What are the most effective ways to engage prospective students during campus visits?

Solicit feedback to ensure you determine the ideal number of presentation talks for visitors. Strive for a well-balanced combination of practical activities and demonstrations that mirror the type of learning students will engage with – do not just besiege with talks. Forge a memorable visit by implementing active learning activities and actively involving visitors in hands-on demonstrations as an integral part of their experience.

The first interaction with campus students should be made very interactive and interesting rather than an old age company presentation, it should have alumni connect of some recent passout or a leader in the organisation who initially joined as a campus fresher from the same campus. The session should have some small quizzes and some goodies in return to be offered to the students who give right answers, latest innovative and challenging projects and technology that the organisation is working on should be part of it , the purpose of the organisation should be highlighted so that the prospective hire can relate to themselves and see if it aligns with their personal purpose and beliefs.

Know your audience Make it dialogue To encourage participation, include small giveaways Curate your material according tO what they want to listen to Be open to feedback Never be judgemental

Engaging prospective applicants is often best achieved through involvement of current students as ambassadors. Their contributions offer a genuine, authentic and unbiased voice that can often help engage prospective students at different points of their visit. I have found this to be especially valuable during subject-specific presentation by academics or senior leaders - by including current students in this session, can help provide additional viewpoints that prospective students may really engage with.

Have personalised interactions with candidates, provide insights about company and culture. Showcase alumni success stories. Highlight unique aspects of career paths and development programs. Frame a dedicated Q& A session and foster open communication to address the candidates questions about career roadmap. Create an attractive storytelling pitch on why the organisation is a great place to work? And what are the recent achievements and how this organization stands as a forefront in the industry. These were some of the ways to interact with prospective candidates during campus visits..

Student ambassadors are a vital asset in communicating student experience. Recruit early and run sessions with them to ensure that they are clear and confident on the day. Don't try to over-script what they do or say though as the most important thing that they bring to the visit day experience is their authenticity, transparency and lived experience. That is what is most valued by prospective students who are mainly looking to see if they think they will fit in to the campus environment.

During my time as a graduate recruiter, I used to tell, share this quote with those entering the workplace for the first time: “When you are young, work to learn, not to earn.” ~Robert Kiyosaki

Don't forget to ask your prospective student open-ended questions! Please don't assume that they want to know your US News & World Report Rankings and what percentage of your graduates have jobs right out of college. Ask them what they are interested in studying/learning while they are in college. What things do they have to have in their college experience. What will make or break their college choice. The students will tell you what you need to show and talk about. THAT is how you start differentiate and build strong relationships.

Showcase recent student work. Physical outcomes can catch the eye in our increasingly digital world. Alternatively, make sure that digital outcomes are edited for the specific context of engaging the prospective students and their parents, so you could consider compiling into a showreel. Perhaps most important is having staff on hand on the day who have contextual knowledge of the work created and can tell the wider story about who made it, what brief they were responding to, how the project looks to what is happening in the industry etc. When things appear random/disconnected/frivolous, they have little impact in the context of a visit day.

From a financial aid perspective, this year I have been doing my best to memorize and utilize our online financial aid modeling tools, and also asking prospective students and parents about their experiences while filing the FAFSA. I try to find what did or didn't work and let them know what resources our office provides and specifically how our team will be involved in packaging financial aid. This year more than ever I feel students will be considering financial aid responsiveness and availability over many other factors that would traditionally be considered sooner.

If you really want to reach audiences on campus, especially if you’re targeting particular subject areas it will be incredibly important to build relationships (normally through the Careers Service) with academic colleagues. This would normally be Programme or Module Leaders - working with them you can collaboratively identify how to incorporate your content into the taught curriculum. This way you have a captive student audience and such sessions can really bring to life industry experiences and how they connect to the curriculum.

A campus visit is one of the most influential events prospective students have as they choose what college they will attend. While it is important for prospective students and their families to hear about campus highlights, something that can be more important is personalizing the visit so they can imagine what their experience would be like. Some recommendations: - show them the labs and spaces in the departments they are interested in - schedule time for them to meet with faculty in the major of interest - if possible, place them with a student tour guide in a similar major - give ample opportunities for them to ask questions, but also realize they may not know what questions to ask