Key Takeaways From TACAC 2022

Last month, our team traveled out to San Antonio, Texas for The Texas Association for College Admission Counseling (TACAC)’s annual conference. VisitDays joined hundreds of colleges and universities across the country as we listened to keynote speakers, engaged with our peers, and learned more about the future of college admissions. 

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The sessions at the conference ranged from how to use social media to engage your audience, to the campus visit experience to the future of college access. It was amazing to hear all the different viewpoints from top higher education professionals and where they see the industry heading over the next few years. 

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What struck us the most at the TACAC conference was the challenge that admissions counselors have in engaging with the right prospective college students. The more we listened to our peers in higher ed, the more it became clear to us that there has been a shift in the traditional in-person college fair experience, as more students are engaging with colleges using digital platforms. 

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This generation of students live on their smart devices. We found that if colleges and universities are going to succeed in recruiting students, they have to embrace this change and create an experience that lends itself to a more inclusive, digital offering. The “college fair” needs to be about creating amazing experiences that resonate with 16-17 year-olds. ‍

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VisitDays brings together the virtual experience for students while providing all the tools needed to engage those students with in-app chat, live sessions, video library, and more. Through our College Access Program, students have the flexibility to log on whenever they want and find the college that best fits their needs–all without the added pressure of the in-person college fair experience. 

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Ashley, who was one of our many student-users, engaged with several colleges using the ViistDays College Access Program and found the platform to be easy to use for both herself and her family. Check out the video below, to learn more about Ashley and how we partnered with several high schools in Texas to create an immersive digital experience for students and admissions counselors. 

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From our own research and after speaking with so many folks at TACAC 2022, it became clear to us that prospective students demand customized events. However, it can be hard to gather the resources to host a really great event that gets students excited. Luckily, VisitDays has all the tools and features that allow you to engage with students easily and effectively. 

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If you would like to learn more about how your college or university can create engaging virtual events for prospective students, I’d love to chat with you!