by George Conway, president, IES Consulting + The U.S. birthrate (fertility) is at its lowest point in history1 + Nearly half of National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) schools are...

Keeping students: it is the underlying goal at all educational institutions. At independent schools, replacing an exiting student with a brand new one means more time, resources, and attention...

by Sam Washington For more than a quarter of a century, I have interviewed students as a part of the admission process to independent schools. While my estimated 5,000 or so interview hours...

by Chris Dietrich Anyone who works closely with my chief financial officer, Chuck McCullagh, knows that he loves spreadsheets. In the summer of 2011, during my first week as the new director of...

More than 100 people of color working in admission gathered for a special reception at EMA’s 2017 Annual Conference in New Orleans. The event marked the first—though not the last—reception of its...

by Robert Andreas In spring 2016, my alma mater, King's Academy (Jordan), was in search of a yield video. It would be the first of its kind and its purpose would be to bolster yield numbers....

The Yield checked in with Sheila Miklos, vice president of market growth for The Association of Boarding Schools (TABS) and deputy managing director for the North American Boarding Schools...

School Overview Ontario, Canada Enrollment: 675 Type of school: Coeducational Day School Praveen, what are the most notable differences between independent school and graduate school admission?...

The Yield sat down with member Jennifer Rosen, director of admission at Isidore Newman School (LA), for a brief interview. Why do you belong to The Enrollment Management Association? EMA has...

by Margaret Hardy and Tearon Joseph In 2013, as part of Lakeside School’s Diversity and Inclusion Initiative, we led a project on the true cost of attendance in order to gain an understanding of...

“The Only Thing That Is Constant Is Change” ― Heraclitus Change is inevitable. It can create growth and inspire innovation. Much like colleges and universities over the past few decades,...

Courtesy of The Association of Boarding Schools'(TABS) North American Boarding Initiative (NABI) is this sneak peek at the comprehensive marketing support NABI is providing to members. This...

with Mark Mitchell, Vice President, National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS)  According to a 2016 study by Pew Research Center, millennials now outnumber baby boomers and are becoming...

It’s been three years since EMA conducted our first prospective parent research study, and it is hard to believe how much has changed since then, as we’ve received the findings of our second...

with Chad Tew, founding principal, Tew & Associates The skill set for admission success is rapidly evolving. To maximize impact, enrollment managers need to learn the language of CFOs, heads, and...

Join Hilary Lamonte, Senior Vice President of Data and Analysis for School Leadership, National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), as she shows you the many ways you can take advantage of...

by Chad Tew, Founder and Principal, Tew & Associates Phillip Kotler, who wrote the seminal book Principles of Marketing, coined “the 4 ‘P’s’ of Marketing” to describe the four key elements of...

As issues of enrollment management, affordability, financial planning, and financial aid dominate discussions at the governance level, two key stakeholders—the admission leader and business...

As the independent school landscape becomes more complex, the need for enrollment managers to produce (and provide meaning for) a variety of institutional data increases. In addition to the more...

In 2014, D. Scott Looney, head of Hawken School in Ohio, published in his school’s magazine an essay titled “The Future for Education: Why Hawken Has to Lead.” The paper was a rallying cry to the...

The nature and culture of independent school admission has changed over the last 40 years. Four decades ago, heads handled recruitment and interviews. Standardized testing was still just taking...

Camille Bertram Receives the Gourley Award Camille (Cammie) Bertram, founder and president of The Bertram Group, LLC, in Westport, Connecticut, was named the 2017 recipient of the Everett E....

by Cindy Veitch, communications officer at St. Andrew’s College (ON) While boarding enrollment continues to wane across North American independent boarding schools, St. Andrew’s College (SAC) is...

School Overview Coconut Creek, Florida Enrollment: 1,584 Type of school:Coeducational Day/BoardingGrades: PreK - 12 What distinctive attributes characterize North Broward Preparatory School...

Why do you belong to The Enrollment Management Association? The professional development resources and opportunities to connect with others in independent school admission are invaluable. I...

While character education is a hallmark of an independent school education and is a salient piece of most schools’ missions, gaining insight into an applying student’s current level of character...

When asked to reflect on the 2016-2017 school year and favorite trends, EMA Director of Outreach Dave Taibl said, “Collaboration!” In the world of independent school admission, collaboration...

Mike Kinnealey, Director of Admission, The Governor’s Academy, MA While the title is baseball-centered, the purpose of this presentation is to show how one school used Daniel’s Pink’s argument...

Ins and Outs of International Student Recruitment by Joshua D. Clark, Director of Admissions, Hawaii Preparatory Academy Hawaii Preparatory Academy (HPA) is a K-PG school on Hawaii’s Big Island....

My life seems to be dusted with irony and here’s a fun personal story to that end. Many years ago, when I applied to Westtown School in Pennsylvania, there was significant concern during the...

“If we have data, let’s look at data. If all we have are opinions, let’s go with mine.”  - Jim Barksdale, former CEO of Netscape Since joining the profession of enrolment management, the...

As the only participant in the program from Asia, I had a tremendous learning experience and professional growth with USC’s Leadership in Enrollment Management Certificate Program. As I reflect...

The Supreme Court’s recent lifting of the legal blocks on the Trump Administration’s travel ban—although temporary and partial—has kept the issue of international student enrollments on the...

Over the years, my work experiences have afforded me opportunities to work in large and small teams in subordinate and leadership positions. These varied positions have given me perspective and a...

The Leadership in Enrollment Management certificate program from USC: Rossier School of Education was one of the most powerful programs that someone working at a school could participate in....

Summer is the perfect time to relax with a good book.  While beach reads and escape novels are great ways to unwind, the Admission Leadership Council (ALC) also has some suggestions to enhance...

I suspect that most of us are guilty of this scenario: Add another initiative or event to attract and convert families. New events will create interest, drive applications, improve...

by Kat Sullivan, Director of Admission, The Bay School of San Francisco (CA) and Ed Thompson, Director of Secondary School Counseling, Far Hills Country Day School (NJ) Admission offices across...

When I began my work in admission three years ago, I was a complete novice with no experience or network on which to rely. Through the Enrollment Management Association's Annual Conference, the...

In a changing independent school enrollment landscape, there is one constant—to stay viable, schools must continue to recruit and retain mission-appropriate students. Typically, this has meant an...

by Debra P. Wilson International visa issues are complex on a good day. Recently, visas, international students, international employees, undocumented students and families, and the Trump...

By Dr. Greg Martin As the independent school market tightens due to increasing costs and decreasing applicant pools in some regions, both day and boarding schools must approach admission...

Lydia Hawkins, Director of Enrollment, Strathcona-Tweedsmuir School, Alberta, Canada  Why do you belong to The Enrollment Management Association? I belong, because I couldn’t imagine not...

The Enrollment Management Association’s testing and research team is pleased to announce the initial release this fall of the Character Skills Snapshot (formerly the...

According to the Institute of International Education (IIE), in 2001, 2.1 million students studied outside of their home countries. At that time, the U.S. commanded an impressive 28% of market...

By Jason Giffen Institutional research or “big data” at the school and collegiate levels has seen tremendous growth over the past decade, with larger organizations even opting to devote...

School Overview:  Location: Chatham, VirginiaEnrollment: 225Type of school: Single Sex; Male Boarding/DayGrades 7-PG Hargrave hired you this past year as the director of enrollment. Can you...

Rachel Skiffer is the dean of policy and strategic planning at Phillips Academy Andover (MA) Strategic planning in independent schools hinges on multiple facets of enrollment management, ranging...

As enrollment management becomes a more prevalent strategy on independent school campuses, it also raises staffing and logistical questions. Tom Sheppard recently transitioned from a role based...

By David Holmes American education is on the cusp of a revolution. Recent years have brought serious concern about the pathologies of American education: resentment of “high-stakes” testing;...

with Karin Elliott and Zeva Levine, National Partnership for Educational Access The National Partnership for Educational Access (NPEA) supports schools and programs in the college access and...

A few weeks ago I had an interesting conversation with a colleague who had just returned from chaperoning a tour of east coast colleges with twenty-some high school students. The group visited...

As a newbie to the independent school sector and to the United States, during my first weeks in the job I scoured numerous websites and quizzed multiple colleagues about how best to establish a...

by Dr. Susan Emery I took a leadership assessment years ago that suggested politics is my area of weakness, so I steered clear of governmental careers. Instead, I harnessed my areas of strength –...

International visa issues are complex on a good day. Recently, visas, international students, international employees, undocumented students and families, and the Trump administration have...

Even as you're finishing phase 1 of your admission decision-making process, phases 2 and 3 are underway...and this time of year often involves a good deal of data gathering and analysis. While...

by Beth-Sarah Wright, PhD, Director of Enrollment Management, Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School (GA) One of the first things I said to my school community in my annual report as the interim...

by Carson Roy, Director of Admission and Financial Aid, The Potomac School (VA) While we all know what most admission offices look like in January and February, the scene is far less predictable...

by Aimee Gruber, Senior Director of Outreach, The Enrollment Management AssociationEducational innovation is exploding across the continent and around the globe. Academically rigorous schools...

by Doug Lyons, Executive Director, CAIS In the past two decades, dramatic advancements in neuroscience have given researchers a better understanding of how children, adolescents, and adults...

by Dr. Philip Ballinger, Associate Vice Provost for Enrollment and Undergraduate Admissions, University of WashingtonMany people know "loco moco" as a "local grind" at diners and lunch trucks in...

by Bruce Mutch The expression “we are all admission officers” is often heard in school meetings and presentations, but is it truly understood by the faculty and staff at your school? Research...

Darlene Fountaine, Director of Admission, Westside Neighborhood School (CA) Why do you belong to The Enrollment Management Association? I learned of the association after attending a regional...

When I think about managing enrollment, key indicators like inquiries, visits, and applications naturally come to mind. However, much more is required in order to achieve...

More than 12,000 SSAT registrants are getting much-needed help practicing for the test with our new SSAT Practice Online program. Early feedback indicates this new study resource is helping...

by Lauren Zeimer Gold Until a few years ago, if you told me that I would be considered a “data expert,” I would have chuckled and quickly changed the subject. Math is not easy for me, but despite...

by Nathan R. Kuncel, Ph.D. Making admission decisions at any level, from preschool to the Ph.D., is frightfully complex. We are faced with numerous sources of information including prior grades,...

School Overview Portland, Oregon Day and boarding 865 students in grades PK-12 In each issue, The Yield profiles a member school, asking how its admission office tackles process and procedures...

Ever considered what a tragic wildfire in the Montana desert has to do with admission work? I certainly hadn’t before walking into the inaugural Admission Directors Institute (ADI) in September....

Access. For children and their parents who are dually confronted by little familiarity with the independent school world and the challenges of a disadvantaged background, the word "access" can...

When a new head is announced, it can bring on feelings of excitement, anticipation, and worry. How can enrollment and admission leaders approach a new head transition in a manner that will...

Simultaneously embraced as a useful enrollment management tool and questioned as a misuse of aid funds—even dubbed “vanity” or “cocktail party” scholarships—merit aid is in wide use in higher...

by Mark J. Mitchell What’s the story with merit aid these days? It’s a hot topic among more and more schools as they debate the value of investing in building application demand and quality...

As the world becomes ever more interconnected and as economic dynamics shift, the demand for English-language education is exploding. This demand is resulting in significant changes in existing...

National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) Interim President Donna Orem was named president of the association in late November 2016. With a wealth of experience in the independent school...

  Several years ago, a friend asked me,”What’s the difference between management and leadership?” She felt that I would have a ready answer, having just stepped over the proverbial line to...

with Lisa Leidy and Hans Mundahl Are you using terms like “small class sizes” and “caring faculty” in your admission materials? Unfortunately, so is everyone else. Communicating your unique story...

with Todd Ormiston and John Visgilio A strategic admission marketing plan is your essential roadmap for enrolling and retaining your school’s best-fit students. You may know what you need to do,...

with Elise Morgan, Ann Halupka, and Reto Camenzind Converting the engagement your school has with prospective students into enrollment is vital. This presentation describes approaches for making...

with David Darby This presentation examines one school’s efforts to improve the customer experience through improved communication, trust, culture, and accountability, and explore the rationale...

with Kate Saunders and Lisa Leidy Case studies honoring a variety of types of schools –from the small school with a limited budget to those with the most luxurious of endowments. We need to shift...

wiht Lesley Nesbitt and John Kerney The Winchendon School, a grade 9-12 boarding school in Winchendon, MA, has undergone a significant institutional change in recent years and called for...

with Scott Allenby and Lesley Fisher By now, every independent school should understand the relationship between effective marketing and enrollment. Yes, word of mouth marketing remains critical...

wiht Angie Jackson and Pam Mason-Norsworthy Of course you want every prospective family to fall in love with your school—and quickly. So it’s tempting to shower prospects with exhaustive lists of...

with Leslie Marchesseault Learn how a suburban school provides a program that strongly links to the greater community, provides a five-week enrichment camp to under-served academically able...

with Jesse Roberts Predictability of your admission results is vital in an increasingly competitive market. This presentation examines a new approach for making your funnel predictable, yielding...

wiht Whitney Soule and Matt McGann In January, the Harvard Graduate School of Education published the much talked about Turning the Tide report, signed by admission deans and leaders at top...

with Stephen Milich, Kirk Brennan, E. Whitney Soule, and Laurel Baker Tew With a declining student population, rising tuitions, and a proliferation of educational disrupters, many independent...

with Jennie Winton If you know what makes your school special, but struggle to describe it in a succinct way, this presentation is for you. Learn how to use the Minute Message Model to powerfully...

By Allison Ewing, Senior Content Strategist and Sean Williams, Managing Consultant, True Digital Communications It’s no secret that Generation Z (ages 13-19) use social media constantly. But...

In this blog, Mike Connor discusses why it's important for trustees to take a proactive ambassadorial role for their school, armed with objective data about their school's value proposition, as...

The results of our  2016 State of the Independent School Admission Industry report – much to our frustration -- revealed little change from our 2013 study in the level of influence that...

By Jeffrey Shields, FASAE, CAE, president and CEO of the National Business Officers Association (NBOA) I’ve worked with business officers for many years in both higher education and independent...

By Nicole Suozzi, Chief Member Relations Officer, The Enrollment Management Association (NJ) Given the high-stakes nature of the independent school admission process, regular audits of the tools...

Photo, above, l-r: Louise Thompson, John Thompson, Sarah Markhovsky, Amy deBorst, Wendy Kyle.  Not pictured: Valerie Stelzer. Describe the attributes that characterize Greenhill School and make...

with Admission Leadership Council members Heather Eckert, Director of Admissions, Indian Mountain School (CT) and Anne Behnke, Director of Admission, St. Mark's School (MA) Are you looking for...

By Jane Maxwell Hulbert, founder, and Maureen Irwin Maguire, senior consultant, The Jane Group (IL) A crisis impacts a school like nothing else does. Some of that impact is obvious: Parents,...

In conjunction with member schools, The Enrollment Management Association offers nearly $1 million in fee waivers for the SSAT and the SAO each year for students in need who are seeking...

 (in photo above, l-r: Executive Director Heather Hoerle, Kathy Mitchell O'Neal, Eric Barber, Peter Gilbert, Chris Bartlett, Board Chair Kevin Plummer) Two distinguished members of the...

Brian Beale, Director of Enrollment, Brimmer and May School (MA) Though Brian hails from the Philadephia suburbs, he considers himself a New Englander at heart. After attending Bates College in...