In the not-too-distant past, the admissions calendar could be divided into four blocks. In the Fall we travel to recruit prospective students to apply. In the late Fall-late Winter we read those applications to decide who to offer admission. In the Spring we work to convince them to choose our school and in the Summer, we breathe and squeeze in a vacation.
Those days are long gone. The cycles overlap and intermingle such that there never really is a down time. One of the biggest impacts has been on yield. What used to be reserved for the 2-3 months leading up to the May 1st deposit deadline, now begins as soon as you “meet” the prospective student. The first contact – whether at a fair, via search or on-line, matter more now than ever before.
If you’ve ever seen the Alec Baldwin ABC scene in the movie Glengarry Glen Ross, you know that ABC stands for Always Be Closing. I’m not suggesting you have your new staff watch this movie but it does make a point about how we need to begin yielding students at first contact. Successful offices get that.