By Jeremy Tiers, Vice President of Admissions Services
3 minute read
When was the last time a prospective student or parent didn’t express a concern or have some hesitation either about your school or college in general?
You can pretty much guarantee there’s going to be something for everybody. Popular ones are cost, proximity to home (too far or too close), location (lack of things to do), and size (too big or too small).
Believe it or not, concerns and objections are actually a good thing.
In our research, we’ve found that most students and parents don’t express a concern unless there’s serious interest in your school. Objections equal interest. As humans, when we’re not interested, we tend to ignore and avoid.
Knowing that, I encourage you to actively seek out concerns from students and parents. Simply ask, “What’s the biggest concern you have about <College Name>?” Or, “What are you worried about most when you think about being a college student?”
Be proactive and have that conversation as early as possible. Don’t avoid talking about something that’s uncomfortable or perceived as a “negative.”
Depending on the amount of information you receive back, you may need to probe a little, do some active listening, and ask a few follow-up questions. Get the student or parent to be specific and to clarify what they mean and/or how they came to feel that way.
In doing that, sometimes what you’ll find is their concern is actually misinformation.
The next step involves making the student or parent feel comfortable voicing more objections and concerns. Through your reaction, body language and words, let them know that it’s okay not to love everything about your school. Treat the objection as “normal” and thank them for sharing how they really feel.
Being comfortable talking about a concern, and letting them know that you don’t think less of them for bringing it up, is going to go a long way towards making (and keeping) a strong connection.
When it comes to responding after the student or parent is done talking, start by repeating the concern back to them. “So what I hear you saying is that because we’re a smaller college you’re concerned there won’t be as many opportunities for you and there will be less fun things to do. Have I got that right?” Confirm their statement, and give the other person a chance to explain further or correct you if in fact you misheard or misunderstood.
The final step involves mixing logic, emotion, and additional information as you re-direct their objection into a “selling point” for your school. Continuing the same example from earlier you might say, “No matter what school you choose you’ll have all kinds of clubs and organizations to get involved with, and you’ll end up finding fun things to do with your new friends like <insert example>. One of the students I worked with last year felt the same way, but now that she’s here she told me that because we’re not a large university she likes that she isn’t competing with so many other students when she needs help. Getting more personal attention from her professors allows them to understand how she learns best and what they can do to give her the support that she needs.”
The student or parent needs to hear you confidently tell them that their concern isn’t something that should prevent them from taking the next step – scheduling a visit, starting their application, or choosing your school.
One final thing – There are times when taking this approach makes it clear that your school isn’t going to be a serious option for the student at the end of the day. That’s okay. Identifying that sooner rather than later is helpful.
Students and families are going to have questions or objections that will pop into their minds during the college search. It’s not a matter of “if,” but when (and how often).
If you found this article helpful go ahead and forward it to someone else who could also benefit from reading it.