So, where should enrollment leaders focus as the new year begins? If 2025 reader engagement is any indication, the answer sits somewhere between the integration of smarter admissions technologies, clearer career outcomes, strategic education agent relationships, and a more resilient mindset.
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The goal for 2026 is clear: sustaining, if not growing, international enrollment despite external chaos. But is that even realistic in the current climate? Short-term gains are going to be hard to deliver, for sure. Failing to set your institution up for future growth, well, that is not a legacy we would choose. There are opportunities ahead that smart enrollment leaders are focused on.
Looking backward, fall 2025 indicators offered mixed signals: decreased interest in master’s programs, fewer new arrivals (because many international students never left the country this past summer), more student-visa holders in 2025 vs 2024 (thank OPT for that) – and compelling counterpoints to each (nod to Karin Fischer for her perspective in The Chronicle’s “An Incomplete Enrollment Picture”).
But first, which topics mattered most to you in 2025? Read on for the top 10 posts of last year as chosen by our readers. The countdown from 10 to 1 shows an interesting progression of the year’s hot topics. Take a scroll through and let us know what you think.
Intead readers reveal our most popular posts from 2025:
#10 Your Career Services Office is Underutilized and It Shows
Many (read: most) students view Career Services through a lens of “why bother?” Hard to blame them. Help with resume and cover letter writing is too basic and can be provided by ChatGPT. Mock interviews have value, but there’s SO much more these departments could be doing to help students succeed and your institution grow enrollment. Our take on how to use Career Services as an enrollment driver – ideas we think all too often go overlooked.
#9 Admissions Teams and Resilience: Lessons from the Past
US higher ed is at a pivotal moment as policy changes in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia all create new realities for student options and student decisions. How we respond now will affect our capacity tomorrow and for years to come. The good news: history shows us that success is possible with clarity of focus and perseverance. "Stay calm and carry on" comes to mind. There are lessons of resilience and recovery from within academia worth looking at. Useful lessons with contributions from our friend and colleague Alan Preece.
#8 Keeping Your Education Agent Partnerships Strong
The most effective agents act as a true extension of your enrollment team. That level of service, however, requires an institutional partner who remains responsive and provides ongoing support all along the way. Our post on sustaining a successful education agent partnership explores ways to evaluate agent performance and how to streamline internal agent-focused processes.
#7 Evaluating Recruiting Agent Relationships
Policies can be complicated. Keeping student success front and center aligns everyone involved. In turbulent times like these, strong, trustworthy education agent partnerships are a lifeline for students and student recruitment teams. In this post on evaluating right-fit education agents, hear from an India-based recruiting agent actively engaged in US-focused recruiting plus download a valuable agent evaluation worksheet for your team.
#6 Predicting Student Yield: The Demonstrated Intent Challenge
Student applications are surging far faster than the number of university-bound students, making yield prediction a headache for admission teams. The challenge: processing, predicting, and balancing student yield with revenue and housing goals. Read our take on how to predict student yield. Special thanks to Jon Boeckenstedt for your input!
#5 88 Ways to Recruit International Students: 2025 Reboot
The compendium you need – international recruitment tactics for edu institutions. Our 2025 reboot from the original published more than a decade ago, prompts your staff training and internal discussions as you consider all the options. How many of these tactics has your team evaluated? Tested? Fully deployed? Back by popular demand. Go directly to our ebook download here.
#4 Why International Student Numbers Will Grow (and 3 things you can do)
This post received a lot of shares online. What you do in the coming year will set the stage for the benefits you reap five years from now. Sit on your hands due to fear of the ambiguity that surrounds us, and all those who are acting now will be miles in front of you in 2030. Miles. In this post, we offer three specific areas where we think smart institutions and academic leaders will focus their attention in the years ahead to capitalize on future growth opportunities. How many of the three do you think you can help your institution address?
#3 International Student Employment Trends After Graduation
Our latest research – done in collaboration with NAFSA and Fox Hollow Advisory – gives important findings on the behaviors, motivations, and economic impact of international students after earning their US degree. The report also offers links to many other relevant studies on this topic. Click here to directly download the full report.
#2 Finding and Alleviating Admissions Pain Points
Working with a wide range of institutions, public and private, over the past 15 years (and with guidance from David Di Maria’s excellent book in the NAFSA bookstore), we have helped admissions leaders streamline international student admissions processes for graduate and undergraduate programs. This work identifies the admissions pain points that drive students away rather than drawing them closer in.
....and the No. 1 most read post based on reader clicks in 2025 is...
#1 AI Built for Admissions
On the surface, new AI-powered edtech for enrollment/admissions work may seem like a game-changer. Yet, many institutions find they are swimming in data without a clear strategy for leveraging the opportunities beyond the task for which a specific AI tool is employed. Accept or reject these integrations? We have ideas. Get our take in this post.
