Fit over Volume: What It Really Takes to Reach Best-Fit Students

Enrollment leaders are being asked to do more with less—smaller teams, tighter budgets, and higher expectations for results. 

At a recent College Board–sponsored webinar published on The Chronicle of Higher Education, a panel of enrollment leaders shared how they're adapting, with one clear theme emerging: Success isn't about recruiting more students. It's about recruiting the ones most likely to enroll and stay.

"Retention is the new recruitment," said Barb Roberts, associate vice president of enrollment management at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Her point: When teams have limited capacity, every enrolled student matters more. That means finding students who are genuinely likely to thrive and stay.

Kevin Corr, senior director of recruitment and enrollment solutions at College Board, said, the way to accomplish that isn't a bigger funnel—it's smarter segmentation and finding the students who are the best fit.

He built on that idea with a practical case for working smarter, not harder. "If I know working-class students from first-generation families in a certain city thrive at my school, how can I find those students in other similar cities? They might be a good fit for my school."

Once identified, those students expect to be engaged the same way they're engaged everywhere else—with a personalized experience. Corr pointed out that students are already accustomed to curated experiences from platforms like Netflix and Spotify, and they’re looking for that same kind of experience from colleges—a two-way relationship, not a one-way pitch. 

This personalization and relationship-building can be the difference between a student who is admitted and one who truly belongs and thrives. "Fit matters," Corr said, "because it's not just getting them in the door. It's getting them to thrive and be successful, and ultimately cross that stage at graduation."

>> Watch the webinar, Finding Your Future Students: Identifying and Engaging Learners Most Likely to Enroll