Finding time for parents to come visit the college with the student. Vary call times and try to get the parent on the phone.
It sounds like you try to make it more convenient for the student to learn about your school, Jeremy. What are some other ways that you might accommodate your students who don't have a lot of time?
Ah yes, getting parents involved is crucial when working with younger students. I like some of the methods you mention here to connect with busy parents, Kassim. What are some other ways that you might try to connect with them?
By telling them ahead of time what documents they will need to bring in, and by having them look at the website before meeting with me.
My most challenging obstacles would be no shows. I noticed some DO NOT's that were pointed out in the training that I always do; such as, I give the student the opportunity to say whether they would be coming in or not, I always wait an hour or two after the missed appt. to see if the student is still interested in coming. I am not as persistent. I just had this undertone that if I have to chase you to come to school then most likely you are not ready. I will use some of the points to improve my no show rate.
Thanks for your input Sirena. "No-Shows" can be frustrating but it sounds like you are aware of the steps you are taking and are working on improving. Great job! Let us know how it works.
The drive to our campus can be an obstacle as most students drive in excess of an hour. With gas prices increasing it is very important to build the value in driving to our campus more than anything so that the student understands why so many people choose our program. We have some advantages in the cost factor, and that we are a school that solely focuses on one program. Reputation and career placement are great ways to really handle these common objections.
That is a great point Caterina. When you are facing an obstacle, it sounds like you are able to find the value for the student to overcome that challenge. Tell me, what benefits or even attributes of your campus building/facility will entice a student to drive an hour for a visit?
Hi Shannon,
In order to prompt students to drive to see our campus, several items that are appealing to prospects have to be touched upon. The fact that we are a nationally accredited school, one of the least expensive programs in the area, and that we specialize in one area only, and provide career placement. The reputation of this school is extremely important to prospects, as top industry professionals actively hire graduates from our campus. Promoting a culture of a career prepartaion is what I strive to do, because ultimately that student has to be able to complete the program and have opportunities to work in the field.
It sounds like your school has a lot of attributes that you want to share with your students. Thanks for your input here and keep up the good work!
Tuition, like many others, is the big obstacle.
I find myself understanding the tuition process and what is avaliable is helpful to easing the students anxiety over the cost.
Having the student understand that every single person that has ever entered college is worried about money. Best place to using Feel, Felt, Found in my opinion.
The cost is definitely a challenge, and the fact that we do not accept credits from any other schools as well is a challenge.
The biggest obstacle that i find with possible students, is the fact that our school is not accredited.
I plan on improving my response by being able to say we are, working on the accreditation process now.
I have the same problem at our school, not being accredited.
We have found in our state that there are state run agency that help students get funding for school. And does not matter if you are accredited or not. But I still run into those who want to attend an accredited school
I have a hard time dealing with people who think our school is too far because they live in different state even though it is so close. I try to carefully describe directions to them.
We recruit working adults who, for the most part, have already made up their mind that they are going back to school. I find it challenging to flag the hidden obstacles. In this module I found the tools provided to overcome the objections very useful. I know know how to better identify the objections and deal with them using a more organized method or approach.
Thanks for sharing, Marcie. Taking a guess at hidden challenges or obstacles can be difficult for sure. It's great to hear that you have identified some methods to help you in this module. How do you plan to approach a similar situation differently with these new methods?
tuition, having an invalid POG and transportation. Overall my team really struggles with no-shows. they will call to confirm and a studnet will tell them they will come in (sometimes just 30 mins prior to the appt) and the person doesn't show. this is something that is really frustrating to my team and can really affect them to get back on the phone and try again.
Thanks for sharing your team's experiences, Bobbi. No-shows are defintely a frustrating challenge for many admissions professionals. It sounds like the team is being proactive with their confirmation calls, which is a good thing. It can be helpful to remind ourselves that our students have a lot going on (they may be scared, anxious about making a change, etc.) which may contribute to their not showing for thier appointment. Hang in there!
Tuition and schedules. Outweigh with the VALUE of our program. Seems to help to use feel, felt, found with tuition objections as well. Once they come in and tour, all of the objections are overcome, so my goal is to consistantly give them enough information to do it their way, but not so much that they don't see the value in coming in for a face-to-face appt.
