How do I know how many applications I will need to meet the enrollment target? (free template included)

The Perfect Time to Refocus

The start of semester two is the perfect time for school administrators to refocus on their annual goals. You’ve persevered through the chaos of the first semester and have had time over the holiday break to reflect on your team’s work. For some of you, it’s simple to know where you stand against your student application targets. But for others, it’s hard to measure your progress. You may even feel uncertain that your target numbers will translate to adequate students for the coming school year. Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. Below is a simple formula to create meaningful application targets along with a spreadsheet (with all the formulas) to help you track your progress.

Creating Application Targets

Longterm, it’s wise for schools to track their application conversions for each stage of your enrollment process. However, when you need a baseline to get started, you can assume that 2.5 applicants will equal 1 enrolled student. 

Formula: Target Applications = Number of Available Seats x 2.5 

Example: If you have 50 seats available, you will need to produce 125 applications.

This formula works great for any grade that serves as an entry point to your school (ex. kindergarten for an elementary school or 6th grade for a middle school). However, if you are calculating for grade levels that are not entry points, we first need to factor in student retention from the incoming grade. A baseline calculation is that you can expect to keep 85% of your students year over year. Our formula to calculate the number of available seats is shown below:

Formula: Number of Seats Available = Target Enrollment - (Current Incoming Students x .85)

Example: If you have a class of 100 fourth grade students, you can expect 85 of those students to become future 5th-grade students.

Let’s put it all together:

Formula: Target Applications = (Target Enrollment - (Current Students X .85)) X 2.5

Example: You have the capacity for 100 students in 7th grade. Your current 6th grade has 96 students. How many applications will you need for 7th grade next year?  (100-(96 x .85)) x 2.5 = 46 applications

A Spreadsheet Template to Make Things Easy

Now that you understand how to create accurate targets, your next step is to measure your progress. A tracker will indicate how your marketing and recruitment efforts are performing. We’ve created a tracking template to get started with all the formulas discussed built into the spreadsheet. We hope this makes it easy for you to track your progress!

Sawyer Schafbuch is a StoryBrand Certified Guide and founder of Everydesk, helping quality schools recruit students. He recently moved to Des Moines, IA with his wife and daughter.