Every year, thousands of admitted students never show up on campus—not because they changed their minds, but because no one checked in. Without any interaction from their chosen school, students may lack the encouragement or the confidence they need to move forward with the enrollment process. Higher education institutions have dubbed this dreaded scenario college summer melt.
The catch-all phrase “college summer melt” describes the surprisingly common situation in which students are accepted into colleges and committed to enrolling… But they end up not taking the final step. These students decide to enroll in other schools or not to attend college, leaving seats unfilled and gaps between admission and enrollment rates. When high school students are facing one of the most significant choices in their lives, a single summer can be enough time to stray from a carefully organized plan. If schools don’t take action to uncover where students get lost in the funnel, then they can’t learn how to fix the problem.
Unfortunately, many colleges and universities employ summer melt strategies that fail to address the reasons behind summer melt and see little to no change. Preventing college summer melt isn’t about flashy campaigns or glossy brochures. It’s about reaching students where they are, with timely and personalized communication that makes them feel supported. This blog will explore how to do just that.
What Causes Summer Melt and Why It’s Increasing
Summer melt can start in the spring before graduation day. It can also surface as “move-in melt” just before classes begin. The phenomenon affects first-generation college students, low-income families, and underrepresented students disproportionately compared to other students.
For example, the percentage of students who opt out because they don’t feel mentally ready is 8% higher among first-generation and lower-income students. Also, FASFA submission rates in 2024 lagged 20-30% behind prior years, following changes to the form. Without vital guidance to assist in the enrollment process, students don’t find the resources they need to complete all the requirements necessary to start school in the fall.
Students spend their high school, middle school, and even elementary school years inundated with information about the value of a college education. A student’s high school years are peppered with guidance about the class schedule, extracurriculars, and community activities that will help them achieve their college goals. But once graduation is over, that guidance goes away. This leaves students with the task of handling life’s physical, emotional, and financial aspects on their own. When faced with submitting complex forms associated with financial aid, housing assistance, class schedules, and living arrangements, students find a barrier around every corner.
There are many causes of summer melt, but they all have one thing in common. Lack of communication and guidance leaves students with doubts and uncertainty that prevent them from moving forward. Increased competition among colleges and universities and rising indecision among students make proactive communication more critical than ever.
The Power of Meeting Students Where They Are
Students face months of preparation between receiving a college acceptance letter and move-in day. During this time, they:
- Make arrangements to pay for their education
- Find housing
- Prepare for their life away from their family home
Guidance during this time is crucial to keeping students motivated to reach their goals. However, every student faces unique needs. Admissions teams can use data to recognize these needs and respond with the right information at the right time. Then, they can provide targeted guidance that speaks to individualized needs.
Today’s college students rely on modern technology for communication. As digital natives, they expect instant access to information. They also prefer mobile-first, low-pressure responsive channels (e.g., text, social media, and video content). Overreliance on email or print can lead to missed messages or disengagement, potentially contributing to summer melt.
By using data to understand students’ communication preferences and sending timely messages that align with a student’s activity or inquiries, admissions teams can give students the guidance they need to continue their enrollment journey. This personalized approach increases the likelihood of students responding because the message feels specific to them.
Building a Summer Communication Plan That Works
High school students frequently communicate with guidance counselors, advisors, and teachers to navigate toward a bright future. But graduation marks an end to this guidance, leaving students to navigate a particularly challenging path on their own. When specialized admissions teams develop a personalized admissions outreach strategy that supports students from deposit to day one, they can address the issues most likely to cause college summer melt.
Continual communication is key to supporting students and keeping them motivated. Upon acceptance, admissions counselors or current students can enhance engagement with welcome texts or short check-in videos. Step-by-step nudges about housing, orientation, financial aid, and class registration can help keep them on track. One case study even proved that automated reminders from a chatbot reduced summer melt by as much as 20%.
Timely and targeted information also plays a vital role in preventing college summer melt. Creating clear, digestible content tailored to student concerns can help students feel confident in their ability to handle next steps. For example, FAQs, checklists, and deadline reminders can prompt students to tackle their enrollment requirements one step at a time.
Personalization as a Competitive Advantage
More than two-thirds of high school students and first-year college students prefer receiving personalized messages from their educational institutions of choice. Also, 72% of high school students and 73% of first-year college students expect educational content customized to their unique needs and preferences. In other words, personalized follow-up beats generic communication when hoping to engage students in the enrollment process.
Generic brochures with glossy pictures fail to give students an authentic sense of what your institution offers. Moreover, these communications typically fail to address specific questions and concerns. Admissions teams that invest in relationships during the summer are more likely to accurately convey what their school has to offer. They also better retain committed students.
Admissions professionals who leverage data can advance their efforts further by focusing on students most likely to thrive at their campus. Tools and software designed to align with higher education admissions processes can streamline data collection and give admissions teams an added edge. For instance, FlippedApp is an AI-powered communication platform that allows college admissions professionals to match prospective students with your institution’s criteria and automatically send personalized messages to nurture student interest. This tailored support makes summer outreach more efficient and impactful.
Tools and Tactics to Scale Your Efforts
On the surface, personalized outreach may seem like an impossible undertaking. Busy admissions teams are already working through enormous piles of applications. However, with the right tools and tactics, you don’t need a large team to succeed with personalized outreach. Data collection, automation, and industry tools can empower your team to do more with less.
Various tools and software applications can be used to maintain personalized and relevant communication with prospective students. Your organization’s customer relationship management (CRM) system is indispensable for storing student data, including communication preferences and demographics.
Templates can support personalized messaging efforts when they’re designed to address common concerns and interests. Such communications can be automated to be delivered to students based on their activity. For instance, a prospective student’s investigation into financial assistance can trigger a message with links to FAQs and essential forms. Timely and targeted messages can also be scheduled to be released in time with crucial deadlines, creating regular and relevant communication.
When admissions teams use these methods in conjunction with data that matches student interests with school criteria, they can double their impact by further targeting outreach. FlippedApp is ideal for helping admissions professionals identify and prioritize students who are most at risk of college summer melt. Teams can then focus their time and energy where it matters most.
Tackle College Summer Melt With Targeted Outreach With Support From Concept3D
The causes of summer melt almost always track with a lack of information or guidance. However, providing such guidance is rarely achieved through generic communications that fail to identify each student’s individual needs. Timely, relevant, and personalized messaging has the power to address student needs and reduce summer melt. As economic trends change and uncertainty grows, admissions professionals need to take a new approach to addressing college summer melt. As spring transitions into summer, examine your summer communication plan and make adjustments to focus on building trust, not just pushing reminders.
Industry tools like FlippedApp can help teams deliver personalized support to the right students when it matters most: before summer melt sets in. Achieving this requires personalized communication timed to align with individual student needs. This can mean during early spring or in the days leading up to the first day of classes. Concept3D creates tools and software applications ideal for the needs of higher education institutions. From matching student interests to your school’s criteria to wayfinding and event scheduling on campus, we have the tools you need to enhance student engagement from admissions to graduation. Contact us today to schedule a demo and learn more about how we can help you address summer melt.