Rethinking Travel in Student Recruitment

Traditional international student recruitment heavily relies on travel and fairs, but data suggests we need to rethink this approach for better results. Modern recruitment requires purposeful travel strategies that prioritize relationships and outcomes over mere visibility.

• Face-to-face recruitment has value but shouldn't be the foundation of your strategy
• Many schools discover their highest enrollment comes from virtual relationships, not travel
• Travel should be purposeful and aligned with specific enrollment goals, not just habitual
• Consider hybrid approaches: fewer fairs, more virtual engagement with counselors and students
• Track data on which recruitment trips actually yield applications and enrollments
• Focus on building deeper relationships with key partners rather than maximum geographic coverage
• Ask yourself if you're traveling for results or just visibility

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:11):
Welcome to the Future of Recruitment and Admissions
by East Coast Admissions.
I'm your host, cleopatra, andI'm so glad you are here.
This podcast is where we unpackthe realities and reimagine the
possibilities of recruitmentand admissions in today's
rapidly evolving educationlandscape.
Whether you are an admissionsrep, an enrollment manager or a

(00:33):
school leader, this space is foryou.
Now let's get into today'stopic rethinking recruitment
travel.
Let's be honest many of usstill associate successful
international studentrecruitment with frequent flyer
miles and heavy fare calendars.
It's what we've been trying todo Fly out, set up a booth and

(00:56):
hand out brochures and pray thatsomething sticks.
Fares give us structure, theygive us assets, but are they
still giving us results?
Don't get me wrong.
Travel has its lease.
Face-to-face interaction ispowerful, but in today's world,
relying solely on travel as afoundation of a recruitment

(01:17):
strategy isn't just outdated,it's risky and unsustainable.
Let me share a story thatreally solidified this for me.
I once worked with a schoolthat had a big travel budget.
The admissions rep attendedevery major international fair
you could think of.
We are talking about beautifulbooths, printed flyers, swag

(01:41):
bags, you name it, but when weactually looked at the
conversion data, it didn't addup.
There was a ton of engagementat the fair but very little
follow-up afterwards.
The issue wasn't the fairthemselves.
The problem was that there wasno clear post-event strategy, no

(02:01):
intentional follow-up, noinsights into which interactions
had potential and, frankly, noalignment between travel and the
school's actual enrollmentgoals.
And here is the thing whilethis rep was on the road
non-stop, their strongeststudent enrollment came from
agents they rarely met in personand high schools they had

(02:23):
partnered with virtually.
That's when the school had torethink everything.
So what does smart recruitmenttravel look like in today's
context?
First, travel should bepurposeful, not habitual.
Don't attend a fair justbecause it's what you've always
done.
Ask what's our goal here.

(02:44):
What markets are weprioritizing?
What outcomes are we measuring?
Second, consider hybridstrategies.
Maybe, instead of going to fourfairs, you attend one and
invest savings into virtualcounselor roundtables, student
webinars or in-country reps whocan build your year-round

(03:06):
presence.
Third, build data into theprocess.
Track with trips are yieldinginterest, inquiries,
applications and enrollments.
Don't just rely on anecdotes.
Let your numbers speak.
Last but not the least, thinkabout relationship building, not
just exposure.

(03:27):
Instead of racing from city tocity, what if you build deeper
ties with a handful of feederschools or agents in key markets
.
If you are wondering whetherit's time to revisit your travel
approach, here are a fewquestions to reflect on.
What is the actual return onyour recent travel?
Are you following up inmeaningful ways?

(03:50):
Could we achieve more bystaying local?
By going deeper?
Are we traveling for results orjust for visibility?
It's time to move beyond faresand flyers, not to get rid of
them entirely, but to make surethey are a part of a broader,
more international recruitmentstrategy that centers

(04:13):
relationships, outcomes andlong-term impact.
And I want to hear from you howare you approaching recruitment
travel right now?
What's working, what's workingand what are you experimenting
with?
Let's keep the conversationgoing.
Make sure to subscribe to theFuture of Recruitment Admissions
by East Coast Admissions onyour favorite platform, and

(04:34):
don't forget to check out ourstudent-facing podcast, the East
Coast Admissions Podcast.
Thanks for listening and I'llsee you in the next episode.