How Admission Leaders Can Prepare for the Search Cliff

The Search Cliff—an expected 40%+ decline in available student names in College Board's Student Search Service—is coming, and now is the time for admissions and enrollment leaders to prepare. 

The Search Cliff: A New Challenge For Admissions & Enrollment Leaders

For years, students who take the SAT and PSAT have been automatically enrolled in College Board's Student Search Service, often without realizing it. And many college admissions teams have relied on licensing the contact information of those students and marketing to them through direct mail, email, and other marketing channels to achieve their enrollment targets.

However, a seismic shift is coming: College Board will transition to digital PSAT exams in Fall 2023 and digital SAT exams in Spring 2024. Due to state privacy laws, students who take these digital exams during the school day will no longer be enrolled in the Student Search Service in many states. Only students who take weekend SAT tests or enroll in Search through other College Board properties like BigFuture will remain available.

The Fallout: A Massive Drop in Student Search Service Names

As a result, the Search Cliff will result in a significant drop in name availability for student cohorts entering college in Fall 2026 and 2027. While there will be ~40% fewer names available nationwide, some regions will be hit even harder. California, for example, will experience a 54% drop, while many ACT-dominated states will see declines of over 80%.

Many students affected by this change are BIPOC, low-income, and 1st-generation students, who will now be excluded from the Student Search Service. This exclusion means that the remaining names in the Student Search Service will be marketed to even more heavily, as colleges scramble to maintain their recruitment efforts.

Estimating Drops In Inquiries, Applications, and Net Tuition Revenue

The Search Cliff is expected to cause a significant drop in available names, inquiries, applications, and net tuition revenue for schools. Admissions teams can use CollegeVine's Search Cliff Calculator to get a customized forecast for how their own inquiries, applications and net tuition revenue will be impacted.

Get A Customized Forecast Of How Your School Will Be Impacted By The Search Cliff

Now is the Time to Diversity Lead Sources and Evolve Your Strategy

With fewer names available—especially for younger cohorts—enrollment teams relying on marketing and communication efforts targeting underclassmen will need to adjust to this new reality. Diversifying lead sources and updating enrollment funnel operations will be critical to mitigate the risks posed by the Search Cliff.

Enrollment leaders must act now, using the upcoming recruitment cycles to experiment with new lead sources and solidify operations in preparation for the Fall 2025 cycle. Billions of dollars in net tuition revenue are at stake, and those who fail to adapt will expose their institutions to immense risk and volatility.

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