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Admissions strategy: using an application
Admissions strategy: using an application

Create an application form for your course.

Chelsea Wilson avatar
Written by Chelsea Wilson
Updated over 3 months ago

Summary

  • Remember: applications are part of the sales funnel. Don't stop selling to potenital students once they apply and ensure you're sharing key information quickly to help them see the value of your course.

  • Be observant. Don't just look for the information you planned for. See what other pieces of information students give you that might help you craft future course offerings.

  • Work backwards. Think about the kind of information you need to make an admissions decision. Bias towards fewer questions to increase the likelihood of a student completing their application.

About cohort applications

Applications can help you understand who is interested in your course and curate your cohort. Maven's application builder does two jobs for you.

  1. It collects important information you want to know about your prospective students.

  2. It uses your students' answers to create a profile for them once they've joined your course.

You can customize the information you request in the application. You can also turn the application on or off at any point.

Think about the application flow as a part of the sales process. Even though they've applied, students might still need more information before they join your course. That means you need to be responsive and send them an acceptance quickly. It's generally important to accept students within 48 hours after they apply.

Your acceptance email should be a celebration of the student and their success. The default acceptance email reinforces the fact that they're joining an exclusive group of handpicked peers. It also gives them a single call-to-action: enroll for the course.

Turn on an application

To create an application form for your course, go to your Cohort Settings. There you'll have the option to turn on and edit your course application.

You can use applications on a cohort-by-cohort basis. If you'd like to use an application in one cohort but not in another, select which cohorts are using applications and which are not.

Edit your application

Once you enable your application, select "Update Application" to edit the questions students are asked.

The application will come pre-populated with the following questions:

  1. Name (required)

  2. Preferred name (required)

  3. Time zone (optional)

  4. Job title (optional)

  5. Company name (optional)

  6. X (formerly Twitter) handle (optional)

  7. Linkedin URL (optional)

You can disable questions 3-7 if you prefer. And you can add as many custom questions as you'd like after that.

These questions help you quickly understand the type of applicant you're getting. That said, you may want more detailed or industry-specific information. Some popular questions that tend to provide valuable insights:

  • What are you most excited to learn in this course? This answer tells you either (a) what part of your course messaging resonated with the prospect, or (b) what you should include in your course. Both are extremely valuable pieces of information to have.

  • How can this course help you achieve your personal or professional objective? This can prompt some reflection and more context as to how the prospect sees your course fitting into their life.

  • Where did you learn about this course? It's always helpful to know where your best applications are coming from. You may see 50 applicants come in from Linkedin which result in 5 enrollments. And then you might see 25 applicants come from HackerNews, which results in 20 enrollments.

  • How familiar are you with [topic]? It's helpful to understand the level of expertise of students. This question is a starting point so based on your topic or industry, you may have a more precise question.

Be thoughtful about what questions are required and what information is a nice-to-have. Work backwards and think about the information you need to to make an admissions decision. Having a lot of required questions may push away potential prospects who grow tired of a lengthy application.

The current question types available for your cohort applications are short answer, multiple choice, multiple select, and rating. You can choose whether responses are required or optional.

Admit students

With an Application admissions strategy, you’ll have a list of students categorized under "Application Incomplete," "Applied," "Maybe," "Accepted," and "Enrolled" tabs.

  • Application Incomplete: student started an application, but did not complete it

  • Applied: student has submitted an application for you to review

  • Maybe: students you've reviewed an application for, but have not yet decided to accept

  • Accepted: students you’ve invited to your cohort

  • Enrolled: student has paid and secured their seat in your cohort.

Clicking each student’s name reveals their application form along with their current status and action items like "Accept," "Maybe," and "Enroll free."

Keep in mind when you click "Accept," an email will be sent to the student inviting them to pay for your course. You can customize the email in the Emails section of your Maven course admin dashboard.

In the top right corner of the Students tab, you’ll see an option to "+Add user" if you need to add someone manually. This is helpful if someone expresses interest without completing an application or if you’re admitting a coach or other staff member.

You’ll also see an option to export your student list. You can select which students should be exported by status.

FAQs

  1. What emails are sent to students when they apply?

    1. There are four emails tied to student actions on the application: (1) application incomplete, (2) applied, (3) accepted, (4) abandoned payment - for those who didn't complete their enrollment but did visit the checkout page.

    2. Each email is editable in the Emails tab of your course. Check them out under "Automations."

    3. Note: you will need to accept at least 2 students before you can set up an automated "convert accepted students" campaign.

  2. Can I use applications for specific students (ex. an application for scholarships), but not for others?

    1. No, applications are on a cohort-by-cohort basis. When you have applications turned on for your cohort, all students will see the call to action to "apply" on your landing page. When they are turned off, students will see the call to action to "enroll" on your landing page.

  3. What should I do if I want to turn an application off after I've been using it?

    1. Please reach out to [email protected] if you want to turn off applications. If you have students already in the funnel (ex. students have applied but you haven't accepted them), they will disappear from your view in the Students tab. We'll help ensure you retain access to those student emails!

If you have any additional questions about creating a course application, reach out to [email protected].

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