4 Things Your Admitted Students Want To Know About

Last week I got an email from an Assistant Director who asked, “Jeremy what else can I talk about with my admitted students? I feel like they’ve already heard everything.”

Part of my response included reminding her that even though students hear or read about things multiple times, it’s been proven that as humans we need to hear a message 7 or 8 times before it really sticks.

The key is finding ways to say the same things in different ways, and to always add value regardless of the topic. One way you can do that is by gathering feedback and sharing more of the current student (particularly the first-year) point of view via direct quotes.

Here are four things that would be helpful for a lot of admitted students:

• Why choose a smaller school instead of a larger university? Or vice versa. Students are looking for specific pros and cons – not general statements like “more opportunities” or “smaller class sizes.” My advice is ask your current first-year students why they made the decision they did when they could have done the opposite. The same idea will also work when it comes to staying close to home or going out of state for college.

• Resources that will help them with the transition to college. I’m talking about things like tutoring, time management, note-taking, study skills, and stress management/social skills. Students continue to tell us in surveys that one of their top worries is not being emotionally and socially ready for college. How are you reassuring them that your school has resources that will help them feel supported? And who are some of the people that currently help your students in those areas?

• The food. Every school has a dining facility and options to grab snacks on the go. What makes yours different and/or better? Have students talk about their favorite options and meals. Maybe your school has an app that lets students see what’s available each day. Is the person who scans ID cards or works at one of the meal stations well known around campus? Do you have gluten-free options? Maybe you bring in special chefs from time to time, or your food is locally sourced. Maybe students get to vote on menu changes. Or, maybe it’s just the fact that you have a Starbucks or Chick-fil-A on campus.

• The classroom environment. Students are looking for more than just data on the average class size or student to faculty ratio. If you’re a larger university and TA’s teach some or most of the classes, does that mean students can’t ever meet with their professor? Are most first-year classes lecture style, or more Q&A? What about major-specific classes – how are those different than general courses? What are some of the fun "major specific" things students get to do during their first-year? How do most professors handle scheduling meetings with students? If you work at a smaller school, do some professors invite their class over for dinner?

  
  

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