If you admit most applicants, you’re in the sales business.
Most Christian colleges aren’t trying to decide which students to keep out.
They’re trying to persuade students to come in.
That’s sales.
And it’s time we stopped pretending otherwise.
Admissions is about deciding who gets in and who doesn’t. That’s what highly selective institutions do.
But consider Wheaton College.
Often called the “Harvard of Christian colleges,” Wheaton admitted 87% of its applicants in fall 2024. And only 30% of admitted students enrolled.
So even a college known for academic rigor faces a bigger challenge persuading qualified students to choose it than deciding who gets in.
We’re not primarily selecting students. We’re persuading students to select us.
Yet we still hire and train counselors as if their primary job is processing applications.
We organize recruitment around what we want students to do: Inquire, apply, deposit, enroll.
But that’s our process, not theirs.
Students are making one of the biggest decisions of their lives. They’re comparing colleges, weighing costs, and trying to figure out where they belong.
Our job isn’t to move students through a funnel. It’s to help them make a decision.
That’s good sales. Not manipulation or pressure, but helping people make good distinctions so they can make better choices.
That requires us to do three things.
1. Rethink who we hire.
Stop assuming a personable recent graduate who loves the college will make a great enrollment counselor.
Look for curiosity, persistence, emotional intelligence, competitive drive, and confidence. Hire people who can build trust AND move people toward decisions. And pay them what they’re worth.
2. Rethink how we train them.
Teaching policies, programs, financial aid, CRM processes, and talking points is necessary, but not sufficient.
Counselors need to qualify prospects, conduct discovery conversations, demonstrate value, address objections, talk confidently about money, and close (yes, close).
That takes ongoing coaching, call reviews, practice, and accountability.
3. Rethink where we invest.
Colleges spend enormous sums generating inquiries and applications, then invest remarkably little in training counselors to turn prospects into students.
Most schools don’t need more leads. They need to get better at helping the right students choose them.
Being friendly isn’t a sales strategy. And generating more applications won’t fix a team that doesn’t know how to sell.
If we believe Christian colleges can transform students’ lives, we should be exceptionally good at helping students choose them.
At TG Three, we help Christian colleges strengthen enrollment through practical sales training and coaching. If your counselors need more than another batch of leads, let’s talk.