Embed Size (px)
DESCRIPTION
Trends in Student Perspectives of their College Search. How does Zinch help you? . Save time and money by connecting directly with best-fit students around the world. Personalize the recruiting process t hrough social media by putting students first in your outreach. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
Citation preview
Trends in Student Perspectives of
their College Search
How does Zinch help you?
Personalize the recruiting processthrough social media by puttingstudents first in your outreach
Save time and money by connecting directlywith best-fit students around the world
Stay informed about current trends in the industry through best in-class research and professional development
Zinch: By the Numbers
Reaches over 40% of college-bound seniors Reaches 68% of students actively
researching colleges online
Over 9 million connections betweenstudents and their right-fit colleges and
universities over the past 3 years
Zinch registration population in-line with US populationChegg reaches 30% of
current college students
Why this Study
Background: Gain greater insights into high school students’ and new college students’ selection process in selecting a college or university and identify key student profiles to support recruitment and marketing professionals Methodology: Survey invitations were emailed to Zinch and Chegg students, Guidance Counselors. Parents were interviewed via phone survey
Survey Dates: January - February 2013Includes data from Social Admissions Report, Parent Perspectives, and Counselor Perspectives
High School Students and Influencers: -Over 10,000 student respondents -Approx. 3,200 parents of students in grades 5-12 -Approx. 300 School Counselors
Respondents represent minorities and are representatively spread throughout US
Ethnicity
Top States of Residence
4.1 or above
3.6 - 4.0
3.1 - 3.5
2.6 - 3.0
2.1 - 2.5
2.0 or below
I don't know
15%
45%25%
10%
3%
1%
2%
GPA
Respondents
CA: 16%
TX: 9%
NY: 6%MI: 5%
FL: 5%
IL: 4%IN: 3%
PA: 4%
GA: 3%
Under-Rep./First Gen
Nearly 40% of respondents come from under-represented student group and/or identify as first-generation
Profile 1: “Stealth” Applicants
Getting Stealth Applicants on Your Radar
Send searchpiece
Student applies Enroll
Interested student sends backPostcard/goes on codedmicrosite to request info
Admitted!
“Traditional” Search Process
Noel-Levitz Research
Finding Secret Shoppers
Many students continue to research campuses online without submitting a formalinquiry for more information.
First-year students who failed toidentify themselves before applying.
Rates shown are median rates
2012 Recruitment Funnel Benchmarks Report
The College Search
College websites, search engines most used; All resources used most for initial research
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
Online and non-online sources used throughout the application process
The college’s .edu site
Online search sites
College board websiteInformation on otherwebsiteGather and share infovia social media
Direct mail from schoolsI didn’t request info fromMaterials from a College fair
Emails from schoolsI didn’t request info from
Direct mail from schoolsI did request info from
Campus Tour
Speak to a college counselor
Speak to faculty at the college
Speak to admissions officersat the college
Q10. Which non-online resource(s) did you or would you use during each phase of the college application process?Q11. Which online resource(s) did you or would you use during each phase of the college application process? (Select all that apply)
Unsolicited Communications
Direct mail and email declining in relevance; Only effective 18% of time
Recall of unsolicited direct mailInfluence the communications had on
application decision
2012
201384%
74%
2012
Q16. To what extent did any of these communications influence your
decision to apply to any of these schools?
Q15. Did you receive messages (email, phone calls, or mail in your mailbox) from schools you had not heard of
before starting your college search? (select all that apply)
33%
18%
Influence of un-solicited
communication decreased by 45%
2013
Recall of direct mail decreased by 12%
from 2012-2013
All Respondents
<3.6 GPA
3.6+ GPA
17%
21%
13%
28%
30%
27%
23%
24%
23%
28%
20%
34%
3%
3%2%
1%1%
1%
100% -- I read it all until I made my decisionAbout 75% -- I read most of it until I made my decisionAbout 50% -- I read half of it until I made my decisionAbout 25% -- I threw out most of it0% -- I threw out all of itI didn’t receive any mail
Still, 55% of students throw out the bulk of unsolicited direct mail
Q12. Colleges often send mail (actual paper – brochures, pamphlets, letters) to high school students with the hope of getting that student interested in considering that college. The next few questions deal with this unsolicited mail.
Thinking of the mail in your mailbox you received from colleges that you didn’t specifically request, how much of that mail did you read?
More than half of respondents threw away half or more of the unsolicited mail they received
(consistent with 2012)
Unsolicited Mail
59% of students with GPAs 3.6+ read less than half of their unsolicited mailVs. 47% of those with GPAs under 3.6
Getting Stealth Applicants on Your Radar
Send searchpiece
Student applies EnrollStudent researches youon sites like Zinch,
College Prowler, etc
Admitted!
Today’s College Search
Top Online Resources
Q6. Through which online resources (websites and social media) did you hear about the colleges you researched?
CollegeBoard.com and Zinch are top online sources where studentshear about schools
Other College Prowler*
PinterestInstagram
TumblrTwitter
Google+ (Google's Social network)YouTube
Princeton Review*US News and World Report*
CollegeWeekLiveFacebook
CappexOnline searches (e.g., Google/Yahoo!/Bing)
Zinch*CollegeBoard.com
4%1%1%
2%2%
5%6%7%
15%16%
22%22%
34%52%
58%61%
*68% used Zinch or one of its part-ners
Online sources where they heard about colleges researched
The Zinch Cloud
Real-time access to students searching for you across the web
68% of students researching colleges use a site in the cloud
Profile 2: The Lurker
Should colleges have a social media presence?
Q8. Do you think colleges should have a social media presence? Please explain why you feel that way. (among those graduating in 2013 and later)
Why Not?
Yes
No
Unsure
77%
4%
19%
67%
7%
26%
2012 2013
Should colleges have socialmedia presence?
Why?
Over three-quarters think colleges should have a presence on social media to reach students
Because of social media sites, I found colleges that I would
have never heard of otherwise.
I think social media allows schools to
become too personal with their students.
Following schools on social media
Schools students follow or like on social media
Q22. Did you “follow or like” a college you were considering going to on a social media service?Q23. Which schools did you "follow or like" on social media? (leave blank if none)
Yes49%No
51%
Follow or like a considered college on social media
Half follow or like a school on social media
Tumblr
Google+
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
8%
11%
19%
22%
24%
48%
6%
5%
8%
6%
9%
22%
7%
5%
6%
5%
8%
9%
4%
3%
3%
2%
4%
2%
10%
10%
12%
7%
14%
6%
64%
66%
53%
58%
42%
13%
Multiple times a day Once a day Once a week Once a month Every once in a while Never
Social media usage
Use of Social Media
Q3. How often do you use the following different social media websites?
Half use Facebook multiple times a day Instagram passes Twitter as second most active true social network
Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest Tumblr
88%
43%
30%24%
30%
87%
47%42%
36% 34%
2012 2013
Shifts in social media usage
Use of social media (2013 vs 2012)
Q3. How often do you use the following different social media websites?
Facebook maintains importance, use of visual platforms increases by 50%
In our 2012 study, Instagram and Pinterest were barely on the map. In
2013 both networks saw an increase in adoption of over 50%
Tumblr
Google+
YouTube
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
2%
2%
4%
4%
11%
7%
11%
2%
2%
3%
4%
7%
5%
10%
3%
3%
3%
4%
8%
9%
14%
2%
2%
2%
3%
4%
8%
8%
5%
6%
6%
10%
10%
21%
21%
Multiple times a day Once a day Once a week Once a month Every once in a while
Facebook maintains relevance
Frequency of viewing social media for colleges considered attending
Q12. How often do you view the following social media sites for college/universities you have considered attending?
Facebook ranks first among social media sites visited for college information followed by YouTube.
Social media and enrollment
Q9. Did you (or would you) use social media as a resource when deciding where to enroll?Q10. How influential was social media during your college search? (among those who did use social media to decide where to enroll)
7 in 10 use social media in deciding where to enroll; up nearly 2x from 2012
Yes59%
No41%
Use social media in deciding where to enroll
Series1
39%
75%
class of 2012 (2012 data)
class of 2013 (2013 data)All 2013 respondents
Social media and enrollment
Q9. Did you (or would you) use social media as a resource when deciding where to enroll?Q10. How influential was social media during your college search? (among those who did use social media to decide where to enroll)
Nearly 40% of the 2013 respondents that used social media said ithas influenced their decision
Class of 2013
Of the 75% of the class of 2013, 38% of those respondents said they were influenced by social media.
Most valuable information
Q14. What information was valuable for you from schools' social media sites?
Most valuable information on schools’ social media sites
Profile 3: The Broke Scholar
What are the biggest challenges of today’s graduating high school students who want to enter college?
Top Challenges for College-Bound Students
Sticker Price Still Matters
Will parents restrict choices, based on tuition rates?
68%
Sticker Price Still Matters
54%Percent of students
who judge a college’s expense by sticker price alone
(without considering aid)*
*College Board and Art & Science Group Survey – 2012**Hoxby and Avery - 2012
Over HalfStudents with low
income + high ability not applying to a
single competitive college**
Students Attending a Wide Range of Schools
Q24. If you have applied to and been accepted by a college, what school did you end up attending / are you planning to attend? (Please leave blank if you haven't applied or heard back yet)
School attending/planning to attend
How will my kid get a job?
Vocational schools and not going to college at all are well represented amongst respondents
Liberal Arts Education is lowest amongst “strongly agree” responses
What are employers saying?
95%Agree that “Our company puts a priority on hiring
people with the intellectual and interpersonal skills
that will help them contribute to innovation in
the workplace.”
*Association of American Colleges & Universities - 2012
93%Agree that: “A candidate's demonstrated capacity to
think critically, communicate clearly, and solve complex problems is
more important than undergraduate major.”
Profile 4: The Under-Served
Student research frequency
0-320%
4 to 631%6 to 10
19%
More than 1028%
I am still researching colleges
2%
Q3. How many colleges did you research (visit, view websites, read about in guidebooks, read about in publications) before deciding to apply? Q21. To how many colleges do you plan to apply/did you apply?
Q23. To how many colleges were you accepted? (leave blank if you haven’t applied yet)
The number is high, but below widely adopted industry perception
Number of schools researched before applying
Students applied to an average of5.4 schools
Though many are still waiting for responses, students have been accepted into an average 3.1 schools so far
# of Applications SubmittedPercent of students who applied to 10+ colleges by ethnicity
Communication InfluenceResponse Unsolicited Outreach by Demographic
White AfricanAmerican
Asian Hispanic
Super Excited 3% 10% 4% 8%
Interested and want(ed) to learn more about the school
36% 49% 35% 48%Didn't care (or would not)
care because I (would) already know which school I was (or would be)
interested in38% 27% 40% 23%
Was (would be) confused about how they found my information
19% 12% 19% 18%
Other (please specify) 4% 2% 2% 2%
Percentage of student population going to a 4-year college
What percentage of your school’s graduating seniors go on to attend a four year college?What percentage of your students are considered first generation college students?
Percent of students who are first-generation
less than 50%
50%-65%
65%-84%
85%+
32%
23%
16%
29%
0-24%
25%-49%
50%-74%
75%+
43%
35%
13%
9%
The College-Bound50%+ of students will attend 4 year college in 2/3 of schools; In the majority of schools over 25% of students are 1st generation college students
57%68%
What are the biggest challenges you face as a counselor?
Top Challenges for Counselors
Personal contact maintains level of importance throughout the process
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
Personal Contact
Sources used throughout the application processThe college’s .edu site
Online search sites
College board websiteInformation on otherwebsite
Gather and share infovia social media
Direct mail from schoolsI didn’t request info fromMaterials from a College fair
Emails from schoolsI didn’t request info from
Direct mail from schoolsI did request info from
Campus Tour
Speak to a college counselor
Speak to faculty at the college
Speak to admissions officersat the college
Speaking to college counselor and faculty at college saw large increase in early stages YOY
Q10. Which non-online resource(s) did you or would you use during each phase of the college application process?Q11. Which online resource(s) did you or would you use during each phase of the college application process? (Select all that apply)
Asian Black or African American
White Hispanic
49% 48%
36%42%
53%
61%
41%
58%
43%40%
31% 33%
Current Students Admissions Counselors Admitted Students
Ethnicity and social media
Very important to interact with:
Q20. How important was/is it for you to interact with the following people via social media? (very important)
Hispanic Students and African Americans most value interaction with admissionscounselors on social media
