06/19/2026
Open days are converting fewer students.
Not because the campus isn't impressive. Because fewer students are arriving undecided.
Here's what's changed:
By the time a prospective student attends an open day in 2026, they've already done 6β8 hours of online research. They've shortlisted. They've compared. Many have already formed a preference.
The open day confirms a decision. It rarely makes one.
Which means the real conversion moment; the one that determines whether a student adds you to their shortlist at all; happens weeks earlier.
Online. Alone. At home.
Most enrollment teams are optimising for the visit.
The ones with the highest yield rates are optimising for what happens before it.
The question isn't how to run a better open day.
It's how to make a prospective student feel enough, online, that they want to attend one.
How are you converting prospective students who never reach the open day stage?