Two Things Every Great Campus Visit Experience Needs

The data hasn’t changed in 12 years. When we ask students to rate the importance of different factors in their college decision, the “feel” of campus continues to cumulatively score the highest.

But, just having them visit doesn’t guarantee anything. The visit needs to be memorable. It needs to feel different than other schools they’ve been to. And, it needs to answer questions related to key topics like cost, academic realities, student outcomes, and campus life.

A great visit could be the thing that gets them to apply or submit their deposit.

A bad or underwhelming visit could result in your school being taken off their list.

With all that in mind, make sure these two ingredients are always top of mind when you plan and execute any visit experience.

1. Interaction with current students. One of the biggest things every high school student or transfer wants to figure out is will I fit in and feel comfortable here. Creating a connection with the tour guide or student ambassador is great, but if the visit is truly going to be memorable, there has to be more. The keyword to remember is relevant. Who else can you introduce them to or stop and talk with for a few minutes that has similar interests or a similar background. The more connections the better. I would also encourage you to incorporate more freshmen or new transfers, and less upperclassmen - again, relatability. And don't forget about creating opportunities for prospective students who are visiting at the same time to get to know each other. The more people a prospective student gets to know, the more confident they will be about taking the next step.

2. Parent/guardian involvement. They continue to be the biggest outside influencer in a student’s college search. I’ll even go a step further and say that in many cases the parents or guardians are running the show. If you don’t intentionally engage and involve them before, during, and after the campus visit, you’ve wasted important opportunities. Figure out ahead of time who will be joining the student, and work to determine (by asking direct questions) what the parent(s) or guardian is hoping to get out of the experience or what their top questions are. During the visit, offer them additional tips and resources (if possible make them stage specific) that they can utilize to help guide their student. And when the opportunity to introduce parents to other campus partners presents itself (financial aid for example), don’t be afraid to split up the parents and student for a short time. Just make sure you’ve explained ahead of time this will happen. The key is to make them feel like a valued partner in this process and not an afterthought.

One more thing. If you can spread the word on campus about a student visiting (to current students, faculty, staff, or even the cafeteria person at the front) and that results in a “Hi Jeremy, we’re so glad to have you on campus today…” those are the small things that make a lasting impact - and that parents tend to notice. All it may take is a quick email from you ahead of time.

LEADERSHIP, STORYTELLING, CAREER ADVANCEMENT, USING AI…

Those are some of the topics that have been covered in recent episodes of my Mission Admissions podcast. All 99 episodes are free and can be downloaded on Apple or Spotify.