Part 2: How to Convince Accepted Students to Commit to Your University or College

Although the application process is complete, you still have to work to win over accepted students and get them to commit to your school for the next four years. Make sure you use this time to get residents excited about their possible new homes and show them where you stand out from the crowd in terms of housing, residence life, and other key factors that your students find important.

Acceptance and Decision Making

Once a student has been accepted, it is key to get them excited about identifying themselves with your school. They are hungry for a sense of culture and opportunities to start emotionally investing in their college experience. It’s time to start sharing information with accepted students about student housing and the importance of living on campus so they can get the most of their college years.

Chances are your off-campus competitors are already sharing student housing options. A great way to get students involved while keeping them hyped up about their impending transition is through personality-style quizzes and marketing. Whether you require freshmen to live on campus or not, Buzz Feed-style identity quizzes to engage students and help narrow down their choices, especially if you have several different style apartments or dorms for them to choose from. This is also a great way to find out what each student values in their housing situation—value, amenities, or a sense of community.

Consider using fun quizzes that narrow down a students’ “perfect fit” to two or three dorms or apartments, then market those specific places to them with lead-nurturing campaigns.

If you don’t require on-campus housing, use this chance to highlight the benefits of living on campus and how students benefit in the long run from programming you offer. Remind residents that they still get all of the benefits of pools or gyms that the off campus competitors may have, because of their close proximity to campus facilities.