Running large, on-campus events for admitted students is commonplace during yield season as a way to land the class. We all know that these events can be extremely costly, stressful to plan, and require what feels like countless details to coordinate.
Over the last few years, we have seen our clients look to online admitted student events as the center of their yield strategy. Beyond cost reduction, and simplified coordination efforts, the list below outlines seven reasons our clients are building online events into their admitted student outreach.
1. You Can’t Control the Weather
Snow in April is rare–but it can happen! And even if the threat of snow is long past, a stormy day can result in delays or cancellations. What’s your backup plan when campus is closed due to an unexpected storm, or your schedule needs to be adjusted because an event speaker has to cancel at the last minute? With an online event, you control your environment, ensuring your attendees have an optimum experience.
2. Inability to Travel to Campus
For some students, attending an admitted student event can mean a 20-minute drive down the street, but for others, the time and expense of attending an in-person admitted student event is unrealistic. In fact, we find that many of the online admitted student events hosted by our clients see attendees from across the U.S. and around the world. How many countries will be represented at your on-ground admitted student event?
3. Competing Events
There are only so many weekends this spring and it is possible that one of your competitors has scheduled an activity on the same day as your admitted student event. Without an alternative to your on-campus event, you may lose out on a critical opportunity to connect with students that are struggling to make a final decision. Why not provide an online option to connect with your students, especially those that need a little more time to review all the information?
4. 1-to-Many vs 1-to-1
No one wants to feel like a number–but for some, an on-campus event can feel overwhelming with the amount of prospective students, family members and school support staff in attendance. We’ve heard time and again that online events create a safe space for students, and their families, to ask questions they may not be comfortable stating in a crowd.
5. Staying Connected
While many schools may have just one on-ground admitted student event on-campus, with an online event, you can host a series of admitted student programs, offering the opportunity to create and maintain connections with your entire audience. In addition, when you consider online engagement as an indicator for intent, having a view into this type of activities will provide you with a sense for final yield numbers.
6. Something for Everyone
With an on-campus event, you are often limited by time and resources on your presentation topics–but with an online event, you can design your event to accommodate a variety of themes. For instance, you can create a presentation on areas of study, a review of campus safety, and a summary of popular campus hangouts and activities all in the same place.
7. Showcase Your Best Student Ambassadors
Nearly every student is looking to connect with a current student to get an authentic perspective on your school. On-ground events often rely on tour guides or in-person Q&A session. Here, you may have an international student, or a transfer student looking for a unique perspective that they may not find–with limited real-time resources. In an online event, you can cultivate a collection of student voices to support a variety of perspectives and audiences.
With May 1st around the corner, now is the time to take advantage of running an online admitted student event. Contact PlatformQ Education today to learn how we can design and execute an admitted student event for you in just two weeks.