The Early Bird Gets… Ignored?

Switching focus is hard. From afar we are watching each of our MARKETview clients begin to welcome the entering class of 2021 to campus, and remembering the many informed decisions made throughout the cycle that secured them, all while recognizing that the 2022 recruitment cycle is revving into high gear.

As we prepare to ingest application data even earlier in the cycle than we did last year, one finding unrelated to the actual data is that both the readiness of third-party application services and institutional business practices have created competitive disadvantages.

While the application numbers still are low—to be sure—there are schools (70 % of partners) that can acknowledge receipt of an application right now while there are others (30% of partners) at which application data is not yet being loaded into their systems. These schools are unable to acknowledge receipt and begin forming relationships with early applicants.

Students who have applied – regardless of decision round – to institutions that aren’t yet loading applicant data into the CRM might be wondering why School A has acknowledged and thanked them for their application, but School B has yet to communicate with them.

Don’t run the risk of creating this less-than-ideal experience for the student. Load your earliest applicants into your CRM as soon as possible and communicate with them early and often. It will provide better data and vision for earlier decision-making and pay off down funnel.