As May 1 came and went, Ursinus College bucked a sobering national trend by recording 439 deposits for incoming undergraduate students, outpacing last year’s total by nearly 20 percent. Not only is the class of 2023 on track to become the sixth largest in the college’s history, but it is also the most diverse and among the most academically talented. How did Ursinus do it? By putting its people, and not only its admissions staff, on the front lines of the recruitment process, in an effort that is unusual among peer institutions. 

• FACULTY: More than 60 percent of Ursinus faculty were involved in the enrollment process and engaged with prospects. Hundreds of prospective students took advantage of the opportunity to not only sit in on a class, but to have personal conversations with professors in their intended major, and talk one-on-one about their college goals. 
• STUDENTS: Review committees for many of the college’s specialty scholarships (those that are tailored to unique interest areas from creative writing to social justice) save a seat at the table for current scholarship recipients. Students helped identify applicants who have the resume to make the most of a scholarship’s offerings, adding a realistic sense of “fit” that has increased the likelihood that recipients choose Ursinus. 
• PARENTS: Current Ursinus parents on the Admissions Committee of the Parent Leadership Council call prospective families to help them navigate the admissions process, as well as provide a real-life insider’s view of the Ursinus experience for both prospective students and their parents. 

Ursinus’s close knit community went all in on a personalized approach, extending the efforts of their admissions staff in a low-cost, sustainable way that has yielded high impact results. 

Colleges and universities around the country are using a wide variety of strategies to boost applications — both in the way they reach students and in what they offer. Here are some popular tactics:

Recent reports from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) show that undergraduate enrollment at U.S. colleges and universities has dropped from a high in 2010, and is likely to remain flat for the next decade. We asked Economics professor Scott Deacle to comment.

Actual and projected undergraduate enrollment in degree-granting postsecondary institutions, by sex: Fall 2000 through 2028

NOTE: Degree-granting institutions grant associate’s or higher degrees and participate in the Title IV federal financial aid programs. Projections are based on data through 2017. Some data have been revised from previously published figures. 
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Spring 2001 through Spring 2018, Fall Enrollment component; and Enrollment in Degree-Granting Institutions Projection Model, 2000 through 2028. See Digest of Education Statistics 2018, table 303.70.

“From an economist’s standpoint, the full trend means that there are many colleges and universities with capacity for more students than they are currently enrolling. This creates a competitive environment in which students, though paying high prices, have some ability to ‘shop around…’ This means that we faculty have to increase our willingness to engage with prospective students — whether it be through in-person meetings, phone calls, e-mails, or text messages. Students and their families are keenly aware that they must sacrifice a lot for a college education, so it makes sense to give them a name and a face to associate with an institution to which they would make such a commitment.”

Scott Deacle, Ph. D.
Economics