Coronavirus Student Impact

The novel coronavirus has impacted every industry and population – and the higher education population is no exception. In light of 2020’s prospective students, Thinking Cap Agency will survey college students in two waves about their perspectives on the coronavirus. Thinking Cap is committed to providing the most and up-to-date research to better understand the possible impact of COVID-19. In the first wave of the study, which took place in early March, Thinking Cap Agency found that prospective students are more likely to attend virtual campus tours instead of visiting in person, and that they are even more likely to delay enrollment entirely. This thorough research on how prospective students perspectives have changed due to coronavirus will prove invaluable to enrollment marketers as they adjust their messaging and strategies going forward.

Methodology

Thinking Cap will be conducting a two-wave study from March 2020 – August 2020.

Wave 1

  • Total student sample size = 1,800 college students
    • 4-year college/university: n=400
    • 2-year/community: n=500
    • Grad school: n=600
    • Professional courses: n=300
  • Respondents recruited via online panel with national representation across all college segments pursuing a degree or professional certificate.
  • Fielded on March 10th to March 16th, 2020
  • Overall results have a sampling error of +/- 4 percentage points of what they would be if the entire U.S. college had been polled

Wave 2

  • To be fielded in August / September 2020