Solving the Admissions ‘Messy Middle’ : Keeping Students Engaged from Inquiry to Enrollment

Discover how to fix the biggest enrollment drop-off zone: the 'messy middle.' Proven strategies to engage, nurture, and convert students from first click to final commitment.

Richik Ghosh

4 min read

EDUCATION

Solving the Admissions ‘Messy Middle’ : Keeping Students Engaged from Inquiry to Enrollment

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Let’s face it, getting students interested in your college is the easy part. Keeping them interested? Now that’s the tricky bit. Welcome to the “messy middle” of the admissions process, the black hole where great leads vanish and hopeful counsellors grow increasingly frustrated. Why is it so messy, and how do you keep students from ghosting you between the initial handshake and signing on the dotted line?

The Engagement Gap: Where Are You Losing Them?

These days, students have endless options and very short attention spans. Mickie Baines, President of Kennedy and Company, jokingly refers to this stage as the “messy middle,” where many colleges fumble the ball, losing great candidates due to slow, boring, or confusing communication strategies.

Meanwhile, Sasha Peterson, CEO at Science Interactive, calls out traditional enrollment technology for not evolving fast enough. Students barely glance at generic emails and outdated, disconnected communication channels. If your messaging isn’t personal, quick, and relevant, it might as well be spam.

Why Generic Emails Just Don’t Cut It

Students want to feel seen. Generic messages sent to hundreds of others fall flat. As Mickie Baines said, what they care about is relevance. They expect schools to understand their goals and speak to their situation. Every email, every text, every conversation should build on the one before it.

Peterson highlighted another common pitfall: admissions counsellors often handle interactions as isolated tasks rather than part of an ongoing conversation. This fragmented approach leaves students feeling disconnected.

The Campus Tour Dilemma: Where Dreams Meet Reality

Campus tours are like first dates, they set the tone for the entire relationship. Yet, many colleges still struggle with tour bookings and no-shows. Baines humorously recalled his own family’s marathon of campus visits, pointing out how frustratingly complex some colleges made the booking process. Institutions that fail to simplify tour scheduling risk losing students at a crucial stage.

Students shouldn’t feel like they’re solving a maze just to visit your campus. Unfortunately, cumbersome processes mean many students either procrastinate booking or skip the tour altogether. A seamless, simple booking process is no longer optional. It’s mandatory.

It’s All About Data (And Using It Right)

Getting student data is easy; using it correctly is the challenge. Both Baines and Peterson stressed that admissions teams often collect data but fail to turn it into meaningful interactions. Knowing that a student likes biology isn’t enough—what do they want to know next? What keeps them awake at night? Answering these questions before students even ask them creates engagement that feels almost magical.

The Tech-Savvy Roadblock

Adopting new tech sounds great until someone mentions “integration.” Cue the groans. Admissions teams dread the thought of tearing down existing systems just to add new bells and whistles. So they stick with outdated processes and hope for the best which rarely a winning strategy.

AI: The Future (Whether You Like It Or Not)

AI plays a growing role in admissions. It can help teams respond more quickly and tailor communication with more precision. But its value depends entirely on the data behind it. If student interactions aren’t tracked clearly and accurately, the results won’t live up to the promise.

Solving the Messy Middle with FloStack

All these engagement issues point to a need for a smarter solution, one that bridges gaps, personalizes communication, and simplifies campus interactions. Enter FloStack by LeadSquared.

FloStack tackles the “messy middle” head-on by instantly creating personalized microsites after students make their initial inquiry. From customized scholarship info to tailored academic recommendations, students immediately see content relevant specifically to them. FloStack transforms your bland “thank you” pages into engaging portals that students want to explore.

With FloStack, booking campus tours becomes effortless, personalized follow-ups are standard, and every student interaction builds on the last. You get richer, actionable data that your counsellors can leverage to proactively address student needs. FloStack doesn’t just simplify the admissions process, it makes it engaging, seamless, and genuinely personal.

Ready to clean up the “messy middle” and keep your students engaged all the way to enrollment? Check out FloStack today—your counsellors and your students will thank you.

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Richik Ghosh

Senior Marketing Lead at LeadSquared by vocation and Higher Education sleuth by passion. When he’s not cracking the code on student enrollment, you’ll find him nose-deep in books, sneaking political hot takes into cocktail chatter, or critiquing movies like a self-appointed connoisseur.