In the quest to improve yield for college admissions and actively engage admits who are genuinely excited about joining their community, Missouri S&T, in collaboration with Magellan Promotions, embarked on a journey to reshape their admit pack strategy. This initiative aimed not just to welcome newly admitted students but to forge a deeper connection with them, celebrating their decision to join the Missouri S&T community. Through this strategy, Missouri S&T sought to identify and nurture the enthusiasm of prospective students, thereby reinforcing their commitment to the institution.
Challenge – Improve Yield for College Admissions
While admit packs have long been a staple in welcoming new students, Missouri S&T recognized the need for a more tailored and memorable experience. The admit pack represents a seminal moment in the recruitment process, a perfect opportunity to build affinity with students. Yet, the potential of this moment was not fully harnessed, prompting a reevaluation of strategies to ensure admitted students truly felt part of the ‘Miner’ family from the start.
Solution
In collaboration with Missouri S&T, Magellan Promotions crafted a fun, exciting, and impactful approach by designing a ‘choice store’ website, where students were given the liberty to choose their welcome gift from one of three similarly priced items: a blanket, a backpack, or a hat. This initiative transformed the traditional admit pack experience, offering students a sense of personal choice and empowerment by allowing them to select the item that most appealed to them, thereby enhancing the admission experience through a more personalized touch.
The notification process was thoughtfully designed; students were informed about their opportunity to choose a gift via email, which linked directly to the choice store. This method reinforced the sense of belonging and engagement. The ‘welcome swag bag’—a brightly colored poly mailer with engaging text—delivered the selected item in a package that was as memorable as it was meaningful.
Items were selected and ordered upfront to ensure readiness to ship quickly after a choice was made. This not only streamlined logistics but also ensured that students received their item promptly, building on the excitement that began with their acceptance letters. With Missouri S&T operating on rolling admission, Magellan Promotions is pulling lists and mailing out packs weekly, and managing inventory levels through the close of the admission cycle. This comprehensive logistics support from Magellan Promotions allows Missouri S&T to concentrate on their core mission, while ensuring the timely and efficient delivery of welcome packages to newly admitted students.
Ashley Crilly, Director of Admissions at Missouri S&T, highlighted the impact of this personalized approach: “Allowing students to select their own gift from the choice store really amplified their excitement and connection to Missouri S&T. It’s a tangible way to show we value their individual preferences and are thrilled to welcome them into our community.”
This approach not only benefited the students by ensuring the items were more likely to be used and cherished, thus addressing sustainability concerns but also offered Missouri S&T valuable insights into which prospects were actively engaging with their new community. The weekly feedback to S&T about student selections provided a clearer picture of engaged prospective students, aiding in more targeted and effective admissions strategies.
Outcome
While comprehensive data on the outcomes will be available after May 2024, early results already highlight the manifold benefits of the choice store initiative. With a remarkable deposit growth of 31.2% and over 200 more deposits collected versus this time last year, the initiative has increased student engagement, a heightened sense of belonging, and amplified excitement about joining the Missouri S&T community. These early successes are just the tip of the iceberg. On the significant progress made, Crilly observed, “Thank you all for your help with this exciting project… Each of our unique touches like this one have helped us gain such a large lead over where we were this time last year.”
This initiative is poised to enhance admissions efforts further, showcasing the value of personalization and choice for achieving meaningful engagement with prospective students. Additionally, the streamlined process allows Missouri S&T to allocate their budget more effectively, targeting only those students who demonstrate a high interest in joining the university.
Final Thoughts
Missouri S&T’s commitment to empowering student choice through an online admissions store with merch options is more than just an innovative admissions strategy; it’s a testament to the university’s forward-thinking approach to student engagement. This initiative showcases the potential of choice stores not only in admissions but across various stages of the educational funnel and even in donor strategies. It sets a new benchmark for how institutions can welcome new students into their community, marking the beginning of a more personalized, engaging, and sustainable approach to university admissions.
