Colleges court students with open doors and faculty tours

The college admissions process has traditionally felt like an exclusive club where students beg for entry. That dynamic is reversing as institutions compete for a shrinking pool of applicants. Schools are now courting high schoolers with waived fees, direct offers, and personal invitations from faculty members who once stayed behind the scenes.

This shift stems from a demographic squeeze. The Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education projects a 13 percent decline in traditional-age freshmen over the next 15 years. Additionally, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the share of high school graduates attending college dropped from 70 percent in 2016 to 63 percent in 2024. With fewer students to choose from, colleges are altering their approach to secure enrollment.

Marc Conner, president of Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., noted that the institution is part of a larger trend toward transparency. He said the college depends on students visiting campus and then enrolling. To help, Skidmore has enlisted faculty to open their labs and classrooms to prospective applicants. Jess Ricker, the college's vice president for enrollment, stated that these interactions help students feel seen and valued, distinguishing Skidmore from other options on their lists.

Other institutions are following similar paths. At Washington College in Maryland, faculty members meet with visiting applicants on designated Fridays. At Ohio Northern University, at least one faculty member now meets with every visitor. These efforts aim to humanize the institution beyond the administrative office. Rob Springall, a consultant at WittKieffer, observed that enrollment leaders now treat every interaction as a critical step in the recruiting process.

The pressure to enroll students is driven by financial realities. A Niche survey found that two-thirds of admissions leaders struggled to meet enrollment targets in the last two years. Federal data shows that yield, the percentage of admitted students who actually enroll, has fallen from 32 percent in 2014 to 22 percent in 2024 at public universities. At private nonprofit institutions, yield dropped from 24 percent to 18 percent over the same period. This decline forces colleges to admit roughly five times as many students as they need to fill their classes.

Acceptance rates are rising as a result. The National Association for College Admission Counseling reports that nearly 8 in 10 applicants to public colleges and 7 in 10 to private colleges are now accepted. These figures are up from 68 percent and 65 percent, respectively, about 10 years ago. Angel Pérez, NACAC's CEO, attributed public confusion about difficulty levels to the high profile of elite schools like Harvard and Stanford, which admit only about 1 in 25 applicants.

Faculty involvement has required some adjustment. Johnnie Johnson, vice president for enrollment management at Washington College, said he had to persuade professors who initially preferred to focus solely on teaching. He explained that student enrollment directly impacts programmatic funding and faculty salaries. At Skidmore, more than 300 admitted students requested personal faculty meetings during campus visits last year. Becca Johnson, chair of the psychology department, reported that one parent described the direct contact as the first meaningful interaction with the school outside of the admissions office.