{"id":3110,"date":"2017-02-24T03:21:17","date_gmt":"2017-02-24T03:21:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nortonnorris.com\/?p=3110"},"modified":"2017-02-24T03:21:17","modified_gmt":"2017-02-24T03:21:17","slug":"4-things-college-admissions-team-missing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nortonnorris.com\/4-things-college-admissions-team-missing\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Things your College Admissions Team is Probably Missing"},"content":{"rendered":"

You may have already heard about the vastness of our travels by diligently following our curiously entertaining blog Tales from the Trail<\/em><\/a>, but in case you haven\u2019t yet discovered it, you might be unaware of our ongoing journeys from sea to shining sea.\u00a0 You also may not know that we have quite a variety of evaluators in our stable of investigative talent, all of who report to us about their campus experiences from the perspective of a prospective student.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve noticed a few things along the way – we\u2019re able to help identify trends in Admissions<\/a> and Financial Aid departments. We see things schools are doing really well and things many schools are missing or lacking. Here are the top four things we find schools overlooking:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Responsiveness<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The first step in every prospective student\u2019s quest for postsecondary education begins by asking for some information from a school, often through handy request forms found on school websites. One of the most common things we uncover in this process is a failure to connect in a timely manner.<\/a><\/p>\n

    As part of our process in the Assessment department, we offer up our phone numbers and email addresses \u2013 and wait. About one in 10 of those requests goes unanswered for 24 hours (that\u2019s when we give up and call directly to talk to someone). About one in four of our requests elicits a response over an hour later. We always advocate for quick responses to requests \u2013 within five minutes is ideal. The time to connect with someone who\u2019s asking about you is right after he or she hits SEND on that request. They\u2019re still on your website, they want to know more, and they\u2019re still paying attention<\/em>. Why wait? Give them a call \u2013 they\u2019re totally into you!<\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Open Up Early in the Relationship<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Once we\u2019re on the phone, we\u2019ll ask some questions to gauge a prospective student\u2019s willingness to share school and program information.<\/em> In less than 20% of our 2016 inquiry calls,<\/em> we were given tuition information when we asked for it, and it was incomplete over 80% of the time if we did get it.<\/em> It\u2019s a pretty easy question to answer (the details are on the website, right?), but we run into schools deferring the conversation until the interview or telling us only that tuition depends on aid eligibility (which is a totally separate no-no)!<\/p>\n

      We encourage clients to use that first chat to start getting to know the individual student, making a strong first impression, and building value for the admission interview, whether it\u2019s in person or over the phone. Establishing a purpose for the admission interview without declining to answer the caller\u2019s preliminary questions during that first conversation starts to build trust and rapport, and sets a welcoming and honest atmosphere. Refusing to answer questions over the phone can send an unintended message and negatively impact the likelihood that they\u2019ll show up for an appointment later.<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Don\u2019t Build a Wall Around FA<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        The educational financing piece is a big one for almost every student. Most aren\u2019t able to write a check or swipe a card to pay their tuition, so a conversation with a financial aid expert is a really valuable part of the admission interview. But less than half of the covert interviews we reported on in 2016 included one. The financial aid process can be legitimately intimidating and confusing, offering a splendid opportunity to swoop in as the hero (cape optional) to deliver guidance, support, answers, and a plan of action.<\/p>\n

        We\u2019ve learned through years of sending evaluators to clients and their competitors that discussing educational financing with a specialist improves the prospective students\u2019 <\/em>overall perceptions of the school.<\/em> All too often admissions advisors deny the Financial Aid\/Student Finance introduction<\/a> if students decline to enroll, take a test, or provide a Social Security number, which are practices that easily make a visitor feel uneasy at best and pressured at worst.<\/p>\n

        All it takes is 10 to 15 minutes with financial aid specialists to offer students (and anyone they\u2019ve brought along) the chance to ask questions and get a general overview of financing options. Very often, students come with their own unique concerns and personal situations, and this is a chance to help them figure out how to overcome those obstacles in order to start and finish school. It further positions the school as a resource, and begins to establish trust and rapport with staff beyond the admissions team.<\/p>\n

          \n
        1. Show \u2019em<\/strong> What You\u2019ve Got <\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          \u00a0<\/strong>One of the things that we\u2019ve learned through working with evaluators and \u2018shoppers\u2019 across the country is that tours matter<\/a>! We consistently find in student commentaries and in debrief communications that their experiences while touring the campuses or seeing the online classrooms have a massive impact on their perceptions of the school. In our competitive analysis studies, the cleanliness and upkeep of the campus, and the quality of the equipment\/facilities are often cited as strong (and memorable) influencing factors in the decision to choose one school or campus over another. <\/em>Like it or not, looks matter!<\/p>\n

          \u00a0<\/strong>The tours provide an opportunity to introduce students to the valuable resources provided, like learning centers, labs, simulation centers, tutoring, and Career Services support. The information is a lot more memorable when you\u2019re walking around meeting people and seeing the spaces instead of looking at pictures on a screen or just talking about what you\u2019ve got to offer. Every interview should include a tour. Every student should see the campus, in person or online (if it\u2019s an online program). There\u2019s plenty to show off, and it\u2019s a fantastic opportunity to keep learning about them in a more conversational, laid-back way. You\u2019re walking, you\u2019re talking – it\u2019s natural!<\/p>\n

          We\u2019re certainly not saying that every school \u2013 and every campus \u2013 is guilty of these oversights, but for better or worse, they\u2019re trends we\u2019ve seen in interviews across the country. When you\u2019re ready to take a look at your team and see how it fares in these areas (and many, MANY more), give us a call. Want to know how quickly we\u2019d get a call back when you tap your team on the digital shoulder? Interested in whether or not you\u2019re using campus tours effectively? Chances are we\u2019ll be in your neck of the woods soon, and we\u2019d love to stop by. College Mystery Shopping by Norton Norris<\/a> can help you achieve better results.<\/p>\n

          Now it\u2019s your turn. Have you spotted any of these trends in your own teams? Share your stories in the comments or on our Facebook page<\/a>!<\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n

           <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          You may have already heard about the vastness of our travels by diligently following our curiously entertaining blog Tales from the Trail, but in case you haven\u2019t yet discovered it, you might be unaware of our ongoing journeys from sea to shining sea.\u00a0 You also may not know that we have quite a variety of evaluators in our stable of<\/p>\n

          <\/div>\n

          Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":3109,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[46,47,48,25,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,39,26,56,57,58,59,60,61],"yoast_head":"\n4 Things your College Admissions Team is Probably Missing - Norton Norris<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Mystery shopping reveals the top 4 things that career college admissions teams are overlooking and how to fix it.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nortonnorris.com\/4-things-college-admissions-team-missing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"4 Things your College Admissions Team is Probably Missing - Norton Norris\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Mystery shopping reveals the top 4 things that career college admissions teams are overlooking and how to fix it.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nortonnorris.com\/4-things-college-admissions-team-missing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Norton Norris\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-02-24T03:21:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/nortonnorris.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Missing.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"725\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"482\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Connie Esparza\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Connie Esparza\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nortonnorris.com\/4-things-college-admissions-team-missing\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nortonnorris.com\/4-things-college-admissions-team-missing\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Connie Esparza\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nortonnorris.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2a0f300b3e9e85eaa6fdc2080f568892\"},\"headline\":\"4 Things your College Admissions Team is Probably Missing\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-02-24T03:21:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-02-24T03:21:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nortonnorris.com\/4-things-college-admissions-team-missing\/\"},\"wordCount\":1134,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nortonnorris.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nortonnorris.com\/4-things-college-admissions-team-missing\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/nortonnorris.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/Missing.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"2017\",\"admission help\",\"admission tips\",\"Admissions\",\"admissions team\",\"admissions tips\",\"college admissions\",\"college mystery shop\",\"college recruitment\",\"Financial Aid\",\"for-profit college recruitment\",\"Higher Education\",\"Mystery Shopping\",\"school mystery shop\",\"school mystery shop help\",\"school mystery shop tips\",\"student enrollment help\",\"student enrollment tips\",\"what am I doing wrong with my admissions process\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Mystery Shopping Assessment\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/nortonnorris.com\/4-things-college-admissions-team-missing\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nortonnorris.com\/4-things-college-admissions-team-missing\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nortonnorris.com\/4-things-college-admissions-team-missing\/\",\"name\":\"4 Things your College Admissions Team is Probably Missing - 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