Colleges Pivot Strategies to Attract Students as Enrollment Numbers Drop Nationwide

Across the country, higher education institutions are rolling out the red carpet to prospective students, abandoning old, distant admissions approaches in favor of high-touch recruitment. Facing shrinking demographic trends, schools are offering perks like waived application fees and extra financial aid for campus visitors, while enlistment efforts now reach far beyond traditional admissions offices.

Behind the shift is a looming shortage of prospective college students. Demographers project a 13 percent decline in the nation’s supply of traditional-age freshmen over the next 15 years. At the same time, federal figures show the share of high school graduates heading straight to college dropped from 70% in 2016 to 63% in 2024.

Falling Yield Rates Force Hands

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Getting accepted to college has actually become easier over the past decade. Acceptance rates rose from 68% to nearly 8 in 10 for first-year applicants at public institutions, and from 65% to 7 in 10 at private colleges, according to data from the National Association for College Admission Counseling. Yet getting those accepted students to actually enroll—known as yield—remains a growing hurdle.

Federal data shows that average yield rates at public universities plummeted from 32% in 2014 down to 22% in 2024. Private, nonprofit institutions saw a similar slump over the same decade, falling from 24% to 18%.

To combat this drop, institutions are recruiting faculty members to pitch incoming classes directly. At Washington College in Maryland, professors meet prospective attendees during open houses and dedicated recruitment Fridays. At Skidmore College, where student tour guides like Lily Boardman and Fiona Salas lead visiting families including applicant Alex Zaret across campus, enrollment officers stress the value of making personal connections.

“It creates a feeling of what it would be like to be seen, valued and to find a place of belonging on a campus,” said Jess Ricker, vice president for enrollment at Skidmore College, noting that personal outreach helps distinguish institutions from competitors.

Resilient Outliers Maintain Appeal

Even colleges bucking the national trend are refusing to stay passive. Marc Conner, president of Skidmore, noted that while his institution isn’t struggling to fill seats, recruitment remains vital. “It’s one of those things that’s in everybody’s interest,” Conner said. “We depend on students coming to our campuses and, when they do come, getting them to enroll.”

Skidmore’s recent statistics stand apart from national averages. While many peer institutions struggle, Skidmore saw its acceptance rate drop from 37% a decade ago down to 24% today, while maintaining a strong 24% yield rate across its student body of 2,719.

With demographic pressures mounting nationwide, the National Association for College Admission Counseling reports that the overwhelming majority of American higher education institutions now accept most of the students who apply.