Bring Your Student Leads Into Focus

Chaos is costly. Clarity is half off.

This truth brought to you by The Economist’s latest flash sale. Sometimes an ad sums up a vibe so neatly. Maybe the ad just caught us at the right moment. (Um, thanks Meta?)

Whether it was the morning coffee or the marketing kitsch, The Economist's attempt to get us to subscribe (we already do) served as a good reminder of the cost of chaos.

Pick your tumult: visa whack-a-mole, Duration of Status policy threats, internal budget cuts, NSF decimation, demographic cliff, you name it. The disruptions of the past 18+ months have cost our industry its equilibrium, individuals their sanity, and certainly some enrollment.

The numbers speak loudly: 97,000 fewer student US visas were awarded last summer, driven largely by a near-monthlong freeze on visa interviews. (Canada, UK, and Australia have similar downbeats). Now, DHS may adjust the “Duration of Status” for F-1 and J-1 visa holders, replacing it with a fixed admission period of up to four years and dimming the luster on some students’ dreams of a US degree. And, if history tells us anything, it won’t be the last disruption our international student hopefuls and enrollment leaders will endure.

Despite the continued chaos, we have actual work to do. Handwringing be damned! Students still want to enroll at your institution. Time to busy your team securing the fall cohort by shoring up those leads. This is ground you know well.

Read on for insights from our team, including our latest addition to Intead, Lindsey Lopez, on what to prioritize now to bring your 2026/27 leads into focus and produce your target yield.

Read on…

Here’s the reality you already know (but still helpful to confirm): for most institutions, the international students who need your attention right now are already in your system, flagged as “admitted.” Help move them to “enrolled” by giving them the information and assurances they need now. We’re sure your enrollment team veterans are already doing this stuff.

We offer the following list as a helpful confirmation of priority tasks. Are there any steps missing from your plans?

• Build a daily visa status tracking process. Visa appointment delays aren’t always visible until it’s too late. Surface them now. Escalate any blocked or denied appointments immediately.
• Look for money signals. Conduct financial check-in calls for students with outstanding deposit installments. A missing payment is often the first sign a student is wavering.
• Audit your full deposited pipeline. Flag every student who has not confirmed I-20 status, not scheduled a visa appointment, or gone silent. Launch bi-weekly personalized outreach from a named staff member. One-to-one communication is a better approach at this stage than mass emails. Use WhatsApp Business (see New to WhatsApp Business Part 1 and New to WhatsApp Business Part 2).
• Increase parent communications for undergraduates. In many markets, parents are decision-makers, so treat them as such. Proactive, warm, factual communication from a named person on your enrollment teams goes a long way. Can you do this in local language?
• Use current international students as reassurance ambassadors. Peer voices carry weight that institutional messaging simply cannot. A short video, a WhatsApp message, a virtual meetup can have a meaningful impact. Students who are already here and thriving are your most credible, reassuring assets right now. The best way to combat global headlines and viral videos.
• Shift counselor time from recruitment to conversion support. Securing fall matriculation takes priority over new recruiting now, at least for the next few weeks. This is a moment for your team to redirect energy toward the highest return.
• Review travel documents and do a final commitment check for every international student. Any student still wavering should surface now, not when they are missing from orientation.
• Be ready for the unexpected. We are in a highly dynamic moment, and pivoting is part of the job. Can you help a student navigate a last-minute visa hurdle? Do you have a clear deferral plan? Do you know the transfer pathways? Is housing support ready to deploy? Time to get ahead of these questions and be sure your full team is aware of the priorities and how their role is critical to overall success.

The rules may be shifting, but our commitment to students does not. If you need a partner with a strategic eye on 2027-28 (and beyond) as you shore up this fall’s cohort, be in touch. We know just the team.