One of the biggest decisions a family will face is where their child should go to college. For many parents, this is the first time their child will be away from home for an extended period of time. Parents want to feel comfortable and secure in which college they ultimately choose. For many students, this is the jumping off point into independence and adulthood, and they should feel excited about fully immersing themselves into campus life. A great way to engage parents and prospective students is by offering virtual campus tours. Recruiting with 3D virtual tour software is a fairly new concept, but it’s taking the college recruiting world by storm.
Methods for attracting potential students and converting them into enrolled students have to modernize to keep up with today’s high tech, fast paced world. Studies show that when a prospective student first visits your website, you’ve got just 6 seconds to capture their attention. These same studies show that prospective students report spending an average of 10 minutes on virtual campus experiences. Compared to 6 seconds, this is practically an eternity! If you’re not using virtual campus tour software to showcase your university, you should be and here’s why:
First Impressions. We’ve just learned that you’ve only got 6 seconds to make a great first impression and that students report wanting to spend time on virtual campus experiences. By using virtual campus touring software, you can showcase your university at its best and in its most attractive light. Your first impression should be engaging and attractive and should entice students to ask more questions and learn more about your university. 3D virtual tour software can guide students through specific information about academics, athletics, campus life, and areas surrounding the campus in an engaging way that’s modern and relevant. Making the best first impression possible is crucial to getting prospective students further interested in attending your university.
Familiarization. 3D virtual tour technology is often used by medical centers and hospitals as a way to make patients feel comfortable when coming in for surgery or an extended stay. Universities should be implementing this technology for the same reason. For many prospective students, college will be their first time away from home for an extended period of time. Chances are they’ll have some nerves and anxiety. Offering them a way to become more familiar and comfortable with your university is a great way to promote trust and confidence in your university. The anxiety accompanying homesickness affects up to 66% of new college students. 3D virtual tour technology is crucial in lowering this statistic and giving new students more confidence heading into a new life experience.
Family support. For most students, choosing which college they will attend is a family affair. Many prospective students highly value the input and opinions of their family and will lean on them heavily when choosing which college to attend. By offering 3D virtual campus tours of your university, prospective students can tour your university from the comfort of their own home alongside their family. Parents will also be able to learn their way around campus and discover points of interest. They may also be able to help guide their children to learn more about things that may be particularly helpful. 3D virtual campus tours can help parents be more supportive of their children choosing to attend your university.
Modern technology can be your most effective tool in meeting enrollment goals. By implementing 3D virtual tours, colleges and universities can now reach students on the other side of the country and can make the campus accessible to more students than ever before. 3D virtual tours make it possible to engage with students who ordinarily wouldn’t be reached. For some students, attending an on campus tour just isn’t possible, but thanks to new technology, you can engage with and capture the interest of these students, too. With 65% of colleges and universities falling short of their enrollment goals and deadlines, virtual campus tours can be immensely valuable.
Did you know? Prospective students who used the StudentBridge virtual tour were 10 times more likely to apply for enrollment. For more information on our solutions, you can book a free consultation with our StudentBridge team today. At StudentBridge we offer multiple personalized rich media solutions to help you reach your enrollment goals today.