3 Topics Your Inquires Want More Information About

Yesterday I had a quick Zoom chat with an Admissions Counselor who recently completed his first high school visits of the year. He reached out to get my advice on how to handle a couple of different situations that he experienced.

One of those involved what to do when you have a group of students who despite being encouraged to engage, still don’t say more than a couple of words.

The first thing I reminded him was that most students have no idea what questions they’re supposed to ask in that kind of environment. It’s a little nerve wracking, they don’t know how to lead the conversation, and many definitely don’t want to ask something that might be perceived as a silly question.

Because of those things it’s important to know what topics the masses care about most, especially when they’re doing their college research. This is where my Top Tier Higher Ed survey data comes in handy.

Over the past 7 years, when a high school student is learning more about different colleges and universities in the early part of their search, besides a school having the academic major or program that the student is interested in, the top three topics (in order) that the majority want information about next are:

1. Financial Aid

2. Careers related to the major or program they’re interested in

3. Student life and activities

   
   

When it comes to talking about one or more of those topics early on, what I don’t want you to do is start word vomiting a bunch of numbers, stats, acronyms, and big words. Instead, here are a few talking points to consider for each one.

Financial Aid – Start by acknowledging that college is definitely going to be an investment, and that it’s completely normal to have money concerns or to be confused when it comes to this topic. There are a lot of different parts to financial aid, so this is also where students tend to lean on their parents, guardians, or family for guidance the most. Because of that you should encourage students (if they haven’t already) to ask their parents or guardians if there’s a plan to help pay for college. You might even ask the group of students a question like, “If one of you is comfortable sharing, what have you and your parents talked about when it comes to the cost of college and everything?” You could also explain the process for how your school determines what scholarships and grants a student will receive, and what else is taken into account to help determine what the final cost will be for a student. Let them know that no college can tell a student at this point what the exact cost would be for them to be a student there. The student has to apply first and fill out different financial aid forms. However, you could also add that the cost will be a lot less than what they see on websites, so don’t immediately assume that your family can’t afford a school if it checks a lot or all of the other boxes for things that are important to you. Reiterate that it’s smart to sit down with their family or guardians and talk about this topic sooner rather than later. During that conversation encourage them to write down every question that the student or parent has and then send an email to their admissions counselor at one or more of the schools on their list asking for feedback. They do not have to figure financial aid out on their own and there are people at your school who will answer all their questions and give them guidance now as well as later in the process.

Careers related to the major or program they’re interested in – Students want to know the different kinds of jobs recent graduates have started, what companies they’re working for, and if you’ve got the data, what’s the average starting salary? They also want a better understanding of how your school will help them become marketable and prepared when it comes time to start applying for jobs. What campus resources exist, and who are some of the people that will prepare and support them throughout their student journey?

Student life and activities – What are some of the clubs and organizations that exist and how do students sign up? What are the fun traditions and popular events that take place on campus throughout the year? How do current students describe your campus community and the atmosphere? What do your current students do for fun off campus – where do they go?

Anytime you’re speaking with a group of students, especially a group that isn’t saying much, the key is talking about things that the majority have an interest in.

Make each topic relatable and helpful, incorporate storytelling, and do your best to encourage engagement by asking students direct questions – not “What questions do you have?” If they still don’t speak up, tell them what you typically hear from other students when you discuss the same topic.

One final thing: if you happen to work in enrollment communications/marketing, my advice is to make sure those three topics appear early in your communication flow with new inquiries.

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