INTERNATIONAL STUDENT RECRUITMENT:

ARE YOU MAKING A GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION?

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With thousands of universities competing for each prospective international student’s attention, making a strong first impression is essential. Get this right, and you’ll

lay the foundations for effective student recruitment for years to

come. Get it wrong, and you’ll find it increasingly difficult to regain

lost ground.

What are the secrets to success? How can you stand out, appeal to

your target audiences, and ensure an initial interaction becomes

the first of many?

We spoke to prospective students across Europe, asking them to

identify the key factors that would impress or deter them.

Through a series of 11 focus groups, we gathered insights from

more than 70 prospective students, most planning to study

abroad. Our findings are summarised in the following 10 tips.

From personalised communication and peer reviews to mobile-

optimised websites and multimedia content, today’s students

expect a lot. But each challenge for universities is also an

opportunity. Students may be demanding more, but they’re

also ready and willing to be impressed. They want institutions to

succeed in standing out; they want to discover what makes you

different; and they want to hear what you have to offer them, as an

individual.

Are you ready to engage effectively, on their terms?

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Differentiation is one of the biggest challenges for universities today. As international student recruitment becomes

increasingly competitive, institutions are under growing pressure to

stand out from the crowd.

This isn’t just something university marketing departments worry

about. Our conversations with prospective students revealed

strong demand for institutions to get better at communicating

what makes them different.

1. BE YOURSELF

Could you pick your university’s “About Us” page out of a line-up?

French PhD applicant Andreas told us he always visits this section

of university websites – “and it’s always the same”. He’s not alone.

During our research, we encountered widespread frustration

among prospective students who felt they were coming up against

the same generic marketing messages, on repeat.

Even very positive communications may start to become counter-

productive, if they mean you sound the same as everyone else.

Master’s applicant Salimatou told us she was tired of seeing near-

identical lists of achievements and accolades, and the same three

big companies named as employers of program graduates.

“I always visit the About Us section of university websites, and it’s always the same.”

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Students don’t just want to hear how fantastic your institution

is; they want to get to know the real you. There’s scope here

for relatively small-scale improvements – such as rewriting your

website copy so it’s grounded in your institution’s distinct identity

– or for a full-scale branding exercise, starting from an institution-

wide review of your core values.

Get this part right, and you’ll have a strong foundation for

everything else.

What makes you, you?

Is it your beautiful campus?

Is it the fact that your university is really good at teaching creative subjects, and many of your graduates have become famous artists?

Is it a special mentoring system, or your dedication to supporting entrepreneurship?

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Students are no different from the rest of us. They want information which is meaningful and valuable for them, as individuals. This is important when providing information online,

but even more essential when communicating with students one-

to-one.

Students told us they place a high value on opportunities to

interact directly with university representatives, mainly because

this is a chance to get more personalised responses. As Francesco

in Rome said: “We expect the first interaction to be personal, not

professional.”

2. MAKE IT PERSONAL

However, while enthusiastic about opportunities for personal

interaction with universities, many students were disappointed that

conversations – both online and offline – remained frustratingly

generic. Salimatou in Paris said she’d reached the conclusion:

“You can never have a really personal interaction with the

university.” Even after visiting university campuses, she’d found few

representatives able or willing to personalise the discussion.

Personalising an interaction is impossible if you don’t listen.

If you’re investing in face-to-face events, make sure your

representatives are taking the time to truly listen, and to ask

questions to find out more about each student. This will enable

them to provide genuinely relevant insights.

“You can never have a really personal interaction with the university.”

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Online, “listening” may mean encouraging students to ask questions via forums, comment sections or help boxes – and ensuring there’s someone at the other end to respond. It can also mean developing specialised content targeted at specific

groups of students, such as those from a particular country.

In summary, making students feel listened to and personally

addressed will turn every interaction into a real opportunity. When

meeting students in person, this can be as simple as sharing a

single piece of fresh information, as Gilberto from Milan told us: “So

long as universities give something that cannot be easily found on

the website, they will be impressive.”

“So long as universities give something that cannot be easily found on the website, they will be impressive.”

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stronger and longer-lasting impression than data alone.

Students also want to hear about your engagement and

partnerships with employers. Again, be as specific as you can.

Don’t just list employers you work with; provide details of how

this is shaping your courses, and what opportunities it creates

for students and graduates. If you’re offering opportunities to

complete internships and gain professional experience, great. If

this is formally incorporated into your curriculum, even better.

In short, don’t miss any opportunity to prove that employability is

just as much a priority for your university as it is for prospective

students; show them how your institution fits into their career plan.

As detailed in our recent report, How Do Students Use Rankings?, employability is the single biggest factor shaping the decisions of prospective international students today. Considerations about future employment prospects play a major

role in students’ choices about what and where to study, how

far to travel and how much to invest. If you want to connect with

students on issues that matter to them, you need to talk about

employability.

One of the most obvious ways to do this is to provide data on

your graduates’ employment outcomes. Here, the more detail, the

better. Prospective students want to see overall employment rates,

but they’re also interested in graduates’ positions, relevancy of

roles to studies, starting salaries, time taken to find employment,

and outcomes for international graduates.

Alongside statistics, case studies can be a compelling way to

engage on employability. Gather strong stories from your alumni

community. Making these a focal point will help bring the statistics

to life and capture prospective students’ imaginations, providing a

3. TALK ABOUT EMPLOYABILITY

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Be it to gauge employability prospects or to understand whether they’ll fit in at a university, students love learning about other students and graduates. In fact, they often prefer

to receive information from their peers, rather than university staff

members, with student and alumni perspectives often perceived as

more reliable and relevant. As Andreas in Paris told us, “It’s more

important to contact alumni than the administration.”

When meeting prospective students in face-to-face situations, you

can complement staff member communications by bringing along

current students and/or graduates. Ideally, invite a selection of

representatives, each with a different experience to share.

And if you can, choose representatives who will have something in

common with your audience – such as a shared nationality, subject

of interest or study level.

Online, prospective students are keen to see student and graduate

profiles and feedback clearly represented on university websites.

This could include profiles of ‘typical applicants’, student blog posts,

and case studies of notable graduates. Your current students and

alumni have the potential to become the most effective (and low-

cost) ambassadors of your institution; make sure you’re providing a

platform for their voices.

4. SEEK AND SHARE STUDENT VIEWS

“It’s more important to contact alumni than the administration.”

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When we asked students how a university could make a good or bad first impression, the single most commonly mentioned word was “website”. The quality of an institution’s

official online platform, it seems, really can mean the difference

between converting a prospective student and losing one.

So, what makes for a positive website experience? Students

highlighted the need for websites to be fast-loading, easy to

navigate and accessible from a range of devices, including

smartphones and tablets. In particular, many mentioned having

negative experiences when attempting to locate information. For

instance, Swiss student Tamara complained that even universities

with a strong international profile often have websites which are

“created in strange patterns”.

5. OPTIMISE YOUR WEBSITE

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Many of her peers agreed, emphasising that the amount of time

they’re willing to spend searching is limited. Not only will they exit

a poor website pretty quickly, they’re also likely to leave with a

negative impression of the institution as a whole. As Italian student

Pietro summed up: “If you as a university cannot organise your

website well, how can you teach me?”

At the other end of the spectrum, a well-designed and optimised

site can create an equally good impression just as fast. French

student Koffi told us, “Sometimes you just need to visit a university

website, you spend two seconds there and you want to go there!”

“Sometimes you just need to visit a university website, you spend two seconds there and you want to go there!”

“If you as a university cannot organise your website well, how can you teach me?”

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And while fees in themselves may or may not be a deal-breaker, a

lack of clarity may well be. It’s important to provide fee details as

clearly and transparently as possible, so students at least feel in

possession of all the facts.

Investing in providing as much practical detail as possible means students are more likely to feel confident about deciding whether they’re a good match for your institution, and vice versa. If the information they need to make this

assessment isn’t easily available, you run the risk of ending up in

their discard pile by default.

As well as struggling to navigate university websites, many students

complained that even very basic information was not always

available online. Commonly cited “missing information” included

details of course curricula and teaching staff, as well as sufficient

guidance on admission requirements and tuition fees.

Without access to this basic information about the course, their

own eligibility and the costs involved, students felt unable to make

an informed decision about whether they could add the institution

to their list of options. As a result, they said they would be likely to

err on the side of leaving it out.

Italian master’s applicant Valerio told us, “If when I go to the

website I don’t see the syllabus and the list of teachers... I am not

able to choose properly.”

Many others complained that course details were often not

provided in sufficient detail, and a lack of clarity regarding

admission requirements was another common complaint.

6. PROVIDEIN-DEPTHANDCLEARINFORMATION

“If when I go to the website I don’t see the syllabus and the list of teachers... I am not able to choose properly.”

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7. OFFER HELP AT EVERY STAGE

Be there to help at each stage of students’ research, and you’ll

not only increase the chances of them following through with an

application; you’ll also end up with newly enrolled students who are

already dedicated ambassadors for your institution.

Russian student Artur, for instance, was full of praise for the Italian

university he’d enrolled at. He emphasised how easy the entire

experience had been, with information and assistance provided

on everything from visa applications to finding accommodation.

Significantly, he was very keen to pass on this positive impression

to others.

Providing a full package of information and assistance may involve

ensuring you have advisors available via phone or email. But it can

also be as simple as adding additional resources to your website

– details of local living costs, accommodation options, campus life,

funding, and opportunities for part-time work and internships.

This is also the perfect time to harness the power of visual

communication, using image galleries, videos and interactive maps

to help students explore your campus from afar.

While information about issues such as visas, funding and the local area may be available elsewhere, students told us they were keen to get guidance on these topics from their chosen university. Getting the basic information right is essential,

but failing to provide assistance on these supplementary aspects

means a whole series of missed opportunities to engage and make

a lasting impression.

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Anything you can do to remove uncertainty and make life easier

will bring students another step along the path to choosing your

university. This is also another opportunity to stand out from your

competitors in a positive light – especially if students have already

encountered this challenge on several other occasions.

By fully optimising and translating your information for international students, you’ll send the message that their application is welcome, that you understand the challenges they face, and that your university’s “international outlook” is really something you live by.

If you want to recruit international students, you need to provide

information in a format which is accessible and meaningful

for them. This could mean having at least part of your website

available in multiple languages – but there’s more to it than that.

In particular, many of the prospective international students

we spoke to reported difficulties in interpreting admission

requirements. They found these were often given only in terms

of the local system of grading and qualifications, with little or no

guidance on how this would translate to other national systems.

8. COMMUNICATEINTERNATIONALLY

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Response times are important, as is being responsive more broadly – and this can be an absolute deal-breaker when it comes to international students. As Ivan from Moscow

explains, the tight timelines involved in applying for courses, visas

and funding can mean: “If I don’t get an answer quick enough, I can

no longer apply to that university.”

Just how quickly do you need to respond? Students’ expectations

will vary depending on the communication channel, but in general

you should aim to reply within two days. If a student doesn’t hear

back within this time frame, there’s a risk that s/he will develop a

cold and unwelcoming impression of the university, which could be

difficult to turn around.

9. RESPONDQUICKLY

This is part of a wider picture, in which rapid responses and

excellent customer service have become the norm. While the

language of customer service can sit awkwardly in the field

of higher education, students themselves do often approach

communications from this perspective. As Andrea in Rome put

it, “Degrees are products and so they should provide fantastic

customer service.”

“If I don’t get an answer quick enough, I can no longer apply to that university.”

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As a related point, it’s important to ensure you work with

students as closely as possible to help them understand and

meet application deadlines and requirements. If they miss your

deadlines, they’re unlikely to wait an entire year to re-apply – more

likely, they’ll find another option.

To ensure effective response times, it’s necessary to invest in

dedicated staff members, as well as clear tracking of response

times. This investment is likely to pay off. After all, if students are

making the effort to contact you, that’s a clear sign that they’re

interested; this is a prime opportunity to take their interest to the

next level.

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Whilst undoubtedly online platforms have a significant impact, meeting universities in person still seems the most valued, persuasive and memorable form of interaction for most students. For Russian student Anna, this is a preferred

starting point: “I prefer to meet universities first and then look into

them more if interested.” Meanwhile Brice in Paris told us that

attending an international university fair had “changed my mind, so

I’m going away with a different experience.”

In the 21st century, given the sea of alternatives, you might

think face-to-face communication is impractical, expensive and

overrated. Particularly if we’re talking about global operations

involving extensive travel for a conversation that could seemingly

easily take place online. Is it worth it? The answer is yes, absolutely.

10. MAKETHEMOSTOFFACE-TO-FACEMEETINGS

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Overall, we found students were much more likely to feel confident

about reaching a final decision if they’d had opportunities to meet

university representatives in person, rather than relying solely on

online materials. For example, Daniele in Rome told us: “I feel like I

could be tricked into making the wrong decision because of all the

marketing.”

The potential power of face-to-face meetings comes back to the

importance of personalisation, responsiveness and differentiation.

If you’re spending time meeting students in person, make sure

you’re offering personalised responses, targeted to the needs of

each individual, and conveying what Angelica in London called “the

spirit of the school”.

If your effort, enthusiasm and knowledge are genuine, you have the potential to get prospective students truly excited about your university – even if they’ve never heard about you before.

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