Start Earlier, Convert Better: The Data-Proven Case for Freshman and Sophomore Outreach

If you wait until the Junior year to market to high school students – you’ve already lost HALF the students to your competition.

Our 2nd Annual Student & Parent Higher Education Survey reveals HALF of both groups start to research college and career choices as early as their freshman year.

Even though they may not be ready to schedule campus visits, students are starting to engage with schools and build a relationship as they start to dream and plan their future.

Learn how your school can get ahead of the curve to increase your enrollment funnel in our full report. We reveal what’s in the minds of parents and students and how schools can increase marketing ROI and build healthier enrollment pipelines.

When to begin: how early is too early?

Learn more by downloading our full report! Fill out the form below to receive this resource.

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The 2nd Annual

Parent & Student Survey

FOR HIGHER EDUCATION

and learn how to better reach your most targeted enrollment segments: students and their parents.

This guide outlines the biggest current challenges of education marketers, and ideas showing how your enrollment strategy can overcome and thrive.

DOWNLOAD THE FREE WHITEPAPER

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95%

of parents are using digital sources to research post-secondary options for their children

95%

of ALL teens use YouTube

2x

the number of parents are considering vocational schools than their children

Other areas we cover that will help increase awareness of your institution among students and their parents:

  • The most important factors considered in the college search process:

    • what motivates students’ choices
    • what parents consider the most important factors
  • How students and their parents interact with school advertising:

    • The apps where students AND their parents spend most of their ‘social media’ time
    • What other sources are used for school research: digital, direct mail, etc.
  • How to use the survey insights to optimize your enrollment strategy:

    • Vocational schools
    • Community colleges
    • Four-year universities

We’re proud of our work

advance education third annual parent and student survey whitepaper 2026

OUR LATEST WHITEPAPER

3rd Annual Parent & Student Survey

The New Rules Of Higher Education Marketing

How AI and Shifting Family Priorities are Reshaping Student Recruitment

AI isn’t new. It’s normal. Students and parents alike are increasingly using LLMs for research – for everything from homework help to their best options for higher education. If families already use AI to choose, the question is: how is your institution meeting them there? Our latest whitepaper outlines how to publish AI-readable answers to the most asked questions, making your value legible to both humans and machines.

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Let’s work together on your student enrollment strategy.

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