18 Strategies to Combat Melt This Year
There was a time when May 1 meant the end of the enrollment cycle and the start of a well-earned break. As enrollment leaders know, those summers are gone.
Today, recruitment does not stop at deposit. Students are applying to more institutions, taking longer to finalize decisions, weighing affordability more carefully, and, in many cases, simply second-guessing themselves. Melt rarely happens all at once. More often, it happens in small moments, when confusion builds, anxiety rises, or doubt quietly wins.
That is why anti-melt strategy cannot just be a checklist of reminders. It has to reduce friction, reinforce value, build belonging, and keep students moving through the post-deposit phase with confidence. It also has to reflect a basic reality of this cycle: many students and families are making high-stakes decisions while feeling financially and emotionally stretched.
The good news is that institutions have more room to influence these moments than they sometimes think. Below are 18 practical strategies to strengthen your melt plan in 2026 and (hopefully) reclaim some of your hard-earned PTO!
Anti-melt strategies for your enrollment team
Financial aid
1. AI-audit your financial aid letter: Many students are already doing this themselves: taking financial aid offer letters from multiple institutions and running them through AI tools to ask, “What will my total cost of attendance be at each of these schools? What is the better value?” Some go deeper and ask, “also take into account the cost of living in each location?” Meet them there. Run your own award letters through the same exercise and identify where students may encounter confusion, weak value framing, or an apples-to-oranges comparison problem. If your aid letter is difficult to interpret, that is not just a communication issue. It is a melt risk.
2. Create an “understanding the first bill” video: One of the clearest moments of melt risk comes when the first bill arrives. That is often when college costs stop feeling theoretical and start feeling real. Create a short, clear video that walks students and families through each section of the bill, explains payment options, clarifies what is actually due now, and shows exactly where to go for help. Dropping the bill alongside clear, supportive guidance is a great way to soften the blow, and it can prevent a lot of panic about cost and value.
Looking for more resources to support FAFSA submission? Check out EAB’s FAFSA Toolkit.
Enhancing communication
3. Centralize ownership of post-deposit communications: In the eyes of students and families, your institution is one experience, not a collection of separate offices. I cannot stress this enough. When housing, billing, advising, health services, and orientation all send messages on different timelines and in different voices, confusion rises quickly. Centralize ownership of summer communications with a dedicated team member—a “melt mitigator”—so everything feels coordinated, sequenced, and easier to follow. Whether that takes the form of one lead staff member or a cross-campus working group, someone should be accountable for making sure students are not receiving duplicative, contradictory, or poorly timed outreach.
4. Build a countdown that balances logistics and emotion: Your summer communication plan should not cover only logistics. Build in some joy. A strong countdown campaign should mix practical reminders with messages that reduce uncertainty and build excitement. Use current students as the voice whenever possible. Let them talk about what helped them feel ready, what surprised them, and what they wish they had known. Students need information, but they also need signals that they can picture themselves here. Here’s a great example of a social post from Canisius University in Buffalo:
@canisius_university SO SOON!
♬ original sound – Charlotte Harrington
5. Send listicles and quick tips across channels: Regular emails with practical, easy-to-scan content can go a long way: packing guides, top study spots, move-in reminders, advice to freshmen, or the best local coffee shops. These ideas often translate well to TikTok and Instagram, where your students already are. Further, your admitted-student webpage, email flows, and orientation materials should reinforce the same guidance. The strongest post-deposit content strategy is not just helpful. It is easy to find, easy to scan, and consistent across channels. Here’s a popular example from University of Detroit’s College for Creative Studies:
@ccsdetroit #CCSxDET Ep. 21 | Thrifting Around #Detroit 🛍️✨ Fueled up with some coffee and hit the Detroit thrift scene HARD! We stopped by our fave Salvation Army spots in #DowntownDetroit and #Mexicantown, ♬ original sound – College for Creative Studies
6. Use “next step nudges” when students stall: If your instincts tell you a student is drifting, there is a good chance you are right. A missed form, a lack of email engagement, or silence after deposit often signals more than forgetfulness. This is a good moment to bring back the admission counselor or staff member the student already knows. The best nudges are short, specific, and easy to act on: “Just checking in. Have you picked your roommate yet?” or “You are almost done. Let me know if you want help with the housing form.” Consider adding peer pressure to your messages, for example, “you’re one of 312 students who haven’t picked a roommate yet,” or, “Most students in your major have already done XYZ.”
7. Think small with a micro-commitments strategy: Not every summer touchpoint needs to be a major milestone. Break engagement into smaller commitments that help students start acting like members of the incoming class. Ask them to vote on a class shirt, add their band’s music to the Class of 2030 playlist, answer a quick poll about move-in, or weigh in on a welcome-week tradition. These moments may seem minor, but they build momentum.
8. Win the final two weeks: Do not take the pedal off the “comms metal” in the final two weeks before move-in day. This is when anxiety peaks—did you know “move-in melt” is trending up? Consider sharing tips for leaving home, addressing homesickness, and making the most of the first few weeks of college straight from current students. Give parents language for tough conversations about “not wanting to go anymore.” Give students short, relatable content like “what you’re forgetting to pack” or “what I wish I knew before move-in.” Reducing uncertainty gives your “fun” communications greater impact, too.
Leveraging technology
9. Utilize a student lifecycle CRM: Implement platforms like Navigate360 that guide students from initial inquiry through enrollment and throughout their entire time on campus, connecting them with necessary support services and keeping them on track for timely graduation. These platforms are often more effective than traditional admissions point solutions when managing the transition from applicant to matriculant.
10. Identify students susceptible to melting: Use data to identify students with unmet financial need who have not set up payment plans, students who deposited immediately but have not opened an email in two months, or out-of-state students who have not submitted housing applications. No FAFSA filing and no campus visit? These students should be at the top of your “potential for melt” list.
Community building
11. Use local social content to help students picture life there: Institutions often rely heavily on campus-branded content, but incoming students also want to imagine what daily life around campus will feel like. Share content from local coffee shops, bookstores, parks, restaurants, or other spots students are likely to encounter. This helps students start building a mental picture of their new environment before they arrive. Sometimes, even a local meme account may have a role to play. Students enjoy feeling in on the joke. This kind of content works best when current students or orientation leaders help curate it.
12. Make peer connections more specific: Think about specific student populations that would benefit from targeted connections. When I served as Director of Admission at Tulane, we hosted a “welcome back from your gap year” dinner. These students benefited greatly from meeting others with similar experiences. An important group that benefits from peer connections are homeschooled students. Facilitate early connections between incoming and current students through social media, virtual events, and local meetups.
13. Create small-group chats with structure: Large admitted-student channels can be useful, but they are not always the easiest place for students to form real connections. Small-group text threads or GroupMe chats, ideally five to seven incoming students plus one trained current student leader, can offer a more manageable sense of community. Just do not leave those groups entirely unstructured. Give student leaders prompts, expectations, and escalation paths so they know how to keep conversation moving and when to raise a concern.
14. Virtual events: Not every virtual event has to be another information session. Think beyond the standard format. A campus rec instructor could host a short workout. Your esports community could organize a game night. A faculty member could lead a casual conversation about what to expect in the first semester. The goal is not simply to add more events. It is to create low-pressure ways for different kinds of students to find a point of connection before they arrive.
15. Open your campus facilities: For local students especially, early access to campus can build familiarity and comfort. If feasible, allow incoming students to use select campus spaces like the library, recreation center, or gym over the summer. These small interactions can make move-in feel less abrupt. Sometimes the most valuable feeling you can create is simple: “I already know this place a little.”
Parent and family communication strategies
16. Talk directly to parents: For many students, parents and families remain some of the most influential voices in the college decision and transition process. Offer live parent Q&As, virtual briefings, and family-focused resources on topics like homesickness, paying the bill, supporting independence, and navigating the first few weeks. Address the hard topics directly.
17. Parent-to-Parent Tips: Gather and share advice from current parents to incoming families to build a support network. At my previous institution, one parent suggested students wear their college shirt when flying in so they could easily find peers to share a ride from the airport. Simple and effective tips like these are so valuable coming from the parent of an enrolled student.
18. Highlight Cost Savings: If families are worried about cost, do not respond with cost alone. Help them see the full picture. Share opportunities to save money through AP or dual-enrollment credits, early graduation pathways, or other efficiencies. But also reinforce outcomes: career support, graduate success, debt context, and major-specific ROI where available.
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