11,000 prospective parents share what they want from the college admissions process

What do parents want and expect from the institutions their students are considering? What topics are they searching for information on? And how can you use these learnings to inform how you leverage parent influence in the enrollment process to improve results?

CampusESP and Ruffalo Noel Levitz recently surveyed more than 11,000 parents of prospective college students researching 83 different institutions to find out what they really want. The result is 40+ pages of data and insights. You can download it all here.

But we know you’re busy, so we pulled out our top six takeaways from the 2024 Prospective Family Report for you. Read on for the important stats that should shape your strategy this recruitment season. 

Prospective parents want to hear from you weekly.

81% of families expressed interest in receiving communication at least weekly. That’s slightly down from 2023 when we saw the request peak at 88% of families, but still well above pre-pandemic levels of 64%.

It’s clear that family expectations have grown, and in today’s self-service world, parents expect to have the info they need not only readily available, but tailored to them. Meeting this need requires coordination of a family communication strategy.

If you do anything, make sure you email parents.

Every year, we ask parents to indicate their top two preferred channels for receiving communication. 85% of prospective families selected email, keeping it in first place for the 5th year in a row.

It’s no surprise — the inbox is where most of us live every day, anyway. If you’re just starting off, know that regular emails on important topics are the most direct way to meet your families where they are.

Texting continues to grow as a top communication preference.

When you need to send a timely reminder or get parents to take action before a deadline — use the power of text. SMS graduated to the second most requested form of communication this year, with 33% of families requesting it vs 27% last year. 

Texting is also the biggest opportunity to respond to current family preferences. Texting has the largest deficit in usage by institutions vs preference by parents, with only 24% of schools offering it (however, this is up from 18% in 2023!).

Texting can be particularly impactful and appreciated if you are recruiting or serving certain populations. This channel is preferred at higher rates by first-gen (44%), Hispanic (48%), and Black (43%) families. Lower-income families also prefer text messages — the preference increased with each subsequent income bracket option, peaking at 52% for the lowest income range.  

The parent experience matters in college selection

A regular communications strategy for prospective families doesn’t just check a box — it can directly impact your enrollment goals. Parents expect and need information to help guide their student through the process, and the quality of those messages and content impacts their comfort with your institution.

In fact, parents ranked the quality of a school’s communication with them directly as #3 in importance of college planning experiences, after only on-campus visits and digital content about the students’ potential major. 94% of parents deemed it important in their decision making process. 

You can’t over communicate about financing a college education

Across all demographics, families ranked information on tuition, cost, financial aid, and scholarships as some of the most important. 

And for good reason: 87% of parents say financing their students' education will be difficult, 83% place financial aid and scholarships in the top 5 considerations in school selection, and 67% will rule out a school based on the sticker price. Sharing clear and consistent information on the FAFSA, your true costs, and the ways families can finance a college education  is critical to help families navigate.

Go beyond cost and talk about the value of your institution

Knowing the importance and weight put on the cost of higher education, one of the best topics institutions can lean on is the value of that investment. The top three topics prospective families say they have difficulty finding — but want information on — are the ability of graduates to find jobs, career services, and alumni networking (62-65%). Families want to see proof points that the price tag is worthwhile and leads to stability and success for their student.

Ready for even more stats on how to engage prospective parents?

Head to our partner RNL’s site to download the full report!