Strategies for Increasing Student Enrollment at Your Trade School

Over the last five years, post-secondary enrollments have declined, and many believe a lack of affordability is behind this steady drop in college attendance. Indeed, young adults are increasingly leaving four-year institutions with mounds of debt and no job prospects.

The good news is that there is another option: trade school. Trade schools are significantly cheaper than traditional colleges, their programs can typically be much faster, and the job outlook after graduation is bright. Even so, these schools still struggle with enrollment numbers and affordability issues. Read on to learn about strategies for increasing student enrollment at your institution to fill empty seats and serve more eager students. 

Strategies for Increasing Student Enrollment

Optimizing the Enrollment Process for Mobile

Mobile devices are essential to people’s lives—especially students’ lives. Without a website and enrollment process that caters to mobile phone users, the chances are that you are losing out on potential enrollments. 

With that in mind, invest in your online presence and build all of the essential enrollment utilities into your mobile website adaptation. The more people can use their phones to access their enrollment information, the more eyes will see and consider their acceptance letters and the more you can increase student enrollment. 

Following Up with Applicants

Even though applying to school is a big deal, acceptance letters can still get lost in people’s email inboxes. The last thing you want is for students who are ready to accept their offer never to see your message in the first place. 

Therefore, always follow up with applicants if you are still waiting to hear back about your offer. Use email, text messages, and phone calls to make sure that your applicants know that they were accepted into your program and have the opportunity to attend it. 

Communicating Financial Aid Offerings

Many people considering trade school are looking to break into an in-demand field—such as manufacturing, health care, or engineering. They believe learning a trade and swiftly entering the workforce is better than attending a traditional college. But here’s the thing: These willing trade school applicants often need financial aid to afford the necessary skills training. One study found that low-income students are 3.5 times more likely than higher-income students to attend for-profit institutions like trade schools.

Because so many trade school applicants are not in a financial position to bear the full burden of tuition, financial aid can be a deal-winner. While you cannot award every student financial aid, make applicants aware of the opportunities you have for financial aid offerings. If a student is on the fence about accepting their offer, some financial aid may be the incentive they need to pull the trigger so your school can increase student enrollment.

Offering Alternative Financing Options

If you work in the trade school industry, you should know that offering school financing options is one of the key strategies for increasing student enrollment. Sure, you can up your marketing game to garner more interest in your school, but it won’t do much good if those interested can’t afford to attend. Providing custom financing that brings in students who otherwise couldn’t afford the tuition is the best way to increase the number of eligible applicants and, subsequently, enrollments.

Trade schools will likely continue to grow in popularity among those looking to streamline their education and career advancement and cut down on educational debt. With that in mind, the schools that best give underserved students a way to pay for school will see the most success.

If you are looking for a way to provide students with alternative financing options so that they can attend your school, Paramount Capital Group can help. Our programs are geared specifically toward underserved students to give them a chance at the career they want and to increase your revenue. With more than 900 partner schools, PCG has the financing options your students need. Click here to learn more about what we can do for your business.