How to effectively reach Gen Z in 2022

We know that the methods digital native high school students use to search for colleges-and what they find most helpful-are constantly evolving. So, as we have done since 2015, our Enrollment research team, led by Pam Royall, surveyed more than 15,000 high school students on their communications preferences. Survey questions ranged from how students search for information and which information sources are most helpful, to their expectations of college websites and how they use social media.

Read on to learn more about our key findings and what they mean for your college or university.

Colleges need to bring their digital A-game

Gen Z expects well-designed, user-friendly, and polished websites with easily accessible information. And a school’s website has the potential to make or break a student’s interest in that institution. 62% of students indicated that they would abandon a college website that is not user-friendly, while 87% of students said a well-designed website improves their opinion of a college.

Don’t let your website hurt your student recruitment efforts

Having an online presence is important, but what are students really searching for? Our survey found that 82% of students search for colleges by academic programs, so it’s important that your college or university appears in search results when students browse by major. And if you offer programs with names students are unlikely to search for, consider meta-tagging those homepages with program titles that will be more familiar to students.

It’s also worth optimizing your website for voice search, as two-thirds of students responded that they use voice search most often from mobile devices.

When using a search engine to look for information about colleges or universities, what type of searches are you most likely to perform? (Select all that apply)

Unsurprisingly, our survey also found that social media usage is ubiquitous among Gen Z. What’s interesting is understanding which digital platforms students frequent in their personal lives versus where they interact with colleges. Surveyed students report using YouTube and Instagram most frequently in their personal lives, and they also use those channels most frequently when connecting with colleges. However, consider the disparity between students’ personal use of Snapchat versus their use of Snapchat in college search.

So, not all social media platforms are created equal when it comes to college search. But the fact that 37% of students discovered a college or university on social media-and 91% of students think every college should have a social media presence-means that social media offers real opportunity.

Select all of the social media platforms you currently use

Have you interacted with a college or university on any of the following social media platforms?

While our survey findings showed that strong websites and social media presence are top priorities for engaging students, email remains a strong contender. Email was shown to be the most important source for female, first-generation, lower-income, Black, and Latinx students who are gathering information about colleges.

Parents matter during the college search process

While we’ve long known the important role that parents play during the college search process, their role has become even more significant in the last few years. In 2019, parents were ranked as the third most important source of information for students. In just two years, parents moved up the rankings, with 55% of students selecting parents/guardians as their top source when searching for information about colleges. This may reflect the additional family time some students experienced during COVID-19. Regardless, enrollment leaders need to create and deliver messages directly to parents that address their interests and concerns. To achieve success, make parents your allies and honor their influence in the college search process.

Consider the sources of information you have used and indicate which sources are most helpful

Personalized content matters

If there’s one thing we know about Gen Z, it’s that they crave personalized and relevant communications, and they are willing to share information in order to receive messages that directly address their interests. When a college website asks a student to complete an inquiry form, 91% of students indicated they provided all or some of the information requested.

Students who are willing to provide their personal information expect that they will get a customized experience in return: the majority of sophomores and juniors expressed interest in content that identifies them by name or area of interest. Sophomores offer a rich recruiting opportunity because enrollment leaders have a longer runway to build interest and affinity. Providing them with personalized content is a great way to jump-start your recruitment process.

For underserved students, financial aid remains a mystery to be unlocked

In addition to looking at communication preferences, our survey asked students about the challenges they’ve faced with filing their FAFSA. As we know, many first-generation and low-income students don’t file the FAFSA because they don’t understand how financial aid could work for them or don’t think they will qualify-more than 30% of first-generation and students from low-income households said completing the FASFA was difficult. The gaps in FAFSA filings have only been exacerbated by the pandemic. Many students-especially female, first-generation, lower-income, Black, and LatinX students-don’t have the same access to their support networks of college counselors, coaches, teachers, and employers.

To learn more about our survey findings, you can watch the webinar that I hosted alongside my colleague Pam Royall. We dig deeper into the seemingly endless digital channels of the world and how to best engage Gen Z on their terms.