[This is Part 2 of the Yield Enhancement Series: The Final Push, offering actionable and effective strategies for the closing weeks of the yield season.]
We have pulled some hard data from our recent nationwide study, Your Value Proposition: How prospective students and parents perceive value and select colleges to provide you with some strategies that you can implement today to increase your yield. In this particular study, over 7,000 students and parents discussed the various influences that impacted their college selection decision.
As admissions professionals, we know that parents often play a large role in influencing college selection, especially when it comes to the issue of cost. In some cases we assume (correctly or not) that the parent(s) will be the final decision-maker. However, when we asked both students and parents, “Who had more influence in the final selection of a college (parent or student)?” both groups agreed: The student had more influence. Significantly more. Parents want their child to be happy and successful. In the final analysis, they’ll pay for that.
Just what exactly are our prospective students and their parents considering when they check out your college? In spite of what the media tells us, students and parents are making their college selection decisions based less on outcomes four or five years down the line and more on what they will experience immediately when they step on campus. Job placement after graduation, for example, ranks fifth on the list of things most important to students and parents in selecting a college. It ranks behind academic quality, availability of specific programs and majors, cost of attending, and their feelings about the campus and students.
Only about one-quarter of students indicate that salary after graduation plays an “extremely important” role in their college selection decision. This attitude is pervasive among all students, regardless of intended course of study.
If you are looking for a way to distinguish your college from others, take note: Engaging in a detailed and highly personal discussion of value will set you apart.
Shockingly, only 2 in 10 students and parents say that the college they most seriously considered addressed how it plans to maximize the value received over the course of the student’s time there.
The lesson here: More explicit discussions of value and value expectation should take place between prospective students, parents and the colleges they are considering. Admissions counselors, financial aid staff, and even faculty should have conversations with students and parents regarding the value they desire and expect to get from the colleges they are considering.
Add value by helping estimate and manage all costs associated with going to college.
Just 34% of students and parents say they are “extremely confident” that they have accurately estimated the complete cost associated with their first year of college. The ideal would be a much higher percentage given that it may be one of the largest expenses, if not the single largest, incurred by the family in a single year.
It is clear, though, that nearly all want help from colleges not only to estimate their costs but also to manage their expenses while attending.
Colleges can help. Students and parents want that help. Over 80% say they would find it appealing (50% say “very appealing”) if colleges offered an annual service to help them estimate and manage their educational and personal expenses associated with attending college.
Developing this service adds value. It can lower what is viewed as the “cost of college.” Some colleges are doing it now and it reflects a high level of service.
Value can trump cost. Engage in a detailed and highly personal discussion of value with every one of the students in your admit pool. Guide them to available resources to help estimate and manage their costs. And, above all, paint a picture that excites them about their future on your campus.
We are helping colleges with their recruiting efforts every day, especially now during yield season. If I can help you, please call or shoot me an email.
Karen Full is a highly-respected higher education professional who has held positions in admissions and enrollment management at several institutions in the Midwest and Florida. With her vast experience working with large and small, public and private colleges, Karen brings a valuable perspective to her role as an Enrollment Strategist at Longmire and Company. Call Karen at 913/492.1265 x.711 or email her at kfull@longmire-co.com. Follow Karen on Twitter @KarenAFull.
