The AI Workforce for Higher Ed is Here |

Talk to a Bolt Agent
EP
58
December 31, 2024
Episode 58: Cracking the Code: How Gen Z is Choosing Colleges in 2025

Cracking the Code: How Gen Z is Choosing Colleges in 2025

Or listen on:

About the Episode

Got a story to tell? An innovative idea to share? Fill out our guest nomination form and let's chat!

About the Episode:

In this episode, Allison sits down with Jason Keath, co-founder of SocialFresh and a strategist at Convince and Convert, to unpack how prospective students are researching colleges in 2024-2025. Drawing from recent research involving over 1,400 Gen Z students, Jason reveals what’s driving college decisions, where students are finding trusted information, and how enrollment marketers can adapt their strategies to meet students where they are. From website optimization to social media and email, this episode is packed with actionable insights to refine your enrollment marketing game.

Key "How-Tos" You'll Hear in This Episode:

  • Optimize Your Website for Prospective Students: Ensure your homepage prioritizes key college decision factors like majors, financial aid, and campus life.
  • Leverage UGC and Video Content Effectively: Develop student-generated content and organize it into search-friendly playlists on platforms like YouTube.
  • Encourage Authentic Peer Voices: Build student creator programs with clear incentives and amplify their content through both institutional and personal channels.
  • Refine Your Email Marketing Strategy: Use email to share authentic student stories and incorporate engaging visuals like GIFs to boost video engagement.
  • Invest in YouTube as a Strategic Priority: Use short-form and playlist content to provide trusted insights and answers to student questions.

Connect With Our Host:

Allison Turcio

https://www.linkedin.com/in/allisonturcio/

https://twitter.com/allisonturcio

About The Enrollify Podcast Network: The Application with Allison Turcio is a part of the Enrollify Podcast Network. If you like this podcast, chances are you’ll like other Enrollify shows, too!  

Some of our favorites include Mission Admissions and Visionary Voices: The College President’s Playbook.

Enrollify is made possible by Element451 —  the next-generation AI student engagement platform helping institutions create meaningful and personalized interactions with students. Learn more at element451.com.

Attend the 2025 Engage Summit!

The Engage Summit is the premier conference for forward-thinking leaders and practitioners dedicated to exploring the transformative power of AI in education.

Explore the strategies and tools to step into the next generation of student engagement, supercharged by AI. You'll leave ready to deliver the most personalized digital engagement experience every step of the way.

👉🏻 Register now to secure your spot in Charlotte, NC, on June 24-25, 2025! Early bird registration ends February 1st.

People in this episode

Host

Allison Turcio, Ed.D., is Assistant Vice President for Enrollment and Marketing at Siena College and host of The Application.

Interviewee

Jason Keath

Jason Keath was one of the first people in the world to run ads on Facebook in 2004.

Other episodes

Episode #340: Creating Transparent Learning Experiences with AIPlay Button
Episode #340: Creating Transparent Learning Experiences with AI

For this week's episode, Dustin speaks with Jenny Maxwell of Superhuman about the evolving relationship between AI and academic integrity in higher education. They explore how institutions can move beyond viewing AI as a threat and instead embrace more transparent, collaborative approaches that help students learn with AI while maintaining trust, accountability, and meaningful assessment practices.

Episode 23: OpenAI’s Cyber Incident and the Rise of Open Weight ModelsPlay Button
Episode 23: OpenAI’s Cyber Incident and the Rise of Open Weight Models

JC unpacks two headline-making AI stories every campus and institution needs to understand right now.

Episode 101: Why Strategy Should Come Before ToolsPlay Button
Episode 101: Why Strategy Should Come Before Tools

Artificial intelligence is changing how higher education teams work, but successful AI adoption is about much more than choosing the right tools.

Episode 127: Higher Ed's Hero CyclePlay Button
Episode 127: Higher Ed's Hero Cycle

Mallory hosts Higher Ed Pulse with guest Jenn Hayes, Associate Dean for Marketing & Communications at Cardozo School of Law in New York, to discuss higher ed’s recurring “hero” cycle: hiring passionate leaders to rebuild broken systems, celebrating visible wins, and then losing them to burnout.

Ep. 71: How ECU Built a Collaborative Communications Team Across CampusPlay Button
Ep. 71: How ECU Built a Collaborative Communications Team Across Campus

Jenny Li Fowler welcomes Jessica VanderKolk, a Public Communications Specialist at East Carolina University. The conversation centers on ECU’s innovative communications department structure, which utilizes a liaison model. Rather than being siloed in a central office, communicators are embedded directly within the colleges they cover.

Weekly ideas that make you smarter

Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Subscribe
cancel

Search podcasts, blog posts, people