Good news: The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center reports that transfer students now account for 13.2% of all undergraduates , up from 12.5% in 2022. In fact, 1 in 8 undergraduate students are transfers—that’s a significant market!

Now is the time to start recruiting transfer students for the spring semester. Here’s how and why.

Timing Matters

Early in the spring semester is the ideal time to reach prospective transfer students and parents with targeted messages of support, opportunity, and success. The timing matters because it follows a break where families have the time to discuss the students’ needs and options.

Find Your Market

Know which students are likely to transfer to your type of institution. For example, upward transfers (those going from a 2-year to a 4-year) constitute the largest increase (7.7%) and lateral transfers (those going from one 4-year to another) are second with an increase of 6%.

Know what students are seeking. More than half (54%) of students transfer to change majors; 82% of those move into one of the following majors:

• Business
• Health professions/clinical sciences
• Psychology
• Computer and information science
• Biology and biomedical sciences

Speak To Your Market

Tailor your messaging and strategies accordingly. If you have the majors that transfer students want, market those programs as part of your transfer campaign. If you’re looking for community college transfers, add geofencing, along with social media, search engine, and programmatic advertising.

Build A Comprehensive 3-Step Campaign On Social, Search, And Programmatic Platforms

Step 1. Transfer Inquiry Campaign

Develop high-yield inquiries by reaching right-fit transfer students and their influencers on social media platforms. Connect on the authenticity of your institution’s strengths, as expressed by successful transfer students and alumni.

Step 2. Motivate-to-Apply Campaign

Motivate students to apply with a blend of inspirational messaging, including:

• Student and alumni success
• Transfer financial aid/scholarships opportunities
• Visit opportunities
• Ease of transfer/transfer support
• Articulation agreements
• Academic and student life highlights, etc.

Step 3. Admit-to-Deposit Campaign

Once students are admitted, incentivize them to deposit with messages that showcase the value of your institution’s degree and the success of transfer students (via student/alumni success stories). See what we did in 5 weeks for Menlo College!