A Different Kind of Applicant Survey

It’s About Your Brand

This isn’t just another applicant survey. It’s designed to distinguish betweeen your brand and that of your competitors. We won’t tell you whether your brand ranks above or below other schools; we’ll telll you how students perceive your brand personality, and what distinguishes your image from those of your competitors.

Traditional applicant surveys might tell you how your reputation ranks compared to your competitors. HESA’s Applicant Survey digs deeper. We ask applicants a series of questions that reveal their perception of your reputation — and the reputation of your competitors. Are you perceived as preparing students for the labour market or for further education? Do you provide a nurtur- ing learning environment or do you expect your students to be independent? What about the competition?

Our survey will help you better understand your rep — and where you stack up against your competitors.

Learn Something New About Your Applicants

This isn’t just another applicant survey. It’s designed specifically to highlight how applicants to your institution perceive your brand, your reputation and your program offerings — and to contrast that with your competitors. It’s a new approach for a new understanding of what causes some of your prospective students to choose your school, and what causes others to go with a competitor.

Institution Preferences

Our Applicant Survey is designed to reveal applicants’ attitudes about the kind of institution they want to attend. Are they looking for a school with a global focus or one where the professor knows their name? Will they be swayed by a focused classroom experi- ence or are they interested in a school with lots of opportunities to socialize?

What Motivates Students?

You can’t meet your applicants’ expectations unless you know what motivates them. What do your applicants want out of their program of study? What kind of reputation do your faculties and programs have, and how to they compare to your competitors? Are your students looking for challenging programs or would they prefer not to have to write long essays or do complex arithmetic? How do they balance expanding their horizons with preparing for a career in a field that interests them? Are you perceived as innovat- ing in the classroom or relying on tried and true methods —and what about your competition? Our Applicant Survey will tell you which factors drive enrolment decisions.

We’ll also give you a sense of your applicants’ long-term attitudes and expectations. What kind of work do they imagine for them- selves, and in what sector of the economy? How will they decide between career advancement and a work-life balance? How important is earning potential? What skills do they think they’ll need? How do they identify themselves — are they interested in socializing or studying? Athletics or clubs? Do they seek a chal- lenge or are they content just to get by?

How Do You Measure Up?

Because our survey asks questions about your school and the competitors you select, we can help you identify the factors that actually affect application and enrolment decisions. With our optional follow-up survey, we return to the pool of applicants to see who registered where and why. What drives students to enrol at your school, and what draws them away?

Go deeper. Get useful information about the way applicants perceive your school, and what you can do about it. Call us at (416) 848-0215 or email info@higheredstrategy.com to learn more.