In today’s competitive higher education environment, families aren’t just supporters — they are active decision-makers shaping where students apply, enroll, and persist. The 2025 Prospective Family Survey, conducted by CampusESP and RNL with nearly 10,000 families across 47 colleges and universities, underscores just how central parents and other guardians have become to enrollment outcomes. For admissions and enrollment leaders, the findings offer both a warning and a roadmap: ignoring families risks lost students, while strategically engaging them can tip the scales on yield.
Here are three key takeaways and what they mean for institutions navigating the current pressures of declining enrollment, affordability concerns, and rising expectations for personalization.
1. Families Expect Frequent, Direct Communication
According to the survey, 72% of families expect at least weekly updates from institutions.
Email remains the top channel (preferred by 90%), but families increasingly want text messaging (30% vs. just 21% of colleges using it) and family portals, which have grown 12% in popularity over the past two years
This expectation dovetails with a broader trend: higher ed is facing an “expectation gap” as students and families grow accustomed to real-time communication in every other sector of their lives. In an era when trust in higher education is under strain, impersonal or irregular outreach can be interpreted as indifference.
Strategic Implication: Leaders should view family communications not as a nice-to-have, but as a core part of enrollment management. Integrating a multi-channel strategy designed specifically for families signals transparency and builds confidence and trust. Just as important, promoting these resources equitably ensures first-generation and lower-income families, who often aren’t aware such supports exist, aren’t left behind.
2. Cost Dominates Decisions, but “Fit” and Experience Still Matter
Two-thirds of families (65%) name final net cost as the most important factor in choosing a college.
Yet the survey also reveals nuance: higher-income and continuing-generation families place more weight on academic majors and campus atmosphere, while first-generation and lower-income families focus heavily on financial aid and communication quality.
These findings mirror the sector’s challenge: as the enrollment cliff looms, institutions must compete on both affordability and authentic connection.
Strategic Implication: To move the needle on yield, institutions must align their message with what families value most. For some populations, that means making affordability and aid front-and-center. For others, elevating the student’s academic pathway and sense of belonging will resonate. What unites them all is the expectation that institutions not only meet the student’s needs, but also engage the family in meaningful ways.
3. Families Crave ROI Data, But Can’t Find It
Despite persistent cost concerns, nearly 8 in 10 families still see college as a worthwhile investment.
The problem? They can’t always find the evidence to back that up. While 94% of parents say information on graduates finding jobs is important, 68% report they cannot find this information.
Graduate outcomes and career services were among the areas with the largest information gaps, particularly for first-generation and lower-income families.
In a climate where public skepticism about higher education’s value is growing, this gap represents both a risk and an opportunity. If families can’t find clear, trustworthy information on ROI, they may default to assumptions — or encourage their student to opt out of college altogether.
Strategic Implication: Enrollment leaders should prioritize ROI storytelling. This doesn’t mean publishing one-off statistics; it means weaving career outcomes, alumni success, and support services into every stage of recruitment communications. Proactively addressing the value conversation not only builds trust but also positions the college as a partner invested in both access and outcomes.
The Bottom Line
The 2025 Prospective Family Survey reinforces what enrollment leaders are experiencing firsthand: families hold significant sway over application and enrollment decisions. Meeting their expectations for communication, affordability, and ROI transparency isn’t just good practice — it’s a competitive necessity.
