What’s the best way to improve enrollment? Not every admissions strategy works every time, but there are still some moves that raise your odds and help more prospective students and families say “yes.”

To learn what actually helps, we asked 200+ independent and private school admissions professionals to share how they run events, follow up with families, structure their offices, and report progress, compiling their responses into the Private & Independent School Enrollment Report.

Across the responses, the same strategies show up again and again as actually having impact and moving the needle in the right direction: fast follow-up on inquiries, strong campus experiences, and behavior-based emails that land at the right moment without being annoying.

Families, timelines, and budgets vary, but whether you're chasing faster follow-up or stronger conversions, the ideas in this report come straight from people doing the work—people who say these are the moves that can actually change outcomes.

1) Speed Wins: Turn inquiries into visits

Fast, friendly follow-up is one of the simplest moves you can make. Pair an instant acknowledgment with a personalized, same-day human response, and it’s an easy way to book a visit. Your inquiry-to-tour rate will tell you it’s working.

Why it works: Families act while interest is high. A quick, helpful reply turns curiosity into a first visit and keeps your school top of mind.

What schools said:

• Email leads the way: 98.1% of schools use email throughout the funnel, which paves the way for personalized communication and reduces response time.
• Automation helps you move faster: 60% run interest/grade workflows and 67% use behavior-based triggers.
• Make the next step easy: 54% offer an online scheduling tool, which shortens the path from inquiry to tour.

What “fast” looks like:

• Auto-confirmation in minutes: A warm, branded email that thanks the family and offers one clear next step.
• A human reply the same business day: A short note from a real person that includes a scheduling link.
• Scheduled touchpoint on the calendar: Tours, info sessions, or a quick call within 3–5 days of the inquiry.

Springside Chestnut Hill Academy is on top of it—a personalized automatic email is sent to prospects right after an inquiry is made through Finalsite Enrollment. It’s full of additional resources, videos, and information about the school; just enough to keep families engaged until a personal follow-up is made.

2) Make the Visits Count: Open houses, tours, shadow days

Families choose the school where they feel a real connection, and the survey backs this idea up—when these touchpoints are planned with care and supported by clear follow-up, they lift conversion from tour to application and from application to enrolled.

Why it works: Live touchpoints throughout the enrollment process help families feel if it's a fit and build confidence.

What schools said:

• Communications about events are common (84.5%).
• Tours are widely used (81.6%).
• Meetings/interviews are standard (79.7%).
• Shadow days are offered by 89%.

What a strong campus experience looks like:

• Start the experience before the visit. A simple confirmation email with parking details, timing, and a short agenda sets expectations and reduces anxiety. Add a reminder the day before with directions and a contact number, and if you use an online scheduler, include reschedule links to cut back on the no-shows and keep your day on track.
   
• Make the visit personal. Match families with student or parent ambassadors by grade level or interest.
   
• Small moments matter. Greet a student by name, show a space tied to the child’s interests, or introduce a teacher who can speak to academic programs.
   
• Follow up fast. The goal is momentum while interest is high, so send a thank-you within 24 hours with a short highlight from the visit and a single, clear call to action: start an application, register for a program-specific session, or schedule a follow-up call about financial aid. Hand them a one-page “What happens next” sheet or send it by email before they reach the parking lot!

Eastside Catholic has plenty of opportunities to come to campus, and when families are ready to visit during its Crusader for a Day program, they can easily select a convenient date and time using Finalsite Enrollment’s calendar scheduler.

3) Right Message, Right Moment: Behavior-based email

Many teams rate their system’s ability to automate communications as strong (a majority scored it 4–5 out of 5), which means the tools are there—it’s just a matter of using them in a focused way.

Why it moves the needle: It’s the power of the right message, at the right time. Behavior-based email works because it respects a family’s time. Pair that approach with the campus experiences in the previous section and the mobile steps we’ll cover next, and you’ll see steadier movement from inquiry to enrollment.

What schools said:

• A growing number run interest or grade-based workflows (60%), and two-thirds use behavior-triggered messages that respond to what a family does next (67%). 
   
• Start by mapping a few clear triggers to a single action. When an inquiry arrives, send a welcome and a scheduling link.
   
• After a tour, send a thank-you with one next step. If an application stalls for a week, send a short nudge that points to the checklist item still open. When the family finishes a form or uploads a document, send a confirmation and the next milestone.
   
• Subject lines do the heavy lifting—make them clear and action-oriented. The tone should feel like a person wrote it, not a bot. Keep messages short and helpful. Aim for 75–120 words, use plain language, and personalize with the student's name, grade, or interests.

You don’t need dozens of automations to see a lift. Most schools start with three:

• Inquiry nurture 
• Application rescue
• Post-visit follow-up

With your enrollment software, add one or two behavior triggers at a time, like “no activity for seven days” or “event attended,” then watch the numbers.

St. John’s College High School asks for a student’s cell number to connect on the day of their 8th-grade shadow visit, perfect to streamline communications and answer any questions about the student experience.

4) One Clear Path on Mobile: Portals, forms, checklists

Families are busy, and many start the inquiry process on a phone in short bursts, so clarity and speed matter. The mobile experience is trending in the right direction—84% said the process is somewhat or very easy on a phone—but more than half still use paper at some point, which slows families down and creates extra work for staff.

Why this moves the needle: Clear steps reduce drop-off and build confidence. A clean mobile flow also helps small teams stay responsive without adding hours.

What schools said:

• Mobile experience: 84% said somewhat or very easy (48% somewhat, 36% very).
   
• Admissions portals are standard for 87% of respondents.
   
• Applications are online for 97%, and 94% review files digitally. That foundation is strong; the opportunity is to make the path simpler on mobile.
   
• Start with the route families actually take. Put the journey in one place (your portal) and make each step obvious. Test every step on a small screen, from the inquiry form to the contract. Buttons should be easy to tap, directions should be clear, and each message should link straight to the next task.
   
• A few small changes go a long way. Trim form fields, move nonessential questions later in the process, and add a simple checklist with progress indicators so parents always know where they are and what’s next. These improvements lower friction for families and free your team to focus on conversations that matter.

St. Stephen's & St. Agnes School breaks down the admissions process with a custom timeline and all the steps to apply. It’s just one of the many resources they provide families with to support and empower families during their admissions journey.

5) Check the Numbers Weekly: Catch leaks early

Small leaks become big problems if you don’t spot them early. The survey shows most teams have access to dashboards (86%) within their enrollment management system and can easily export real-time inquiry and application data (67%) and basic funnel stats (57%).

Why it moves the needle: Weekly checks highlight where to focus your outreach. Review them regularly and act fast if something slips.

What schools said was easy:

• Ease of export: inquiries/apps 67% easy; funnel stats 57% easy.
• Year-over-year comparisons: 53% easy.
• Attrition and financial aid data are tougher: 52% and 46% easy, respectively.
• Dashboards/reports available for 86% of teams.

Many teams already rate their system’s ability to provide clear funnel data as strong, but the lift comes from using that data to trigger next steps, not from stacking more charts.

• Keep the dataset light so it gets used. A practical set includes: inquiry-to-tour conversion, tour-to-application conversion, application start-to-complete rate, time-to-first response, time-to-first meeting, and the count of stalled applications over 10 days.
   
• Data checks don’t need a bigger team. Rather, they need a short list of metrics, a weekly rhythm, and the will to act on what they see. This keeps the work grounded in outcomes and helps small offices stay focused without adding noise. Do that, and your funnel gets healthier, one improvement at a time.

Key Takeaway

See what’s helping your peers, then try it for yourself. Start with one or two proven moves, like a faster follow-up, a tighter visit experience, a simple behavior-based nudge, and watch one stage of your funnel. If the number improves, keep it. If not, adjust and try again. Small, steady changes build momentum for families and breathing room for your team.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Connor has spent the last decade within the field of marketing and communications, working with independent schools and colleges throughout New England. At Finalsite, Connor plans and executes marketing strategies and digital content across the web. A former photojournalist, he has a passion for digital media, storytelling, coffee, and creating content that connects.