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With thousands of colleges and universities in the U.S., students have plenty of options – so how can you get them to consider your institution? By identifying and marketing your school’s distinctive success story.

​I’ve been interviewing college students for more that 20 years and one question I always ask is, “What made you choose this particular institution?” The most consistent response (by far) goes something like this: “Once I visited campus I just knew. It felt right.”

I love the way the Swarthmore College admissions team speaks to potential recruits. Too often, colleges fail to consider who they are talking to and how best to ignite their interest. Swarthmore appears to have taken this into account, writing to the undergraduate demographic with refreshing honesty and humor, while also lending a helping hand.

There’s a lot of buzz in higher education marketing on the topic of storytelling — and for good reason. Stories offer a memorable way of dispensing information, connecting to others, and influencing purchase decisions. Major brands (like Starbucks and Warby Parker) are adept at using the internet’s visual and verbal capacities to share their stories and drive sales. Higher education marketing and recruitment offices needs to do the same — but what exactly does that mean?

Higher education always seems to be “making a case” for the liberal arts and humanities. We continue to fight a cultural misconception, one that diminishes the value of analytical thinking, effective communications, and ethical decision making in exchange for earnings.

I’ll admit it: I’ve had a difficult time getting “back to normal” since the presidential election. The business of higher education recruitment feels secondary to issues of safety and security on college campuses. My news feed has been dominated by reports of hate crimes, pending deportations, fake news sites, sanctuary cities, the federal overtime rule, etc.

Inside Higher Ed’s recent report on the decline of community college enrollment hit home — especially because I was deep into writing an enrollment campaign for Three Rivers Community College at the time. Having spent several weeks interviewing students and alumni, I heard story after story showcasing the college’s strengths: quality academic and workforce programs, career success, student-faculty mentorship, affordability, support for work/life balance, etc.

Over the past month, I’ve interviewed 20 or so students for different projects on different campuses. The goal of each interview was the same — to get them talking so I can hear their story: where they came from, why they came to this particular college, and how they’ve changed since. What I’ve heard recently reminded me (once again) of the innate power of the human story — in life and in marketing.

It wasn’t that long ago when community college enrollment was flourishing — or so we thought. Yet, a recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education reveals an underlying long-term decline. In spite of the admissions increase brought on by the recession, community colleges have been steadily losing their piece of the higher ed market: From 40-44% in the period from 1980-2002) to the current 37.9%, an “all-time low.”

The value of a humanities degree is a topic that hits close to home. I’ve lived it (BFA in Dramatic Arts, MA in English) and preached it — especially to my own four children when I see the public school system nudging them towards more “lucrative” fields.