As incoming freshmen start their educational journey at your school, how sure are you that they’re equipped to tackle the important tasks ahead of them? Preparing new students for college can start before they even arrive on campus. When done right, this can also help create a sense of belonging and connection to your school from the very start — while laying the groundwork for meaningful, long-term engagement.
To help you do that, Mainstay has created a series of videos with GetSchooled — a national nonprofit organization dedicated to helping young people get to college and secure their first job. These videos include helpful tips on everything from connecting with peers and joining campus organizations to submitting important paperwork and selecting the right classes.
Engaging new students with video via text messaging
With Mainstay, you can use text messaging to send your incoming freshmen quick, relevant videos that will guide them through important college prep tasks. If you regularly message your students, you already know the benefits of SMS texting: Texting elicits 4 times the response rate compared to any other communication method, because 98% of mobile phone owners read every text they receive — and 90% read their texts within just three minutes.
Our college prep videos feature upperclassmen and recent graduates who use their experience from going through the process to share advice that will resonate with incoming students. Providing important information through video is more engaging and more impactful than other methods. That’s because viewers retain 95% of a video’s message, compared to only 10% when reading text. People also share videos 1200% more frequently than links and text combined.
Merging two of the most impactful mediums — video and SMS text messaging — enables you to help students prepare for college while building more meaningful student engagement at scale.
Watch Mainstay’s college prep videos
Most of the videos we created with GetSchooled are around two minutes long (or less). Take a peek at these videos to see how you can use them to support incoming freshmen at your school:
Your new students may be worried about fitting in, finding classes, or missing home. They’re not alone: This video shares advice from students who’ve been there — including the best places to meet new friends, important on-campus resources, how to pick the best professors, and easy ways to stay in touch with high school friends from afar.
How to connect to your college community
Starting college can be both exciting and nerve-racking. Help your students feel at home on campus before their first day by texting them this video. It includes tips on how to get involved in online groups, join clubs and organizations, and start building new friendships.
What to expect at college freshman orientation
As one of the first official activities for college freshmen, orientation is a major milestone for most students. This video provides a run-down of what students should expect during their orientation, how they can prepare for it, and the steps they can take to avoid any unwelcome surprises (like missing out on a class they really wanted to take).
The summer before college checklist
Help keep students stay on track during the frenzy of preparing for college. Text them this video to guide them through a helpful checklist of the top tasks they need to complete before the semester begins. Following these steps will set new students up for success — and help ease their transition to college.
Share college prep videos with text messaging
When you partner with Mainstay, you can use these videos to answer your students’ most pressing questions — anytime, anywhere. To learn more about the topics covered in our freshmen prep video series, check out the playlist.
