How to Effectively Recruit Students for Your Custom Program
You’ve just said “yes” to designing a custom program with us for your students. Exciting!!
Next step? Recruitment.
If you missed it, circle back to our "11 Fall Semester Custom Program Recruitment Tips” blog post first where our Japan Program Director Sarah Reid, and our Director of Institutional Partnerships, Kyle Simmons share some great strategies.
And if the task of inspiring at least 12 students to sign up to travel with you still feels a little daunting, read on.
In this post, we offer some more inspiration as you come up with a recruitment strategy that will generate buzz and build up the momentum for your program:
1. STORYTELLING IS GOLD. Don’t just rely on posters. What students really crave is connection. They value the opinions of their peers, and storytelling is that bridge that can take students from feeling informed to feeling truly inspired.
Storytelling can highlight some of the transformative experiences past study away students have had on one of your programs. For example, Mallory Bell, who studied abroad with us on a Salisbury University custom program, described her time in Sicily as, “a marvelous experience that I will cherish forever,” adding, “This was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I encourage everyone to study abroad!”
And who wouldn’t be intrigued by that?
How to bring this strategy to life:
Mini presentations: Seek out students who have returned from a travel program and invite them into classes, student org meetings, or resident halls for a candid chat about the very real experiences they had on their program that have made an impact on their lives. They can share videos, photos, and stories about what surprised them, what challenged them, and what changed them. They can answer questions and help extinguish doubts.
Photo walls: Rather than standard flyers, consider building a photo wall of Polaroid-style snapshots with hand-written captions from past study abroad students which could even include Instagram handles leading to more photos from their trip. The more photos, the merrier and the more eye-catching it will be. Assemble this in a spot with high traffic or a place where students might linger—perhaps a campus cafe or near the entrance to the library.
Social media: The most obvious place for storytelling is likely social media. Work with students to share their travel stories in reels, carousel posts, vlogs, or on TikTok. They might show a bit of their own experience and then add, “You can experience this too. Here’s how…” See if your university’s study abroad office or main account will share content they are tagged in.
Student campus media. If your university hosts a campus podcast or has a student-run radio station, pitch a short segment as part of a relevant series or ask for a guest episode. One of the past study away participants can share stories here where students listening in will tune into the excitement coming through in their voices.
2. COLLABORATE WITH CAMPUS GROUPS. We know that students look for validation within their own communities—from people they know and trust. They take inspiration from their friends seriously. Tapping into groups that already exist on campus—from cultural clubs to sororities to language societies to major-specific orgs—you will be able to broaden your reach. This is especially effective if you can build connections with groups whose interests align with your program’s theme.
How to create effective partnerships:
Offer to bring snacks or dish to share from the country you’re planning to travel to in exchange for some time to present your program during a club meeting. Share some program details in a relaxed setting and let students ask questions.
Ask relevant student groups to co-sponsor an event that’s related to your travel theme, like a film screening, global food night, or international trivia night. After students engage in an activity, you can talk about the program opportunity with a captive audience.
When you create posters, skip the boring academic style. Come up with a bold design that really pops with color and energy—something students would love to hang on their dorm room wall. Consider working with a student illustrator or using a beautiful piece of photography from a student traveler. Include a QR code to a video about the program—a bit like a portal to an adventure.
3. PAINT A PICTURE. Sometimes it’s difficult for students to visualize themselves in an experience that feels so abstract. Your job is to help them do just that.
They’ll want details: full transparency on costs, timelines, and academic expectations.
But they’ll also want an idea of what sort of food they’ll be eating, what their accommodation will look like, what sort of cultural differences they could expect to encounter, what their day-to-day would look like, and how the weather might be at that time of the year there.
Appeal to their senses. Place them in the scene.
How to help students picture themselves on your trip:
Create a one-pager with some real photos (no stock) that breaks down all of the essential details from costs to timelines to academic credits—something they might easily share with their parents.
Host an info session, but fill it with interesting video content and a student guest who can share stories and answer questions while appealing to this group’s notoriously short attention span. Add snacks for the win.
Use language that dives into specific details when you talk about the program. Instead of, “You’ll have breakfast, then head to class before joining a workshop and eating lunch,” you might tell students, “You’ll cross the street from your accommodation in Florence to stop in the local bar to fuel up with an espresso before a 15-minute past the Duomo to your Italian language class. Then, you’ll join a pasta-making workshop with a Florentine chef who uses fresh local ingredients. You’ll enjoy the delicious results for lunch as a group when you’ll learn more about the slow food movement that began in Italy…..” and so on so they can better place themselves in the scene.
4. KNOWLEDGE IS POWER. Some students might be interested, but not quite sure if this is for them. What does this trip mean if they play sports on campus? Will this commitment delay graduation? Is it too expensive? How will they convince their parents?
Be fully transparent, anticipate questions, and answer them thoroughly and thoughtfully. The more informed they feel, the more likely they are to feel empowered to embrace the adventure.
How to help students move from curiosity to confidence:
Creating a simple FAQ resource that’s easy to find is a good place to start.
Include information on your department’s website.
Try to have your program featured in the campus newsletter or newspaper.
If your university hosts events for International Education Week, get involved.
Offer extra office hours where students can drop in and chat one-on-one.
Share content from EdOdyssey’s Instagram account that is similar to what students will experience during your program.
Talk about money: Scholarships, grants, payment plans, budgeting, saving, insurance information, and how students can approach their families for financial help if necessary.
Follow up with students who express interest but have yet to act.
5. LEARN HOW EDODYSSEY CAN SUPPORT YOU.
When you create a custom program with EdOdyssey, we support you every step of the way, and marketing your program is an important step!
The fact is that many proposed student travel programs don’t run due to under-enrolment, and we don’t want that to happen to yours. (However, know that if enrolment numbers don’t meet our target, don’t panic; no one is charged and it’s still possible to run the program at a later date.)
The best way to avoid this is to start your recruitment efforts as early as possible.
During the recruitment phase, we can help you with:
Information sessions for prospective students
Marketing materials
A dedicated program webpage
Culture and travel resources for students
Comprehensive pre-departure process & support
Assistance with marketing communications like social media posts, press releases & newsletter articles
A pre-departure meeting
Not sure where to start? Schedule a meeting to brainstorm with us!
Overall, students shouldn’t get the feeling that they’re being promoted to, but rather come away from any touchpoint about the program with a sense of possibility and curiosity!
