The Myth Of The "Check-In" Email

By the third week of October, most admissions teams are deep into follow-up. Applications are flowing in. Event attendance is leveling out. Counselor schedules are packed. And across inboxes everywhere, a familiar pattern begins to show up: the “check-in” email.

These messages are usually well-intentioned. They’re polite, brief, and vague. They go something like:

"Just checking in to see if you had any questions."

"Hope you’re doing well—let me know if I can help."

"Wanted to follow up and make sure you got our last message."

They’re easy to send, and they feel productive. But the truth is, they rarely move the conversation forward. In most cases, they don’t feel personal. They feel like placeholders.

The problem isn’t the tone. It’s the absence of context. These emails aren’t anchored in any specific behavior or next step. They rely on the student to figure out what the conversation is supposed to be about. And in a high-volume season, that’s a fast way to lose attention.

Outreach without signal is noise. And students can tell when they’re being contacted for your timeline—not theirs.

That’s not to say every message needs to be perfectly tailored or deeply strategic. But personalization, especially at scale, can’t mean “sending a message that sounds friendly.” It has to reflect something the student has actually done—or hasn’t done—so the communication feels timely, not just nice.

Here’s what that shift looks like:

A student who started an application but didn’t finish might get:

“You began your app last week—want to talk through the next section?”

A student who registered for a virtual event but didn’t attend:

“We missed you at the info session—was the time a challenge, or is there a better way to connect?”

A student who deposited but hasn’t logged into the portal in 10 days:

“Saw you haven’t jumped into your checklist—can I help with anything?”

These aren’t deeply complex messages. But they’re anchored in something real. And that’s what makes them effective.

What counselors need in order to send messages like these isn’t more time. It’s more clarity. They need a view into who’s active, who’s stalling, and who’s moving in ways that deserve a follow-up. They need a list that updates, not one that expires. They need to feel confident that their outreach is both relevant and timely.

That’s why “check-in” emails tend to appear when systems aren’t giving enough signal. If a counselor doesn’t know what changed—or what didn’t—it’s easier to default to a friendly touchpoint than to act with purpose. Over time, those messages fill the gaps in the strategy, but don’t actually strengthen it.

Later this month, Reggie Hill from the University of Missouri–St. Louis will join us to talk about how his team has tackled this problem. They’ve moved away from general follow-up and toward daily behavioral prioritization. That means less guessing, fewer filler messages, and more outreach that actually lands.

When counselors can see who’s drifting, who’s warming up, and who’s stuck, they don’t need a script. They just need a reason. And in October, that’s what students expect: relevance, not repetition.

Want to hear how UMSL is building real connection at scale? Join us October 28: crowdcast.io/c/vpreggie