Closing the gap in real time with behavioral insights
National Decision Day is a whirlwind of celebration and anticipation, as high school seniors reveal the big news: where they’ll begin the next chapter of their lives. For many universities, May 1 is more than just a date; it provides a first glimpse at incoming class size and sparks campus-wide questions about how close enrollment goals are to being met.
For students, making this life-changing decision isn’t always easy. They wrestle with uncertainty, weigh countless options, and sometimes change their minds at the last minute. For admissions teams, this creates a delicate balancing act: how to support students while keeping enrollment goals on track. At Saint Louis University, a large portion of incoming students remained undecided as May 1 approached, highlighting the need to connect with them to better understand their plans while monitoring progress toward enrollment targets.
About Saint Louis University
Saint Louis University (SLU), located in St. Louis, Missouri, is one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious Catholic, Jesuit universities. Founded in 1818, SLU is known for rigorous academics, transformative research, compassionate health care, and a strong commitment to faith and service.
With more than 13,300 students, the university emphasizes ethics, leadership, and community engagement, offering courses that integrate service and experiential learning. SLU is recognized as an R1 research university and ranks among the nation’s top programs for academic excellence and impact.
The Challenge
Navigating late decisions and enrollment uncertainty
The final weeks leading up to National Decision Day can be especially challenging for undergraduate enrollment, and maintaining engagement with students who are still undecided often requires careful strategy. Students are weighing multiple options, considering financial aid, and balancing other life decisions, all of which can delay their commitment and create uncertainty for admissions teams.
Saint Louis University experienced these challenges firsthand when it found itself more than 100 students short of its enrollment goal in May 2025. The team recognized the need for a way to identify and engage high-potential students who had not yet committed.
The Solution
Turning insights into enrollment success
To address their enrollment gap, Saint Louis University leveraged ZeeMee data insights, to identify medium- and high-engagement students in their community who had not yet committed to a school. By focusing outreach on this targeted group, SLU was able to prioritize efforts where they would have the greatest impact.
Using ZeeMee data, counselors reached out to identified students and, in just one week, took a meaningful step toward closing their enrollment gap, creating valuable opportunities to understand students’ plans and guide them toward a decision. By leveraging real-time engagement data and behavioral insights, SLU was able to act quickly, connect thoughtfully, and make measurable progress toward closing their enrollment gap.
The Success
By using the data points provided by ZeeMee, Saint Louis University determined which students to prioritize, turning meaningful community interactions into actionable enrollment strategies. By tracking student behaviors in real time, SLU gained visibility into undecided students, enabling smarter, more timely outreach that directly supported closing enrollment gaps and achieving their goals. Strategies like this allowed SLU to act quickly, ease the pressure of May 1, and make a real-time impact on their enrollment funnel.
This isn’t just about the data, it’s about action. By leveraging these real-time insights, we are empowering our team to make smarter decisions faster.
Stephanie Dugo
Director of Recruitment
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