Tips For Troubleshooting Students’ Enrollment Decision-Making Process

Dr. Katelyn Sanders
Director of Admission
& Alumni Affairs
Bernard J. Dunn School of Pharmacy
Shenandoah University

Dr. Scott D. Miller
President
Virginia Wesleyan University

Let’s say you’ve spoken with a prospective student for your institution. You’ve sent them materials and answered their questions, pointed out how your institution aligns with their goals and values, and helped them understand what financial aid options they have available. In your mind, you’ve done all you can to convince them that yours is the college or university that best suits their needs… yet they ultimately inform you that they’ve decided to enroll somewhere else.

At such moments, you might wonder what went wrong. Did you miss something or make an error?

Remember, choosing a college is a significant decision influenced by factors like geography, family ties, friend networks, and finances—often beyond your control. While there’s no need for self-reproach, reviewing your communication can reveal opportunities for improvement.

Here are actionable tips to enhance follow-up communication, avoid common missteps, and better support prospective students during their decision-making process.

See Your School Through the Eyes of a Prospective Student

It’s easy to forget that the institution you likely spend hundreds of hours at each year is an entirely new experience for almost every prospect you meet.  To them, the people, features, and reputation of your school — which are all things you may take for granted — are essentially alien.

A big part of your job is to view your institution as if you were setting foot on campus for the very first time and recognizing what might seem exciting, interesting, inspiring, or confusing for prospects who are trying to decide if your school could ever feel like home.

Understand Each Prospects Values and Desired Outcomes

Every learner is unique, so what may seem like your school’s biggest selling point on paper might not matter at all to a prospect who would be incredibly excited to know about something buried on the 30th slide of your default presentation.  While this range of variety may seem daunting, it also means you have the freedom to present your school in infinitely different ways to infinitely different prospects.  The key is to make sure you’re presenting it in a way that resonates with their individual needs and interests, not just those of your stock marketing persona.

Be Aware of — and Honest About — the Good and the Bad

Just like a smart shopper checks a product’s reviews before buying, smart students are going to seek out as much information about the schools they’re interested in as possible.  This may include word-of-mouth from current students and alumni, news stories about the school, reviews on websites like on RateMyProfessors or GlassDoor, and even the school’s financial standing, political influence or environmental impact.

Make sure you’re regularly reviewing these same information sources so you’ll know what your prospects know, and so you’ll be prepared to address any concerns they may have.  Be honest about what the school is doing to mitigate problems while promoting the concept of continual improvement.  Again, no one trusts a product with only five-star reviews, but what builds trust is seeing how problems and concerns are taken seriously, proactively addressed, and improved upon.

Don’t Overlook Seemingly Small Questions from Prospects — or Parents

Students often aren’t making the decision to enroll alone. Their parents and other family members are often major influences, especially if they are helping financially.  As such, even a seemingly small concern could turn out to have a big impact on their final decision, especially if it raises an issue that they don’t feel you’re taking as seriously as they are.

For example, questions about campus security, available parking, the variety of campus life options, the ease and confidentiality of accessing mental health support, and many other seemingly incidental questions could be big indicators of a prospect’s underlying worries.  Do your best to provide the most accurate and comprehensive information you can, while also taking note of potential issues that could serve as disqualifiers for families with specific needs or concerns.

What Questions Didn’t You Have an Answer For?

Good communication is a matter of providing relevant information in a timely manner, and both the relevance and timeliness of that communication counts.  For that reason, continually expanding your knowledge of your institution is crucial — because to your prospects, you are the school.

Granted, your prospects will undoubtedly have questions you won’t always know the answer to, and that’s okay.  But while it's impossible for you to know all the details about every class, professor, building, and piece of technology in your institution, the key is being able to find those answers quickly while assuring your prospects that finding those answers is your priority.

This is especially true for programs of high interest, in which your inability to provide key details could indicate to a prospect that your institution views that program as a lower priority than it may be at competing schools.  It is also true for new programs, which have likely been created to meet a fast-growing market need, and which are likely to attract prospects who are even more knowledgeable about their prospective career field than you are about this new major.

Whenever you encounter a question that you don’t immediately have an answer for, do your best to seek it out quickly while also thanking your prospect for giving you the opportunity to dive deeper into that topic.  You may also want to track those curveball questions to help you spot trends over time.

Finally, remember the golden rule of communicating with potential students: the longer it takes you to respond to a prospect’s question, the more likely they are to find that answer — and maybe the institution of their future — somewhere else.

 

Dr. Scott D. Miller is President of Virginia Wesleyan University in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Dr. Katelyn “Katie” Sanders is Director of Admissions and Alumni Affairs at the Bernard J. Dunn School of Pharmacy at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia.