The Application is your playbook for the ever-evolving world of higher education enrollment marketing. This podcast zeroes in on the niche, often-unexplored areas of the field, delivering a potent mix of actionable insights, practical strategies, and cutting-edge perspectives. Host Allison Turcio, Assistant Vice President for Enrollment and Marketing at Siena College, tackles the topics others aren't – from empowering student influencers to harnessing AI. The Application is where uncharted territories in marketing get mapped out, designed to arm higher education enrollment marketers with tools to stay ahead of the curve.
This podcast isn’t just about keeping pace with the market – it's about leading the charge. We're here to provoke thought, encourage innovation, and foster a community of forward-thinkers. Whether you're crafting your next campaign or redefining your institution’s marketing strategy, The Application is your essential resource for fresh, innovative approaches in higher education marketing. Get ready to be inspired, educated, and transformed with each episode.
The Application is hosted by Allison Turcio and is a proud member of the Enrollify Podcast Network.
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The Application is your playbook for the ever-evolving world of higher education enrollment marketing. This podcast zeroes in on the niche, often-unexplored areas of the field, delivering a potent mix of actionable insights, practical strategies, and cutting-edge perspectives. Host Allison Turcio, Assistant Vice President for Enrollment and Marketing at Siena College, tackles the topics others aren't – from empowering student influencers to harnessing AI. The Application is where uncharted territories in marketing get mapped out, designed to arm higher education enrollment marketers with tools to stay ahead of the curve.
This podcast isn’t just about keeping pace with the market – it's about leading the charge. We're here to provoke thought, encourage innovation, and foster a community of forward-thinkers. Whether you're crafting your next campaign or redefining your institution’s marketing strategy, The Application is your essential resource for fresh, innovative approaches in higher education marketing. Get ready to be inspired, educated, and transformed with each episode.
The Application is hosted by Allison Turcio and is a proud member of the Enrollify Podcast Network.
Every email, text, and touchpoint with a prospective student matters. Get it right, and you move them closer to enrollment. Get it wrong, and you may lose them to another institution. In this episode, we sit down with Lisa Starkey-Wood, Sr. Director of Digital Strategy at Stamats. She breaks down the must-dos of prospect nurturing: from mapping communication by stage and student type, to delivering quick wins that keep your funnel strong. You’ll hear why “day zero” response is critical, how to avoid overwhelming prospective students, and why student workers may lead you to your most valuable insights.
When a prospective student lands on your website, what do they really want to find? It might not be what you think. In this episode, Grant De Roo, Founder and Principal at ADV Market Research & Consulting and Jarrett Smith, Senior VP of Strategy at Echo Delta share results from surveying over 1,000 prospective students about the top tasks students want to accomplish online. From cost clarity to course descriptions, modality, and career outcomes, the data challenges some common higher ed marketing assumptions and reveals a handful of universal priorities you can focus on to improve the student experience.
Campus social media is at its best when it feels alive. It should feel like walking the quad, chatting with students, and catching those unexpected moments that make a place unforgettable. In this episode, we talk with Eve Gaciarz, Associate Director of Social Media at Yale School of Management, and Kayla Ooms, Digital and Social Media Specialist at Purdue University Northwest, about keeping feeds fresh, authentic, and impossible to scroll past. From pumpkin toss competitions to students in ghost costumes roaming the quad, Kayla and Eve share stories that prove authenticity draws people in.
In the final installment of The Admissions Travel Season Playbook, Allison Turcio addresses a critical question: what do you do with everything you’ve learned on the road? Too often, valuable insights from conversations with students and counselors stay locked in notebooks, heads, or voice memos. This episode shows you how to use AI to capture those takeaways and turn them into action.
In this episode, Allison and Dallin Palmer, Co-Founder of HALDA, discuss the shift in enrollment marketing from an institution-centric approach to a relationship-first mindset. Dallin unpacks the SHIFTS Framework, a powerful roadmap for building authentic connections with prospective students. The conversation covers key pillars of the framework, including how to listen effectively (Survey), provide personalized value (Helpful and Individualization), and leverage technology to create a more human, responsive experience (Face, Triggers, and Speed). Learn how to move past outdated tactics and focus on building genuine trust to drive enrollment success.
In Part 3 of The Admissions Travel Season Playbook, host Allison Turcio dives into how admissions counselors and enrollment marketers can stop working in silos and start building a stronger, AI-powered partnership. Fall travel is a team sport, but too often it feels like two separate games. By using AI to bridge the gap, institutions can make their outreach smarter, faster, and more effective.
In this episode of The Admissions Travel Season Playbook, host Allison Turcio tackles the crucial moment that determines whether your travel season efforts pay off: the follow-up. A great high school visit or college fair conversation is only the beginning. Without timely, relevant, and personalized follow-up, your chances of turning interest into applications drop fast.
Welcome to Part 1 of this mini series — The Admissions Travel Season Playbook. In this episode of The Admissions Travel Season Playbook, host Allison Turcio dives into how admissions counselors can make their high school visits more personal, engaging, and effective — without reinventing the wheel. With a focus on AI in higher education, Allison shares four actionable strategies for using tools like ChatGPT to tailor presentations to different student audiences. Whether you're visiting a STEM-focused school or a service-driven community, these tips will help you show up with relevance and impact. Perfect for enrollment marketers and admissions pros looking to stay sharp this fall travel season.
In this episode of The Application, Allison is joined by Faton Sopa, Cofounder and CEO at Manaferra, to dissect the groundbreaking findings from the State of College Search 2025 report. Based on a survey of over 1,500 recently enrolled students, Faton reveals a seismic shift in student search behavior. He shares surprising insights, from the rise of platforms like Reddit for authentic validation to the fragmentation of the student journey across multiple channels. Learn why marketers need to move beyond traditional SEO, audit their brand's presence on new platforms like AI search, and focus on performance metrics that truly influence the enrollment pipeline.
In this episode, Allison sits down with Simon Lewis, founder of Binary & Co., to dive deep into his Pillars and Layers framework. This smarter, student-centered approach helps nurture higher-ed leads throughout their long and emotional decision-making journey. We explore why lead capture is only the starting point, not the goal, and how to keep students engaged well beyond the initial form fill. Simon explains how to sync your ads, emails, and CRM so you can meet students where they actually are rather than where you wish they were.
What if your institution stopped playing it safe and started thinking like a startup? DéRecco Lynch, Assistant Vice Provost of Enrollment Management at the University of Cincinnati, asked that question and answered it by launching Our City, one of higher ed’s boldest brand activations. In this episode, DéRecco tells Allison how his team broke down silos, built trust, and aligned four divisions to move fast and make an unforgettable mark on the city. From failing fast to letting go of creative control to creating a student-centered, family-focused experience, he shares what it takes to unify a brand and spark real engagement.
Allison Turcio delivers a recap of one of the most compelling sessions from EduWeb Summit 2025 from R. Ethan Braden, Vice President and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Texas A&M University. Braden tackled the question we all wrestle with: Does your brand actually matter? His answer: absolutely, but only if it’s rooted in values, clarity, and great storytelling. From challenging the idea of being “for everyone” to turning brand perception into an emotional experience, this session offered a masterclass in higher education content marketing and brand building. If you're looking to sharpen your institution’s identity and ensure your brand drives student recruitment and long-term loyalty, this is an episode you can't miss.
Allison breaks down one of the most buzzed-about sessions from LeduWeb Summit 2025, sharing about Western Governors University’s approach to using AI and decision intelligence to stop student dropouts before they happen. WGU’s tech-forward system can predict, with 80% accuracy, which students are at risk of disengaging—within the first week of classes. But what makes this a must-listen for enrollment marketing professionals is how WGU’s playbook can be adapted for yield, melt prevention, and even student services across any institution—big or small.
Allison unpacks a powerhouse session from EduWeb 2025 featuring Montclair State University’s innovative approach to enrollment marketing. By leveraging National Student Clearinghouse data and integrating it into Slate, Montclair isn’t just re-engaging stop-outs—they’re stealing market share and rewriting program value props with clarity and confidence. From “spring-back” campaigns to faculty-driven messaging makeovers, this is a masterclass in data analytics in higher education done right. If you're serious about using marketing strategy for student recruitment and want to put actionable data to work across your institution, don’t miss this one.
Search marketing isn’t what it used to be, and in higher ed, that opens the door to new possibilities. In this episode, Sarah Russell, Vice President of Marketing at Education Dynamics, joins Allison to explore how AI is reshaping the way prospective students search for and engage with colleges and universities. From Google’s Search Generative Experience (SGE) to the rise of zero-click search, Sarah unpacks what these shifts mean for your digital strategy. You’ll hear how to strengthen your technical SEO, rethink your content approach, and connect the dots between performance marketing and brand awareness.
Allison Turcio dives into a fascinating panel discussion from EduWeb 2025 featuring the real decision-makers in college admissions: parents, school counselors, and high school teachers. They revealed how students actually search for schools, what turns families off immediately, and what colleges must do better when it comes to communication, transparency, and retention.
In this recap episode from EduWeb Summit 2025, host Allison Turcio shares a transformational case study from Vermont Law and Graduate School that proves why authenticity—not polish—is the future of higher ed marketing. Struggling with brand confusion after adding new grad programs, the school found itself drifting from its core identity. The turning point? A bold shift back to its mission, its students, and its unique community values. From repositioning their messaging around social justice to closing the loop between admissions and marketing, Vermont Law embraced who they are—and saw incredible results. Cost per lead dropped by 50%, student interest surged, and the admissions team finally had leads they were excited to talk to.
Reporting from eduWeb Summit 2025, Allison Turcio unpacks groundbreaking research presented by Faton Sopa of Manaferra — research that redefines how students actually search for colleges in today’s digital-first landscape. Spoiler alert: the traditional enrollment funnel is officially broken. From anonymous, omnichannel discovery journeys to the increasing influence of AI and TikTok on college decision-making, this episode reveals what enrollment marketers must do now to stay competitive. Whether you’re still relying on Google Ads or wondering how to optimize for ChatGPT and Gemini, Allison breaks it all down into four urgent, actionable takeaways.Tune in for an energizing, data-driven conversation that challenges the status quo and maps out the next era of enrollment marketing strategy.
Recorded live from the eduWeb Summit 2025, Allison Turcio breaks down insightful research shared by Grant De Roo of ADV Market Research and Kristen Lainsbury, VP for Communications and Marketing at Bates College. The focus? Brand clarity in higher education—and how it significantly affects enrollment, retention, and even your discount rate. If your marketing still leans heavily on community messaging, this data-driven discussion will inspire a powerful shift toward storytelling that prioritizes academic experience and student outcomes.
In this special EDU Web Summit 2025 takeaway, Allison breaks down one of the most buzzworthy sessions of the conference — Boston University’s Metropolitan College’s SEO-savvy content strategy. Discover how they turned old newsletters and student spotlights into a powerhouse enrollment marketing tool that’s winning Google’s AI Overview and influencing prospective students to take action. This episode of the EDU Web Podcast delivers a masterclass in content repurposing and SEO for higher education marketers.
The Application is your playbook for the ever-evolving world of higher education enrollment marketing. This podcast zeroes in on the niche, often-unexplored areas of the field, delivering a potent mix of actionable insights, practical strategies, and cutting-edge perspectives. Host Allison Turcio, Assistant Vice President for Enrollment and Marketing at Siena College, tackles the topics others aren't – from empowering student influencers to harnessing AI. The Application is where uncharted territories in marketing get mapped out, designed to arm higher education enrollment marketers with tools to stay ahead of the curve.
This podcast isn’t just about keeping pace with the market – it's about leading the charge. We're here to provoke thought, encourage innovation, and foster a community of forward-thinkers. Whether you're crafting your next campaign or redefining your institution’s marketing strategy, The Application is your essential resource for fresh, innovative approaches in higher education marketing. Get ready to be inspired, educated, and transformed with each episode.
The Application is hosted by Allison Turcio and is a proud member of the Enrollify Podcast Network.
