Spark451’s 2024 annual college-bound student survey received responses from almost 5,400 graduating seniors. After graduation, this survey is issued to high school seniors to collect input on their college search quest. Of those who responded, students attend a mix of private, public, religiously affiliated, liberal arts, research institutions, and HBCUs. Some students chose a community college, technical school, a gap year, or are joining the military.
This report includes data and insights on students’ social media usage, preferred marketing tactics, impressions of the admissions process, and more.
Following are the key insights of the survey
Social Media Habits
More than 90% of students reported spending at least one hour on social media daily. Two-thirds said they spend three hours or more on social media daily. When you consider the schedule of a typical high school student who sleeps for eight hours and is in school for another six, that means that 60% of students are spending more than one-third of their free time on social media.
When asked to identify which social media channels students spend the most time on, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok were the top three, with Snapchat falling closely behind. Not only are students spending the most time on these three platforms, but they also reported using these three as tools for their college search. 65% used Instagram to find college information, 54% used YouTube, and 46% used TikTok.
Marketing Communication Preferences
More than half of respondents began their college search during their junior year. After over a year of interacting with schools and reviewing marketing materials, students have formed opinions on common strategies. The search process is moving earlier. Last year, over 85% of students reported beginning their college search in the summer of junior year or later. This year, the percentage dropped to 80%, with 20% starting to explore as sophomores or younger.
During Spark451’s panel of high school students and parents at SparkThink@JAM (our special interest forum on enrollment and technology), most students said they don’t receive mail, so when they do, it feels particularly personal and special. Up more than 10% from last year, 55% of students reported receiving text messages from schools during the search process. More than one-third said texting was okay at any time, while 28% said after inquiring, and less than 2% said they preferred never to be texted.
Application Preferences
Application pools are getting more prominent while the population is shrinking. Students are applying to far more schools than ever before. Up from 39% last year and 37% in 2022, 45% of respondents applied to 10 or more schools this year. More than 80% of students said that the Common Application is the most appealing way to apply. Affordability is also a significant contributor—64% of respondents applied to more schools than planned because they’d received application fee waivers. Finally, fewer requirements in the application process are expanding reach. 44% said a school’s test-optional policy was a factor in applying, and 50% either didn’t take a test or didn’t submit their scores.
Enrollment Decision Drivers
The 2024 senior class comes from a generation of discerning marketing consumers. They value authenticity and pride themselves on accessing information on their own. Academic quality and cost are consistently rated as extremely important when evaluating options, just as in previous years. Scholarships and location were once again the most important factors. Students continue to balance getting a return on investment with finding the right fit.
This year, it focused on getting the student’s perspective on the 2024 FAFSA process. 82% said they filed. Despite 55% reporting that filing was easier than expected, the other 45% reported frustrations with the complicated process, the inability of parents without social security numbers to file, and the delayed timing. 35% said they felt like they had to wait a long time to make their college choice, and another 9% said they are still waiting on one or more financial aid offers. 12% said they ultimately chose a community college, technical school, or other option because of their FAFSA experience.
95% of survey responders had made their college decision by the time they took the survey this summer. Some were, in fact, still waiting on their financial aid offers to make a decision. The others have chosen to join the military or workforce, some are taking a gap year, and many are hoping to spend the year becoming more financially and academically prepared to try again for Fall 2025.
Spark451 surveyed over 1,100 parents of new high school graduates in the summer of 2024 to learn about their college-choosing experiences. Some observed parents’ children attend college this fall, while others have taken a gap year, joined the military, or entered the workforce. This report showcases the data and insights gleaned from this survey, including parents’ attitudes toward social media usage, financial aid, the application process, marketing messaging, political climates on campus, and much more.
Application Fee Waiver
43% of the parent respondents said that the offer of an application fee waiver did not impact their child’s decision to apply to an institution, consistent with results from last year’s survey. However, some indicators suggest this may be shifting: Last year, 22.5% of responders indicated that their child was not offered a fee waiver as an incentive to apply to any colleges, compared to 19% this year. More importantly, the number of parents who felt their child would be swayed by a fee waiver rose from 32.5% to 38%.
Early Decision
70% of parents said that incentives such as scholarships, early registration, or reduced enrollment deposits would have influenced their child’s choice to apply Early Decision (ED) to their preferred school. This figure aligns with responses from the previous year but represents a sharp decline from 75% in earlier years. However, which incentives students are offered matters; 91% of parents indicated that scholarships would have significantly impacted their decision to apply to ED.
Direct Admission
For the first time, the survey asked parents how they feel about direct admissions (wherein high school students who meet specific criteria are offered a nonbinding offer of admission). Most parents (73%) responded that such an offer would have been appealing.
Social Media Usage
Like their children, 66% of the parents reported spending between one and four hours daily on social media. Not only are parents on social media, but they’re using it to research colleges: 83% of parents said that they used it during their child’s college search and selection process. Facebook is still the most popular platform for parents (unlike their children), with almost 58% of parents rating it as their preferred social media site to gather information about colleges. The next most popular platform was Instagram, coming in at 41%.
Memorable Marketing
The survey indicates that of all the college marketing parents receive, direct mail helps institutions stand out from the crowd. More than half of the parents surveyed (55%) said that the mailings they or their students received were the most memorable—an increase of five percentage points over last year.
Communication Preferences
Over 77% of parents prefer email for direct communication with universities, with print mail following second and text messaging coming in third—far ahead of phone calls and social media. Interestingly, when asked how they like schools to interact with their children, parents prefer text messaging over direct mail (although email still leads).
Cost and Financial Aid
Nearly 31 per cent of parents would have suggested a different school for their child if finances were not an issue. Over 77% of parents regarded cost as “Important” or “Extremely Important” in their college search, up from 70% the previous year. When assessing a school’s perceived academic quality, money was prioritized oversize, location, and athletics. Though parents and students may be more cautious about acquiring student loan debt, 66% of parents reported encouraging their child to take out student loans—but 20% said they would only do so if it were below a certain amount. Over half of the respondents said that their students had not necessarily chosen the most affordable option for college.
FAFSA Frets
This year, delays in releasing the new FAFSA affected the college search process. When asked about their FAFSA experience, parents could react in their own words. Many replies highlighted the hardships encountered this year. Despite these challenges, more than 91% of families reported filling out the FAFSA; however, over half reported having difficulty filing.
About Spark451
Spark451 is a Jenzabar company and a higher education enrollment strategy, technology, and marketing firm that combines creativity with robust technology to achieve measurable results. With a mission to help colleges and students fuel their future, the firm integrates many communication channels and platforms for effective enrollment marketing, student search, creative services, and digital media. Since 2011, Spark451 has worked with over 200 colleges and universities nationwide.
