In the last several months, I’ve done a lot of thinking about the admission process from the family point of view, as my own daughter applied to independent high schools last year. Among the things I learned (and I learned a lot!), a few items struck me as “low-hanging fruit” to help families feel more invited into the admission process.
The key question is “Does the process reflects the mission and values of our school? And, further, does the process reflect the experience a family or student can expect should they enroll? This is hardly low-hanging fruit, but worth pointing out nonetheless. These are great questions for a leadership team or enrollment management team to discuss.
Double check that reminders do not arrive to a family on the weekend before a Monday event or appointment. If the family is left with questions, they have no one to reach out to before they are expected to participate in whatever the event is. (We know that we are likely checking email for exactly this reason, but a parent doesn’t necessarily know this!)
Details about any type of visit are essential to helping a family feel comfortable. What to wear? Should students bring a backpack? Water bottle? Lunch? Snack? Will a current student greet the student visitor? Will there be coffee and greeting for parents, or it a drop-off? Visits are high-stakes for the family and there is so much unknown by them that we take for granted. We know we will take great care of the family, regardless of how they show up. But the family is walking into a strange environment.
Rather than steering folks toward a general email address (info@… or admissions@…), try to find a way for families to email a person, even more so if you are a school dealing with high volume. That may seem counter-intuitive, but especially for schools where the process is naturally impersonal due to so many people, any effort to personalize is appreciated!
These quick changes will help families feel more prepared and welcomed into your community. Let me know what other easy tricks you have to smooth the way!
