Last week I visited 12 different college campuses and admission offices. With it being just a couple weeks shy of May 1, the conversation of course took the direction of how numbers were looking so far this spring. Here’s some of what I heard…
“Good!”
“Fingers crossed!”
“Terrified!”
“Well ahead of last year.”
“We’re behind last year’s pace.”
“Depends what time you ask me.”
“I haven’t slept since January.”
In other words, responses were all over the place. But the one common theme in the conversations was the fact that whether the numbers are good or bad, expectations for next year are always higher. And while for the next two weeks or so, 99.9% of the attention is on May 1 and fall ’14 deposits, it’s not long after that when the question becomes: “How are we going to improve next year?” But this isn’t always simply about growing quantities of inquiries, applications, or deposits; in many cases it’s about shaping the class and accomplishing better results for specific audiences (programs, academic achievement, gender, etc.).
So what will your answer be?
These are the conversations we’re having week in and week out with hundreds of colleges nationwide. Carnegie has helped schools significantly increase their qualified inquiry numbers, applications, and ultimately accepted and enrolled students. We’ve also helped schools experience big jumps in open house or information session attendance, promote and drive interest in specific programs, and work to shape a school’s class in a number of different areas.
Some examples:
- Over 50 first-source enrolled students for medium-sized private college in the Midwest
- Over 85 first-source enrolled students for public institution in the Midwest
- 13% of fall ’13 entering class first-source students for Northeast private college
- Over 75 registrants for February open house for private college in the Northeast from one-month digital campaign
- 3x Transfer Tuesday session attendance for public school in the Midwest
- Over 440 academically high achieving first-source applicants for private college in the Midwest
Whether you’re smiling and high-fiving on May 1 or need to urgently address some areas for improvement, the good news is, there are a number of different options available to help in all areas. Some are immediate-impact, turnkey fixes, and some are more holistic and strategic solutions. Working with over 500 colleges each year and talking with hundreds of admission personnel each month, we have a unique perspective on the enrollment landscape—not just how others out there are faring but how they’re addressing their needs and what’s working. We welcome and enjoy those conversation anytime and are happy to share what we’re seeing, as well as tools, resources, and strategies that simply have worked.
Contact us today to learn more! And in the meantime, Happy May 1!