International and Domestic Students and Their Willingness to Travel
Following our webinar on deposit trends as of May 1, we are sharing our insights in a series of blog posts throughout the month. Read Part 1, our annual overview and Part 2 about students’ application preferences and deposit behavior. You can subscribe to our blog to get alerts for future posts like this or follow us on LinkedIn for updates.
Below are our insights regarding international and domestic students’ willingness to travel far from home to attend school.
Significant Increase in Up-Funnel Interest from International Students
(that failed to convert)
While the pandemic caused a huge decrease in the volume of international student applications, 2023 signaled international interest is returning to pre-COVID levels with a (+30.5%) increase in applications this year compared to the (+2.5%) increase in 2022. Yet, despite the increased application volume and increase in admits (+18.1%) there was only a slight increase (+1.0%) in net deposits from international students.
Domestic Students were Less Willing to Travel
(especially to out-of-state private schools)
Like international students, domestic students were reluctant to travel far from home.
While applications were up for all institutions compared with last year for both in-state (+4.1%) and out-of-state (+1.1%) students, admits dropped slightly for out-of-state students (-1.1%) and net deposits dropped even further for out-of-state students (-3.9%).
The effect was not spread evenly among private and public schools.
Private schools saw a decrease in out-of-state applications (-0.1%), admits (-2.9%), and net deposits (-4.7%) while publics were up in applications (+6.2%) and admits (+8.1%), while remaining flat in net deposits (-0.1%).
Looking Forward
Following this year’s cycle, we have a much clearer picture of what the post-pandemic enrollment landscape looks like. Some measures of pre-pandemic normalcies are returning while other impacts appear permanent. As institutions continue to navigate the new post-pandemic terrain, it’s more important than ever to use decision-grade analytics like MARKETview to better understand and serve their students.
Wondering how your institution did relative to other schools?
Watch the recording of “The Aftermath of May 1” to discover our eight key takeaways from the 2023 admissions cycle, including a deeper analysis of the trends discussed above.
The Aftermath of May 1:The Biggest Surprises of the Cycle
We discussed all these insights plus cohort-level analysis and additional consumer rating and geographic trends during our May Trends Tuesday webcast (exclusive for MARKETview partners).
Interested in learning how MARKETview can help you reach your enrollment goals like our partners? Connect with us for a short, personalized demo.