Quick Tips: Understand that students are busy. Strong customer service, starting immediately, is critical. Respect the student and the parents. Connect success with students’ intentions. Recognize the existence of “a là carte” education. Articulate value in a way that students can understand.

1. 1Confidential © InsideTrack, 2012
Quick Tips for Connecting
with Prospective Students

2. 2Confidential © InsideTrack, 2012
Leverage the student’s own momentum
An object in motion stays in motion.
The same is true for 17 and 18 year
old high school students. When
students engage with you, make
sure that next steps (e.g., applying
for scholarships, submitting health
forms, or registering for summer
orientation) are available so they
can “strike while the iron is
hot.” This will not only deepen
their commitment and motivation
to attend but it will positively
reinforce proactive student
behavior.

3. 3Confidential © InsideTrack, 2012
Engage early applicants before the
winter holidays
Early applicants are often high-
achieving students with a
preference for your university.
Even those with mediocre grades
are typically proactive, organized
and motivated. Too often, they
hear crickets until February, as
their feelings cool and motivation
wanes. Initiate meaningful
interactions with early applicants
and you are more likely to enroll
highly engaged and effective
students and encourage positive
post-enrollment behavior. Early
applicants are special. Make
them feel it.

4. 4Confidential © InsideTrack, 2012
Understand that students really are busy
Treat students like busy adults and
they’ll act like it. Even the most
responsible, top-performing
student will occasionally ignore a
phone call, neglect to respond to
e-mail, or procrastinate filing their
Free Application for Federal
Student Aid (FAFSA). They’re
genuinely busy and distracted, not
to mention 17 or 18 years
old. They have enough people
nagging and judging them, so the
best kind of outreach is proactive,
positive, and nonjudgmental. Make
your interactions “decidedly non-
parental.”

5. 5Confidential © InsideTrack, 2012
Respect the student and the parents
This is a unique time in the parent-
child relationship. Students may be
experimenting with independence
and may or may not be
communicating regularly with a
parent or guardian during the
decision-making process.
Understand the objectives and
perspective of each party, help
bridge the communication gap
where it exists while respecting
boundaries, and create a safe
environment for students to
express a dissenting opinion
without undermining anyone
involved.

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Realize that students often get busier as
the year progresses
The most organized students often
focus on their next steps toward
college when they know they have
a little extra room in their
schedule. They’ll often try to get
as many college-related tasks
done as possible before they get
busy again with finals, holidays,
travel, work or other activities.
Provide resources that allow
students to be as productive as
possible when they can devote
time and attention to preparing for
college.

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Strong customer service, starting
immediately, is critical
Students who are unable to get
clear answers, feel passed around,
or get lost in an automated phone
system are not only dissatisfied,
but also far less likely to reach out
again. An outstanding early
customer service experience can
establish an enduring positive first
impression of the school, making it
less likely that the normal bumps
and bruises of adjusting to college
life will lead them to doubt the
entire value of the institution or the
pursuit of a degree.

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Treat prospective students like adults
Don’t give the “if you want to be
treated like an adult, act like one”
speech or incessantly remind
students “you’re an adult now, you
should…” Simply respect them the
same way you would a busy,
working professional. Refrain from
judgment and respond to their
requests the way you would those
of a colleague. When a university
takes the lead in modeling an
attitude of respect, responsive
communication, and trust, students
are more likely to reciprocate.

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Knowledge
Don’t assume students know what they
need to know about higher education
Even children of the most educated
parents may not understand the
basics of higher education and may
be too intimidated to ask. Listen for
clues that reveal potential “gaps” in
their understanding and provide
clear and relevant explanations,
without judgment. For example,
students may have never had
anyone break down the types of
degrees available – AA, BA, BS,
MBA. PhD, etc. Once they have,
they find it empowering.

10. 10Confidential © InsideTrack, 2012
Don’t let melt prevention become the
enemy of retention and completion
Preventing Summer “melt” should
not come at the expense of
ensuring that every student who
starts is as prepared as possible to
finish. Make sure that students fully
understand the expectations and
have opportunities to test their skills
prior to enrollment and that students
relying heavily on financial aid have
an in-person conversation with an
expert. If an unforeseeable event
caused a student to delay start,
refrain from judgment. A positive
experience in their darkest hour will
make them more likely to come
back when the dust settles.

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Connect success with students’ intentions
Understand each student’s
intentions and define success
accordingly. An increasing number
of students enroll with the intention
to transfer, but these students
seldom reveal their intentions for
fear of being judged or pressured to
change their mind. A university that
supports a student in transitioning to
college, bringing their grades up,
and gaining admission to their
dream school should consider itself
successful. Having an accurate read
on students’ intentions also aids in
institutional planning and gap
analysis.

12. 12Confidential © InsideTrack, 2012
Recognize the existence of “a là carte”
education
Many high school seniors set out to
graduate from a different university
than where they initially enroll. Many
more are influenced by the ever-
growing options to piece their
education together. When adults
average seven career changes in a
lifetime, expect to see some
students adopt the same approach
to education. Recognize that you do
not operate in a vacuum. Facilitate
candid conversations, free of
judgment, to unearth students’ true
intentions. Develop a strategy to
communicate your unique value
proposition in the context of a
changing landscape.
a là carte
education

13. 13Confidential © InsideTrack, 2012
Leverage the student’s motivations to
build commitment
Connecting with students about
their decision to attend your
university on a deep, individual level
demonstrates that you respect and
value their motives. It also cultivates
a deeper commitment to the
university that helps counteract
inevitable moments of doubt and
ebbs in motivation. If in students’
heads, the only reason to attend
your institution is because it “just
makes sense” financially,
geographically, or academically,
they are less likely to see the value
and persist through difficult times.
Motivation

14. 14Confidential © InsideTrack, 2012
Articulate value in a way that students
can understand
The residential campus experience
is relevant because it connects
textbook and community and
remains one of the most effective,
widely accepted means of
transforming oneself into an
educated adult ready to take on the
world, but this is a rather lofty goal
with little immediate relevance to a
student’s daily concerns. Connect
them to tangible, immediately
relevant value whenever possible
and they will be more likely to
remain connected to this value and
better able to articulate it to others.

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Increase enrollment, retention and graduation by 15%.
• 1:1 coaching for prospective and enrolled students
• Actionable insights on student perceptions and needs
• Systems to ensure measurement and accountability
InsideTrack works with you to implement a
system for continuous improvement
InsideTrack is the only college dropout
prevention initiative to meet WWC evidence
standards
Increase student and
institutional success.
Contact us:
programs@insidetrack.com
415.243.4468
www.insidetrack.com