Inceptia Insights: From Admission to Enrollment

INCEPTIA INSIGHTS

From Admission to Enrollment: Closing the Final Mile

Overview For many students, being admitted to college feels like the hard part is over. The acceptance letter arrives, the excitement builds, and families start to picture the future ahead. Yet for thousands each year, that moment of celebration quietly fades into uncertainty. Somewhere between acceptance and arrival, momentum is lost. Institutions feel it too. Despite strong marketing plans to attract applicants and thoughtful onboarding for enrolled students, many struggle to maintain connection during the critical space in between. Competing demands, financial barriers, and incomplete paperwork chip away at intent until students simply don’t show up – not because they don’t want to, but because no one had the time, tools, or soft skills to keep them moving forward. This brief explores what happens when those “micro-gaps” go unfilled – the ripple effects on students, schools, and communities – and how proactive, personalized outreach can transform moments of pause into meaningful progress.

The Road that Stops Too Soon Admission should be a beginning, not an ending. Yet every year, a significant share of students who are admitted – or who have already attended – never arrive for their next term. Nationally, 10-40% 1 of admitted or committed students do not enroll. In traditional semester calendars, this is often called summer melt; in reality, it’s an enrollment drop-off that can happen between any term style. For students, this means lost progress, wasted effort, and financial risk. For communities, a loss of thriving economies and future leadership. For institutions, missed revenue, lower yield, and declining persistence rates. This inflation disparity has not gone unnoticed – especially since, according to research by the Economic Policy Institute, middle-class wages have been stagnant over the same period of time, despite large increases in economic productivity. 3

To make up the funding gap, students and families have turned to borrowing, which college financial aid offices help facilitate. But attitudes are changing about taking on student debt and the prospect of paying it back. According to statistics from the Education Data Initiative, more than 43 million borrowers have student loan debt totaling $1.774 trillion – a record high – and more than 92% of that comes from federal loans. The average federal student loan balance is $37,717. 4 A survey by Trellis Company suggests rising feelings of stress, anxiety and even despair among student loan borrowers, with 62% of respondents saying they have more debt than expected, that the total is unmanageable and that they doubt any portion of their debt will be forgiven. 5

If students are souring on borrowing, how to bridge the funding gap?

Why Students Stall Before They Start

Students stall for reasons that are often preventable:

• Financial barriers and confusion: Aid letters that arrive late or seem unclear can derail plans. One study found 22% 2 of the lowest-income; college-intending students never matriculated. • Administrative hurdles: Complex portals, multiple deadlines, and unclear communications create friction. • Life demands: Work, family, or health responsibilities compete for time and resources. • Lack of belonging: Without affirmation, students doubt whether they fit or can succeed. Even new access strategies don’t solve the issue on their own. Direct admissions – where institutions automatically admit students who meet criteria – is growing quickly. Idaho’s statewide program produced a 4-8% increase in first-time undergraduate enrollment 3 , and SUNY’s direct-admissions initiative offered admission to 125,000 high-school seniors statewide, helping drive overall system enrollment up 2.3% in Fall 2024.⁴ But large-scale studies show that while direct admissions increases intent, it often shows no significant increase in ultimate enrollment. The result: access without follow-through. The real challenge shifts from “getting in” to “showing up.” “We have great campaigns to bring students in, but not enough hours in the day to keep them moving once they’ve raised their hand,” one enrollment director admitted. “The gaps aren’t in our intent – they’re in our bandwidth.”

The Cost of Lost Momentum, for Everyone

The cost of lost momentum is high for everyone. For students, the lost opportunity is personal and profound. Each missed enrollment is a delay in starting their educational journey. Stopping out mid-program leaves students with incomplete credits and, often, loans without a credential. Momentum lost is hard to regain; confidence erodes with every pause. For institutions, the stakes are equally high. Yield projections fall short, tuition revenue slips, and persistence rates decline. Staff must spend time re-recruiting or chasing lost students rather than moving initiatives forward. At scale, these missed enrollments impact rankings, funding, and the institution’s ability to fulfill its mission. Each stalled student is more than a statistic, it’s a missed story of success. When students don’t enroll or stop out, the loss extends beyond the campus. Communities lose future graduates who would contribute as skilled workers, civic leaders, and engaged citizens. local economies miss out on higher earning potential and stronger consumer activity, while employers face a shrinking talent pipeline. Over time, these missed enrollments compound into fewer degree holders in the region – limiting innovation, competitiveness, and community vitality.

“It’s not that students lose interest,” they lose momentum in the small spaces between steps, the micro-gaps that take empathy and time to close.”

From Getting In to Showing Up Institutions that close this gap recognize that admission is not the finish line, it’s the transition point. What makes the difference is consistent, proactive outreach through multiple channels – meeting them where they are – to keep students engaged, paired with simplified steps like clear checklists and deadlines that reduce friction. Financial clarity is equally critical, with transparent communication around aid and costs that helps ease anxiety before it derails enrollment. At the same time, students need messages of belonging that affirm they are expected, supported, and capable of succeeding. And for those who pause their studies, re-engagement pathways provide a warm invitation back, making return feel less like starting over and more like continuing a journey already begun. “We’ve heard time and again from schools two main themes from their teams. They spend so much time getting the perfect messages to attract new students and welcome them, but the middle space between admitted and enrolled doesn’t get the same attention; and their teams are stretched thin, they don’t just need to make more calls, they need to make more connections and it takes time they don’t have,” said Sue Downing, Senior Vice President & Officer.

Best Practices to Close the Gap Closing the admissions to enrollment gap takes a targeted timely effort. Best practices include:

Proactive outreach: Timely phone, email, and text outreach keeps students engaged.

Simplified steps: Clear checklists and deadlines reduce friction.

Financial clarity: Transparent communication around aid and costs reduces anxiety.

Messages of belonging: Students need to hear that they are expected, supported, and capable.

Re-engagement pathways: Warm outreach makes returning after a stop-out feel natural.

Enrollment Ready: Closing the Final Mile

GWINNETT TECHNICAL COLLEGE

181

$325K

Enrollment Ready Outreach is a targeted, time-based outreach solution that turns the stopping moments into positive movement in reengaging those students that need it most. Whether you want to target newly admitted, stopped-out, and withdrawn students Enrollment Ready Outreach connects with your chosen population to complete the steps that secure their place. Through proactive outreach across phone, email, and text, our team delivers the personalized support to help students complete the steps that secure their enrollment, from finalizing paperwork to navigating financial aid and confirming attendance. For institutions, the results are clear:

in tuition revenue

new students enrolled

DELGADO COMMUNITY COLLEGE

604%

new 524 58

returning students

ROI

DALLAS COLLEGE

• Higher enrollment yield • More re-engagement wins • Reduced staff workload • Greater confidence in day-one readiness

5,011

9,207

enrolled

newly applied students

54%

enrollment return

Enrollment Ready turns intent into enrollment – to ensure no student slips away.

Support students between admission and enrollment with intentional outreach.

“It’s never about one big obstacle,” it’s a series of small misses that add up to lost enrollment — and lost opportunity.”

Let’s explore what the right outreach approach could look like on your campus. Contact your Inceptia representative or visit enrollmentready.org to get started.

Sources 1. N ational College Attainment Network: https://www.ncan.org/ news/632685/Addressing-Summer-Melt-Starts-in-the-Spring.htm 2. B enjamin Castleman & Lindsay Page, A Trickle or a Torrent? Understanding the Extent of Summer Melt Among College- Intending High School Graduates: https://www.maearlycollege. com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/A-Trickle-or-a-Torrent- Understanding-the-Extent-of-Summer-Melt-Among-College- Intending-High-School-Graduates.pdf 3. Odle, T., & Delaney, J. A. (2021). You Are Admitted! Early Evidence on Enrollment from Idaho’s Direct Admissions Reform. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: https://experts.illinois.edu/en/ publications/you-are-admitted-early-evidence-on-enrollment- from-idahos-direct- 4. S tate University of New York (2024). Report on Enrollment and Financial Sustainability: https://www.suny.edu/media/suny/ content-assets/documents/govt-relations/state/SUNY-Report-on- Enrollment-and-Financial-Sustainability_January2024.pdf 5. P arker, J., Castleman, B. L., et al. (2023). Direct Admissions and College Enrollment: Experimental Evidence from Multiple Institutions. EdWorkingPaper No. 23-834, Annenberg Institute at Brown University: https://edworkingpapers.com/sites/default/files/ ai23-834_v2.pdf

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