It’s Smart To Ask These Kinds Of Questions

In previous articles I’ve explained that prospective students will share all kinds of helpful information if you ask better questions – ones that are more casual, direct, and narrow.

Along those same lines, it’s important to keep in mind that for many of us – especially teenagers – it’s much easier to talk about what we don’t want or why we don’t like something.

So, as you’re starting these early conversations and developing relationships with this next class of students, I encourage you to also ask questions that are based in the negative.

Really??? Absolutely!

Focus just as much on what they don’t want as what they think they do want.

That kind of information is extremely valuable because when you let prospective students know it’s okay for them to bring up and talk about a dislike or a negative, it allows them to feel like they can be more honest with you. You’ll come across as more authentic because you show them that you know your campus and student experience aren’t perfect and the right fit for everybody.

Here are a few examples that I shared during a recent training workshop I led:

• Ask them what kinds of colleges (namely size of school or location) they would view as being the wrong fit for them.

• Ask them what kind of classroom environment they don’t want to have at their future college.

• Ask them about the type of colleges they’ve crossed off their list so far.

• After a student visits your campus, ask “Now that you’ve seen campus, what’s one thing you wish you could change about our school?”

• Ask them “What’s the wrong way for a college to communicate with you?”

Getting students comfortable talking about dislikes and negatives with you, and seeing that you’re okay with their assessments, can be a big recruiting advantage.

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