Effectiveness of Recruiting Travel and Campus Visits in 2023 – Niche Instant Insights

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Key Takeaways and Summary Results

• Only one experience during a campus visit was important to the majority of every type of student and parent: they wanted to talk to current students. Two experiences were important to less than a quarter of every group: talking to staff and having 1:1 meetings to ask and answer questions.
• Only 23% of high school or transfer students said that a good or bad experience during a virtual event can significantly sway their feelings about an institution. Nontraditional students were significantly higher at 45%.
• Travel activities, high school visits, and college fairs were cited as less influential and weren’t used as often to discover and learn about new colleges. They were more often used to get more personalized information about a college they’re already interested in, something that can be done in a more cost-effective way with more relevant outreach opportunities.
• Of students who met with colleges during a small group meeting, 39% said that it could significantly affect their interest. That was more effective than a presentation—30% reported that it would significantly change their interest—or a lunch visit where 22% said that it would significantly change their interest.

On-Campus College Visit Experiences
– High School Student Results
– Parent Results
– Transfer Student Results
– Nontraditional Student Results
Admissions Visits to High Schools
Virtual Events Hosted by Colleges
Methodology and Respondent Demographics

Niche Instant Insights Surveys are highly focused surveys that run over a much shorter period of time than a full survey to get a snapshot of results. This survey was performed to look at how high school students, transfer students, parents, and nontraditional students experience and value traditional visit experiences as well as virtual events hosted by colleges. We received 5,105 completed responses and took out key insights from those.

As planning and budgeting are key topics of conversation this time of year it’s important to review the results with your team to make sure that you’re planning is meeting students’ and parents’ needs and expectations. Preferences have changed, obviously since before 2020, but they continue to evolve and institutions too much adapt. Engaging with current students was much more important than before. The common 1:1 meeting with admissions staff was not interesting to most respondents, it’s preferable to have opportunities to hear other questions and get your own answered in a different setting. Budgets are tightening as college fight for a shrinking pool of students, so being able to know where to invest time and money more wisely is important. Travel costs continue to rise while travel is also becoming less effective. Adapting to meeting students where they are online and being more judicious in how travel is done will better steward those budgets.

High school students still value the on-campus experiences in their college search. They were still more valuable than virtual events and traditional fall travel activities in terms of influencing their interest in a college. Only a little more than half of high school students said that they met with a college rep at their high school, and only 22% of those that did said that the meeting significantly swayed their interest. Adding to that consideration; 52% of students who did meet with a college did so to learn more about colleges they didn’t already know about and the math works out to fall travel having an impact on 6% of high school students who didn’t already know about an institution. The cost of travel may be worth evaluating and reconsidering.

Parent needs are often ignored in campus visits, which is a significant mistake considering the influence they wield. Half of the parents said that they expected information specific to them on a campus visit and another 37% prefer there to be. If a group or individual visit doesn’t have time or resources dedicated to parents it’s a missed opportunity. They were also much less likely to report that virtual events were engaging, likely for this same reason.

Transfer students, unsurprisingly, needed fewer official campus visits but valued flexibility. They were much less likely to visit campus through admissions and may not need as much of the “what” and “why” but more of the “how:” how to navigate credit transfer, how to work through financial aid, how to go through orientation and registration as a transfer student. Virtual events were their preferred method of research. 

Nontraditional students, here defined as high school graduates who have been out of school but never enrolled anywhere, have fewer engagement opportunities. They are typically left out of college fairs and obviously wouldn’t be included in high school visits or transfer fairs. This may explain why campus visits hold so much more sway for them. They were more likely to be waiting for financial aid to visit, but the visitor experience is much more likely to determine their interest level in enrolling.

Student and parent preferences and behaviors surrounding traditional recruiting activities are changing and it’s past time for approaches to offering and operating them to change as well. 

Evaluating On-Campus College Visit Experiences

The majority of respondents have visited a college campus as part of their current search, but how they have done it varied. Half of all respondents took an official visit through admissions, 7% went through another office such as athletics or the arts, and 23% visited a campus on their own and not in an official capacity. These are the stealth visitors, they are on campus to learn more but want to do it on their terms. They may benefit from easy-to-find self-guided tours and QR codes guiding information and experiences. 

Only one campus visit experience was important to the majority of every type of student and parent: they wanted to talk to current students. It was the #1 most cited experience for transfer students and #2 for high school students, parents, and nontraditional students. Other important experiences that ranked highly across groups were hearing from admissions staff, seeing academic buildings, seeing residential buildings, and having time to ask questions and interact. Two experiences were important to less than a quarter of every group: talking to staff and having 1:1 meetings to ask and answer questions. Other experiences that were important to very few respondents were sitting in on a class, trying the food, and meeting other prospective students.

How High School Students Engage with College Visits

• Half of the high school students reported having visited a college through admissions, another 7% scheduling through arts or athletics, and 22% visiting on their own without making an official visit. Seniors were the most likely to have visited at this point with 85% having experience on campus. Seventy-two percent of juniors reported visiting and 51% of freshmen or sophomores searching for college have already. 
• High school seniors, on average, have visited three colleges; however, both low-income and first-generation students reported visiting almost half as many. Juniors said that they have visited an average of two and freshmen or sophomores reported visiting one. Seniors were both the least likely to respond that they plan to visit a college multiple times and the most likely to say that multiple visits are unnecessary. Younger students were more likely to plan to visit a campus multiple times during their search; although that may change as they get older.
• For high school students who have not visited a college yet their biggest barrier was a lack of resources (time, transportation, or finances). A quarter reported that they didn’t know how to schedule a visit. Two-thirds of freshmen or sophomores said that it felt too early to visit and one-third of juniors did. Only 9% of seniors felt that way; but 29% were waiting to find out where they were accepted, 19% were waiting for financial aid, and 22% were waiting to decide where they were going to attend before scheduling a visit.
• The majority of high school students wanted to experience seeing academic buildings, talking to current students, seeing residence halls, and asking questions of admissions staff while on a visit. However, they did not want to ask those questions in a 1:1 meeting, only 16% said that they would want to. Other less important experiences were sitting in on a class, eating a meal on campus, talking to staff, and meeting other prospective students.

How Parents Engage with College Visits

• Parents who responded were slightly more likely to report visiting a campus with 86% saying that they have, most of which said that they went through an admissions office to schedule.
• The average number of colleges that a parent has visited was four, which likely indicates experience with multiple children when compared to the student responses. One-third of parents reported that they did not plan to visit a college multiple times and 27% said that they did.
• For parents who have not visited a college with their child yet, it was most frequently due to a lack of resources (time, transportation, or finances) or that it felt too early to visit with 36% citing either of these as their barriers. 
• The majority of parents said that on a campus visit, they wanted to be able to see residence halls, talk to current students, ask questions of admissions, and see the academic buildings. However, only 17% wanted to ask questions in a 1:1 meeting. Less than one-quarter wanted to meet other prospective students or parents, sit in on a class, or talk to staff.
• Half of the parents said that they expected tailored information to them as parents as part of a college visit. Another 37% prefer there to be parent-specific information.

How Transfer Students Engage with College Visits

• Transfer students were the least likely to report taking a visit through admissions with 31% saying that they had and 39% saying that they have visited but just not in an official capacity.
• Prospective transfer students visited an average of two campuses with no difference between those currently attending a 2-year or 4-year institution. Only 16% reported that they do not plan to visit a college multiple times during their search. 
• The majority of transfer students who haven’t visited yet cited a lack of resources (time, transportation, or finances) as a challenge. They were also the most likely to report that they were waiting where they were going to enroll before visiting and 20% said that they felt a visit was unnecessary to the college search process.
• Only two experiences were important to the majority of transfer students: talking to current students and talking to admissions. Less than a quarter wanted to sit in on a class, eat a meal on campus, have a 1:1 meeting to ask and answer questions, meet with other prospective transfer students, or talk to staff.

How Nontraditional Students Engage with College Visits

• Half of the nontraditional students have visited through admissions, 25% visited on their own without an official visit, and 4% scheduled through athletics or arts. 
• Nontraditional students reported that they have visited an average of three colleges. The majority of them said that they want to visit a campus multiple times during their college search.
• The majority of nontraditional students who haven’t visited said that it was because of a lack of resources (time, transportation, or finances), which is likely why half also said that they were waiting for financial aid to decide where to visit.
• On a campus visit, most nontraditional students said that they wanted to ask questions of admissions, talk to current students, and see the academic buildings. Only one-quarter wanted to ask those questions in a 1:1 meeting though. Less than a quarter said that it was important to eat a meal on campus or talk to faculty or staff. 

Campus visits were preferred over high school visits, college fairs, and virtual events for high school students. It may come as a surprise, but all segments preferred group visit days over individual visits. Additionally, all segments indicated that the visit would significantly impact their interest.

• A campus visit can significantly affect a high school student’s interest in a college—69% said that a good experience can make them significantly more interested in a college they weren’t completely interested in and a bad experience can turn them off of a college they were very interested in. 
• A campus visit can significantly affect a transfer student’s interest in a college—66% said that a good experience can make them significantly more interested in a college they weren’t completely interested in and a bad experience can turn them off of a college they were very interested in. 
• A campus visit can significantly affect a nontraditional student’s interest in a college—81% said that a good experience can make them significantly more interested in a college they weren’t completely interested in and a bad experience can turn them off of a college they were very interested in. 

Admissions Visits to High Schools and Fairs

Meeting with admissions counselors who visit their high schools was more important than college fairs and virtual events, but less important than a visit to campus for high school students. Lunch visits were rated as the least valuable of the traditional recruitment practices. More individualized meetings in a small setting were rated more highly than presentations given to larger groups at the high school. In aggregate, lunch visits were the lowest-ranked experience for researching colleges with most students ranking it near the bottom, however, more students ranked an individual visit to campus as the least important.

• 27% of high school students reported meeting with an admissions counselor at their high school and 26% said that they met with several who have. Small group meetings were most common with 55% experiencing them; followed by 50% participating in a presentation-style meeting, and 28% saying that they took advantage of a lunch visit to meet with a representative.
• Of students who met with colleges during a small group meeting, 39% said that it could significantly affect their interest. That was more effective than a presentation—30% reported that it would significantly change their interest—or a lunch visit where 22% said that it would significantly change their interest.
• 85% of students who met with an admissions counselor at their high school said that they did so to learn more about a college they were already interested in. Half met with colleges they didn’t know about to learn more and 46% met with colleges that a counselor had recommended to them. Meeting with colleges to demonstrate their interest was indicated by 45% of respondents.
• 58% of high school students said that they had attended a college fair. Of those who did, 42% said that it was a very effective way to discover new colleges and learn more about colleges. 

48% of potential transfer students who responded said that they had attended a transfer fair. For those currently attending a 2-year college it was 55% and only 39% of those coming from a 4-year institution had. Of those who did, 49% of 2-year students said that it was very effective at helping them learn more about transfer options and 35% of 4-year students did.

Virtual Events Hosted By Colleges

Virtual events were less effective than in-person events at swaying student interest. Only 23% of students said that a good or bad experience can significantly sway their feelings about an institution. All groups overwhelmingly wanted to hear from admissions staff and current students during virtual events. Parents were the only group who significantly were more likely to want admissions staff rather than current students but 70% still wanted to hear from students. The majority of respondents also wanted to hear from the faculty. 

• Only 37% of high school students reported that they have participated in a virtual event from a college. Less than a quarter of freshmen or sophomores had, 34% of juniors did, and 40% of seniors said that they had. Less than a third of those who had attended said that it was interactive and engaging.
• Half of parents reported that they have attended a virtual event held by a college but only 21% said that the events were interactive and engaging. During a virtual event 36% of parents expected parent-specific information or events and 49% preferred there to be.
• Transfer students were the most likely to have participated in a college’s virtual event with 58% responding that they had. Only 36% said that the events they attended were very interactive and engaging.
• 41% of nontraditional students said that they had attended a college’s virtual event already. Of those who attended, they were the most likely to say that the events were interactive and engaging with 41% saying that the events were. Almost half of the nontraditional students reported that virtual events can significantly sway their interest in a college, making it significantly more important in their search than their peers.

Methodology and Respondent Demographics

This survey was posted to Niche and emailed to the most active registered users who were in high school, transfer students, nontraditional students, or parents between January 14 and January 29, 2023. The 5,105 respondents were very evenly distributed across household income levels, when known, with just over one-third being considered low-income. About one-third were also first-generation college students. Just under half of the respondents were from underrepresented minority groups. Respondent gender identity represented slightly more female responses than the college population, but also is difficult to gauge as we offered gender nonbinary and other gendered options as well.