Applicants Want Mix of Old and New Technology in Recruitment, Survey Finds

Royall & Company, recently conducted a survey of students to see how they wanted to be recruited by Colleges. They surveyed more than 8,500 juniors and seniors on the college recruitment process. Here is a link to the survey – When and how you communicate to students really matters

The Chronicle of Education published a brief summary of the findings:

* 57% of students are open to receiving texts from Colleges.
* The vast majority were open to time-sensitive texts about application deadlines (86 percent), responses to specific questions (82 percent), and reminders about events they had registered for (75 percent).
* they weren’t so eager to receive more-general information. In short, one-on-one texts with admissions officers hold appeal; huge information blasts don’t.
* Opinions of recruitment strategies vary among different subgroups, the survey found. First-generation students, underrepresented minorities, and students from low-income families were much more likely than their peers to say they would welcome texts, for instance.
* Respondents to the survey rated E-mails from Colleges as most helpful (65 percent) and then Colleges own websites (52 percent)

What does this mean for you as a Counselor? Students should be open to getting information from Colleges in many ways. Some students prefer information via text, some by e-mail and still others prefer receiving information the old fashioned way, by mail. Encourage them to be open to getting their information in all forms and to make the best decision available on their college choice.