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Holistic Admissions
Yield Improvement
Data Revolution
Enrollment Growth
Admissions Strategy
min read
Holistic admissions has long been celebrated for its ability to look beyond test scores and transcripts, valuing the whole student during the application review process. But what if its true power extends beyond the decision? What if holistic admissions isn’t just about evaluating students but about engaging them post-decision to maximize yield?
For too long, the acceptance letter has marked the end of holistic admissions thinking. Once students are admitted, institutions often default to generic, one-size-fits-all outreach strategies that fail to reflect the nuance of each student’s journey. This approach not only wastes valuable counselor time but also risks losing high-potential students who might have enrolled with the right engagement.
To transform yield management, holistic admissions must evolve. The same principles used to evaluate students—understanding their stories, interests, and needs—should guide how we engage them after the decision. By decoding the behavioral signals students send post-admission, institutions can make every interaction meaningful and strategic.
Machine learning plays a critical role here. By analyzing patterns like event attendance, portal logins, and response rates, it identifies which students are actively deciding and which need intervention. These insights allow admissions teams to prioritize their efforts where they matter most, focusing on students who are most likely to yield or at risk of disengaging.
This approach isn’t just practical—it’s transformational. It respects students as individuals, builds stronger connections, and ensures that every counselor’s effort drives real results. Holistic admissions shouldn’t stop with the offer; it should become the framework for how institutions engage admitted students, optimizing resources and maximizing enrollment outcomes.
Holistic Admissions As A Framework For Yield Optimization
February 6, 2025
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Holistic Admissions
Applicant Behavior Patterns
Swing Applicants
Yield Management
Admissions Strategy
min read
Admissions directors rarely say it outright, but here’s the truth: time is their team’s most valuable resource, and it’s slipping through their fingers.
Counselors are overwhelmed, managing thousands of applicants and admitted students while being tasked with creating personal connections. The tools they’ve relied on for decades—mass emails, blanket event invites, and “list-of-the-day” call strategies—aren’t just outdated. They’re wasteful. Too much effort is spent chasing students who won’t enroll, leaving less time for the ones who will. The result? Counselors burn out, enrollment numbers suffer, and the mission of providing a personalized experience falls flat.
Holistic admissions is often heralded as the solution, but it’s usually confined to the pre-decision phase. We use it to see the "whole student," balancing GPAs, extracurriculars, and personal stories to craft diverse and dynamic classes. But here’s the problem: once the decisions are made, holistic admissions gets tossed aside, and teams revert to one-size-fits-all strategies. This misses the bigger opportunity—to use the same principles to manage counselors’ time and attention after decisions go out.
What would it look like to extend holistic admissions into post-decision engagement? It starts with data. Every admitted student sends signals—portal logins, email clicks, event RSVPs—that reveal their level of interest and intent. Machine learning tools can analyze these signals in real time, showing which students are actively deciding, which are drifting away, and which need a nudge. Armed with these insights, admissions directors can direct their counselors to focus where their time will have the greatest impact.
This isn’t about replacing human connection with algorithms; it’s about empowering counselors to work smarter, not harder. When machine learning handles the heavy lifting of sorting through thousands of data points, counselors can focus their energy on meaningful, relationship-driven work. That means personalized calls to the students who need it most and tailored follow-ups that address real concerns—not wasted hours chasing disengaged students or following up on irrelevant metrics.
The benefits are clear. Counselors feel more effective and less overwhelmed, leading to better morale. Yield improves because the right students get the attention they need. And the institution wins by making the most of its resources without sacrificing the personal touch that makes holistic admissions so powerful.
Admissions leaders must redefine holistic admissions as more than just a tool for selecting students—it’s the framework for everything that comes after. Managing time and attention post-decision isn’t just a tactical adjustment; it’s a philosophical one. If institutions truly believe in treating students as individuals, they must embrace a smarter, data-driven approach to yield. Because when it comes to enrollment, precision isn’t optional—it’s everything.
Holistic Admissions Must Guide Counselor Outreach
January 30, 2025
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Holistic Admissions
Yield Management
Applicant Behavior Patterns
Machine Learning
Consumer Decision Theory
min read
Colleges love to champion holistic admissions as a badge of honor. It’s a process that looks beyond GPAs and test scores to see the “whole student,” and it’s often held up as the moral high ground in the admissions landscape. But here’s the problem no one wants to talk about: once the acceptance letter is sent, holistic admissions all but vanishes.
Think about it. The same institutions that spend months dissecting every nuance of an applicant’s background suddenly treat admitted students as one-size-fits-all. Whether it’s a high-achieving student who attended every info session or someone who barely responds to emails, they’re lumped into the same yield strategy: generic emails, mass invitations to events, and endless follow-ups with little regard for the signals those students are sending.
This approach is lazy, wasteful, and hypocritical. Admissions teams claim to care deeply about individual students—until the decision is made. Then, counselors are left guessing who to prioritize while students who might otherwise enroll feel ignored or overwhelmed. It’s no wonder yield is a constant uphill battle.
Here’s the truth: holistic admissions doesn’t stop when the application process ends. It should be the foundation for post-decision engagement, where understanding individual behaviors becomes the key to guiding students toward enrollment. And this is where machine learning comes in.
By analyzing behavioral signals like portal activity, event attendance, and email responses, machine learning reveals what students won’t always say outright: who’s deciding, who’s drifting, and who needs encouragement. This isn’t just data; it’s a roadmap for prioritizing counselor time and attention. Why waste hours chasing disengaged students when technology can help you focus on those ready to commit?
Let’s stop pretending holistic admissions is enough if it ends at the decision letter. If we’re truly committed to seeing the whole student, we must respect the signals they send after being admitted. Anything less is just marketing dressed up as morality. Real holistic admissions doesn’t stop at “you're in”—it continues all the way to enrollment.
The Hypocrisy of Stopping Holistic Admissions with the Admit Letter
January 23, 2025

Holistic Admissions
Admissions Strategy
Applicant Behavior Patterns
Yield Management
Machine Learning
min read
Holistic admissions has been championed as the antidote to reductive, numbers-driven decision-making. By considering the full breadth of an applicant’s background, experiences, and potential, institutions proudly craft classes that reflect their values. But here’s the uncomfortable truth: most colleges abandon the principles of holistic admissions the moment the acceptance letter is sent.
Why do we stop listening?
Admissions teams pour resources into understanding who students are before they’re admitted, but once decisions are made, they often revert to outdated, scattershot approaches to yield management. Every admitted student is treated the same, despite the clear signals they send about their level of interest, intent, and engagement. This approach wastes time, alienates students, and undermines the entire purpose of holistic admissions.
It’s time to redefine holistic admissions—not as a process that ends with an offer, but as a commitment to respecting and responding to each student’s journey through their decision-making process. Machine learning makes this possible, revealing the hidden patterns in post-admission behaviors like event attendance, email replies, and portal activity. These signals hold the key to understanding where students stand and what they need to convert.
Instead of flooding students with generic outreach, machine learning enables admissions teams to prioritize their efforts where they matter most: with high-potential students who are actively deciding, or those who need encouragement to stay engaged. By ignoring these signals, institutions squander their counselors’ time and lose valuable opportunities to connect with students who might otherwise enroll.
Redefining holistic admissions demands that we extend its principles beyond the decision. The same care used to admit students should be applied to yield them. If institutions truly believe in treating students as more than data points, they must commit to engaging admitted students with the same intentionality—powered by machine learning and the respect for individual signals it enables. Anything less is a betrayal of the values holistic admissions claims to champion.
Applying Holistic Admissions To and Through Yield
January 16, 2025

Conversations
Admissions Strategy
Standardized Tests
Recruiting
Yield Management
min read
An evergreen topic - the fair and appropriate use of standardized tests in college admissions. As a trickle of colleges who went test optional during the pandemic reverted back, we hosted a great conversation with "Jenn The Tutor", Jennifer Jessie, about how the tests impact her students and how she guides them through the process.
The full conversation is available on demand: https://www.crowdcast.io/c/tests
About The Standardized Tests
December 26, 2024

Direct Admit
Admissions Directors
Yield Management
Data Science
Admissions Strategy
min read
As we wrap up the calendar year, many institutions are looking ahead to an influx of late admits, through Direct Admission programs, to help them achieve their enrollment goals.
Last winter, he held a conversation with Joel A. Johnson, Ed.D., about how he was utilizing Direct Admission for his institution.
The full conversation is available on demand: https://www.crowdcast.io/c/directadmit
Managing Direct Admissions For 2025
December 19, 2024

Enrollment Management
Admissions Strategy
Data Management
Conversations
Data Science
min read
Just over a year ago, our own Madison Snyder hosted a conversation with four cutting-edge leaders in enrollment management about how they leveraged data to achieve success in enrollment management.
The full conversation is available on demand here: https://www.crowdcast.io/c/womeninenrollment
Women in Enrollment Management
December 12, 2024

Staff Morale
Change Management
Staff Retention
Admissions Team
Burnout
min read
When we look back on the last couple years in college admissions, the issue of staff morale will be one of the hallmarks of the post-pandemic era. That's why I was excited to host this important conversation with Elizabeth Kirby about how - specifically - she was paying attention to this issue for her team.
The full conversation is available on demand: https://www.crowdcast.io/c/morale
Staff Morale
December 5, 2024
Case studies

Illinois College saved counselors 500 hours annually and achieved double-digit growth in enrollment over three years with enroll ml, which was instrumental in optimizing admissions processes, reducing biases, and driving more strategic student engagement.

Edgewood College achieved a 25% increase in enrollment and a 30% boost in counselor productivity over two years with enroll ml, which was instrumental in optimizing middle-of-the-funnel efforts and enabling more strategic, personalized student engagement.
Enroll ml saves me an immense amount of time - and directs the team’s focus with more precision than I ever could have with the contemporary tools and techniques.
Vice President of Admissions
Within 3 weeks of using enroll ml, the admissions team’s morale rose to the highest I’ve ever seen it.
Director of Recruiting
On day 3 of using enroll ml it identified 3 highly engaged students who were completely off of our radar - and we promptly reached out to them and enrolled all three.
Director of Recruiting
I kept my eye on enroll ml for over a year - and when I moved into my new position and began an enrollment team transformation, I brought enroll ml right in.
Vice President Admissions
I asked my Director if we really needed to renew enroll ml, and his response was “Are you kidding me?! We’re big fans.
Vice President of Marketing and Admissions
Enroll ml was so impactful so quickly for our adult / online population that we immediately deployed a 2nd engine for our traditional undergrad.
Vice President, Admissions
Enroll ml seemed too good to be true - but it was everything that they said, and more.
Vice President for Enrollment Management
We challenged enroll ml to help us reduce our melt rate - and it delivered.
Executive Director of Undergraduate Admissions
Enroll ml was the foundation that guided our team to beat our enrollment objectives for the first time in 3 years.
Director of Recruiting
Enroll ml saves me an immense amount of time - and directs the team’s focus with more precision than I ever could have with the contemporary tools and techniques.
Vice President of Admissions
Within 3 weeks of using enroll ml, the admissions team’s morale rose to the highest I’ve ever seen it.
Director of Recruiting
On day 3 of using enroll ml it identified 3 highly engaged students who were completely off of our radar - and we promptly reached out to them and enrolled all three.
Director of Recruiting
I kept my eye on enroll ml for over a year - and when I moved into my new position and began an enrollment team transformation, I brought enroll ml right in.
Vice President Admissions
I asked my Director if we really needed to renew enroll ml, and his response was “Are you kidding me?! We’re big fans.
Vice President of Marketing and Admissions
Enroll ml was so impactful so quickly for our adult / online population that we immediately deployed a 2nd engine for our traditional undergrad.
Vice President, Admissions
Enroll ml seemed too good to be true - but it was everything that they said, and more.
Vice President for Enrollment Management
We challenged enroll ml to help us reduce our melt rate - and it delivered.
Executive Director of Undergraduate Admissions
Enroll ml was the foundation that guided our team to beat our enrollment objectives for the first time in 3 years.
Director of Recruiting