Your September intake is arriving soon. Excited? Nervous? Both?
They’re making one of the biggest jumps of their lives. From school bells and uniform checks to choosing their own timetables and finding their way around a sprawling campus. No wonder the drop-out rate for 16-18 year olds sits around 6.5%.
Getting those first few weeks right is essential.
The Reality Check
These students aren’t just changing courses. They’re changing everything. New building, new teachers, new freedom. Some will thrive immediately. Others will feel completely lost.
Your marketing team can’t just focus on getting bums on seats anymore. You need to help them stay there.
What Helps
Week One Survival
Forget the 47-page handbook. Give them a simple map that makes sense. Mark the loos, the canteen, and where to get help. Obvious? Maybe. Essential? Definitely.
Clear Expectations
School spoon-feeds. College doesn’t. But that doesn’t mean throwing them in the deep end. Show them what independent learning looks like. Give examples, not just theory.
Connection Points
Those awkward icebreakers aren’t just filler. They’re lifelines. Design activities that work. Mix courses, mix backgrounds, find common ground.
Visual Wayfinding
Your building might make perfect sense to you. To a 16-year-old on day one? It’s a maze. Good signage isn’t expensive. Poor signage costs students.
The Practical Stuff
Welcome Packs That Welcome
Not another folder full of policies. Give them something useful. Campus map, local food spots, study tips that work. Make it something they’ll keep, not bin.
Induction That Inducts
Three days of presentations about systems they don’t understand yet? No thanks. Spread it out – drip-feed information when they need it.
Peer Support That Supports
Buddy systems work when they’re properly organised. Random pairings don’t. Match personalities, courses, interests. Give structure, not just good intentions.
Making It Stick
The colleges getting this right aren’t just lovely places to study. They’re places students recommend to their mates. Places that feel like home by October, not just by Christmas.
Your retention rates tell the story. Your student satisfaction scores tell the story. Your reputation tells the story.
Getting Creative
Smart colleges are rethinking everything. Interactive campus tours instead of PowerPoint marathons. QR codes linking to video tutorials. Student-designed welcome materials that speak their language.
You don’t need a bigger budget. You need a smarter approach.
Ready to make September smoother? We help colleges create materials that help students settle in. From clear wayfinding to welcome packs that work. Because getting those first few weeks right makes all the difference.
Let’s chat about making your September intake feel at home from day one.
