deposit – which students continue to say feels salesy and oftentimes pushy – it’s important try and figure out where students are at in the decision-making process, as well as what their current mindset is. Do they have all the information they need to make an informed decision?
If they do, I don’t want you to miss an opportunity to “close” those students. And if they don’t, I don’t want you to keep pushing them to do something they’re clearly not ready to do.
To make that determination, ask your students a simple question like:
“What do you have left to do before you make your college decision?”
Or, “When do you see yourself making your decision?”
You can ask either of those in an email, in a text, on the phone, or in-person.
When a student indicates they’ll be making their decision soon, I encourage you to follow-up with “That’s great! How do you feel when you think about choosing <College Name>?” If the feedback is overly positive, reiterate why you see them as a good fit for your school, and let them know you would really like to see them take the next step and submit their deposit.
We continue to find that sometimes all a student needs is that positive encouragement and prompt to take action.
If however a student makes it clear that they’re (for example) waiting on a financial aid package from another school, or they’re planning to attend an admitted student event in the coming days/weeks, follow-up with “Thanks for sharing that with me. So what are you still trying to figure out about us when you imagine yourself being a student here?” Or, “What would you like to see us talk about next that would help you with your decision?”
Caring more has and will continue to be a competitive advantage if you make it one. How the admissions staff treats a student/family throughout the process still ranks as one of the top college decision-making factors on every single survey we conduct.
If you found this article helpful, please forward it to someone else on your campus who could also benefit from reading it.