Recruiting Students for Your TREK

Once your proposal has been approved and a budget developed and approved by the Provost, it is time to start promoting your program. Recruitment is crucial if you want to enroll enough students to run your TREK. Being as proactive as possible during this phase can make all the difference in attracting sufficient students.

The most effective recruitment activities are those where you speak face-to-face with students in various venues. It’s an excellent opportunity to discuss the benefits of the program and how it ties into various academic majors. It is also crucial that you can talk about program costs with the students.

Here are a few ideas to get you started:

  • Branding: If you can come up with a program slogan, it’s a catchy way to generate interest! Not your specialty? Consider using ChatGPT or other AI to help you brainstorm some possibilities.
  • Vision: Promote your program as an investment with both short and long-term benefits (academic, personal, and professional)
  • Information Sessions: Schedule at least two sessions where you meet with prospective students. Schedule during student-friendly times and at high traffic places. Advertise these sessions.
  • GEO Study Abroad Expo (Fair) – Typically scheduled in mid- to late September, you must table and speak with students. Buy some candy or treats for your table to entice them over. Collect the names and emails of prospective students so that you can continue to market to them. A PPT slide show of pictures of what participants will see and experience is a good way to attract interest and break the ice.
  •  Peer-to-Peer: If this is a repeat program, make good use of student ambassadors, former students that went on your program. Prospective students are always interested in hearing about the experience from other students’ perspectives; their testimony is the most effective tool for recruitment.
  • Social Media: If social media is your superpower, create a short promotion video for use in the GEO website, application, and social networking sites. Be sure to include a link to the program application!
  • Print Materials – GEO will assist with creating flyers and posters; share these with your colleagues and ask them to help you spread the word. Include a QR code linked to the program application.  Important: If you have good pictures, make sure you share them with GEO.
  • Other Venues: Get creative and meet students where they are – academic clubs are a perfect place to connect with students who are interested in your topic.