Maximising applicant conversion

The Challenge

Maximising applicant conversion is a high-priority task. As with all universities, every year many applicants either withdraw before being offered a place, or are offered a place, but decline it.

In most cases, the university will never hear from these applicants again, but the university wanted to uncover what makes students pull out and what they could have possibly done differently

Our approach

Using the universities database, we conducted a quantitative study of people who had withdrawn or declined offers, where we asked about the application process, including reasons for applying, barriers to enrolling, and thoughts on the application experience.

We also conducted a “deep dive” into issues such as the interview process.

The outcome

The research revealed how seemingly trivial matters could have a decisive impact on an applicant’s view of the institution. These insights have helped improve the experience for applicants at open days and interviews.

As well as informing the recruitment strategy, the findings highlighted students’ concerns about London living costs, which they could then use to communicate the support it offers students struggling with these issues.

Overall, the news was very good, including a 10% increase in the number of applicants saying they had a positive experience.