Archives: White Papers

In the fourth and final release of Carnegie’s Summer Research Series, we examine how students and parents connect with authentic stories in the college search process—and why personality-driven communication is emerging as a powerful tool for engagement.

In the third release of Carnegie’s Summer Research Series, we explore how students and parents are using AI in the college search process—from researching schools with tools like ChatGPT to evaluating institutional trust and transparency around AI use.

Graduate student marketing in higher education has undergone significant shifts in recent years. Today’s students are online in a way past generations weren’t. We surveyed over 750 graduate students about how the internet informs their search for a graduate program.

In the second release of Carnegie’s Summer Research Series, we unpack how prospective students and their families are researching, comparing, and ultimately selecting colleges and universities.

Political dynamics aren’t just shaping national headlines—they’re shaping higher education decisions. In this first release of Carnegie’s Summer Research Series, we explore how politics is influencing student and parent perceptions of colleges and universities.

This guide serves as a template to help you write a great RFP to help you find the perfect partner for your Student Search project.

Following the 2024 election, Carnegie researchers wanted to continue exploring the ways politics interacts with prospective students’ decision-making. This research surveyed more than 2,000 prospective and current students, and their parents, about the impact of politics at a campus- and state-level on their decisions.

How do you know if your website is truly performing well? What does “good” organic traffic look like for a university or college? Using raw data collected from over 200 higher-ed websites, this report provides essential benchmarks for evaluating organic traffic, setting realistic search engine optimization (SEO) goals, and implementing the right strategies to drive results.

Unprecedented delays to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) have left many colleges wondering where enrollment truly stands after May 1. This phenomenon is equally troubling for prospective students. Each year, Carnegie surveys graduating seniors from its CollegeXpress audience. This year, a new section was added to focus on the impact of FAFSA delays. This report covers that section and provides important insights into how students are thinking about FAFSA and financial aid in general.

TikTok is one of the most popular platforms on the internet — especially for the demographics most coveted by higher ed marketers. In this report, we analyze how schools are using their TikTok accounts to reach students.