Yield season has a way of making everything feel urgent. The emails, the deposit deadlines, the Admitted Students Day logistics that somehow get more complicated every spring. Most admissions teams are running hard just to keep the event together. Indiana Tech decided to change one thing, and their yield numbers have looked different ever since.

Here's what they did, what held up, and what Andrea Crilly would tell a peer who's still on the fence.

The before state: what Admitted Students Day actually looked like

Before 2020, Indiana Tech's Admitted Students Day ran the way most of these events do. Five staff members. Around 400 hours of preparation. Roughly $4,350 in printing costs per event. Admitted students arrived with paper schedules and a campus map that made sense to the people who'd worked there for years.

The yield rate from those attendees sat at 40%. Nearly two-thirds of the students who showed up, spent a day on campus, and went home chose somewhere else.

That number isn't unusual. It's the number a lot of admissions teams quietly accept because changing it feels like changing everything. Indiana Tech found out it didn't have to.

The moment they decided

The problem Andrea Crilly and her team were solving wasn't abstract. It was logistical. Admitted students were arriving at an event designed to make them feel welcome, and spending too much of it confused. Hunting for sessions. Unsure where to be. Getting a first impression of the institution through the lens of a frustrating experience rather than an exciting one.

"Our yield grew tremendously once we began using Guidebook," said Andrea Crilly, Assistant Director of Admissions for Campus Experience at Indiana Tech. "When we started in 2015, we yielded 40%. After implementing Guidebook in 2020, that number grew to 60-72%, and in 2022 and 2023 it increased to 82%. We believe Guidebook had a strong impact on that growth."

That progression matters. This wasn't a single strong year. It was a consistent climb across multiple admissions cycles, each one building on the last.

What they tried first, and what actually worked

The shift wasn't an admissions strategy overhaul. Indiana Tech didn't rebuild their recruitment funnel or redesign their entire campus visit program. They changed what Admitted Students Day felt like on the ground.

With Guidebook, admitted students had everything they needed on their phones before they arrived: personalized schedules, session locations, maps that worked offline, real-time updates if anything changed. Staff weren't fielding "where do I go for the engineering session?" for three hours. The day felt intentional. Students could focus on picturing themselves at Indiana Tech because the logistics weren't getting in the way.

That's what admissions and enrollment teams often miss when they think about yield improvement. The experience of the day is the pitch. Confusion is a competitor.

Guidebook's bet is that admitted students deserve one app for every moment that matters: a single connected experience, not five separate logins. Indiana Tech's numbers are what happens when that design lands.

The numbers, three years on

The results that followed weren't a one-year anomaly. Here's where Indiana Tech landed:

• Yield rate: 40% before Guidebook, 82% after (a 105% increase)
• Staff required: down from 5 to 2
• Preparation hours: down from 400 to 25 per event (375 hours saved annually)
• Printing costs: from $4,350 per event to minimal
• Overall cost reduction: 29%
• Enrollment influence: Admitted Students Day attendees went from representing 14% of total enrollment to 32%, a 128% increase in the event's contribution to the incoming class

That last number is the one worth sitting with. Indiana Tech didn't just yield more of the students who came. They changed the composition of their class. The event became a more powerful engine for enrollment, not just a better-run day.

What is admissions yield improvement?

Admissions yield improvement refers to increasing the percentage of admitted students who go on to enroll at an institution. Yield is calculated by dividing the number of enrolled students by the number of admitted students. Improving yield typically involves strengthening the admitted student experience, reducing friction in the decision process, and giving prospective students clear, compelling reasons to choose your institution over alternatives. Even a modest yield improvement (5 to 10 percentage points) can significantly impact enrollment targets and tuition revenue.

What they'd tell a peer considering it

Three years on, the fundamentals that drove Indiana Tech's results are still in place. The team is smaller. The event is less expensive to run. And the yield numbers have held.

Crilly's advice to a peer who's still weighing it comes down to something straightforward: don't overthink the change. The tool handles the logistics. Your team handles the relationships. When admitted students can find their session, read the schedule on their phone, and navigate campus without asking three people for help, they spend the day feeling capable and welcome rather than lost.

That feeling is what drives the deposit.

Less confusion. More yield.

Ready to see the full story? Read the Indiana Tech case study and see how the numbers have held across every cycle since 2020.

[faq]
Q: What does admissions yield mean in higher education?
A: Admissions yield is the percentage of admitted students who choose to enroll at an institution. It's calculated by dividing enrolled students by admitted students. A yield rate of 40% means that for every 100 students admitted, 40 enrolled. Yield is one of the most closely watched metrics in enrollment management because it directly determines class size, tuition revenue, and whether an institution hits its enrollment targets each year.

Q: How did Indiana Tech improve its admissions yield rate?
A: Indiana Tech improved their yield rate by changing the on-the-ground experience of their Admitted Students Day. Before Guidebook, admitted students navigated the event with paper schedules and printed maps, which created confusion and a poor first impression. After implementing a mobile app through Guidebook, students had personalized schedules, offline maps, and real-time updates on their phones. The day felt intentional rather than chaotic, and yield from Admitted Students Day attendees climbed from 40% to 82% over three admissions cycles.

Q: How long does it take to see yield improvement after implementing an Admitted Students Day app?
A: Indiana Tech saw meaningful improvement within their first full admissions cycle after implementing Guidebook. Yield from Admitted Students Day attendees rose from 40% to between 60% and 72% in the first years of use, then climbed to 82% by 2022 and 2023. Results compounded over time as the team refined the experience each year. Most institutions can expect to see measurable change within one to two cycles.

Q: What's a realistic yield rate for Admitted Students Day attendees?
A: Yield rates for Admitted Students Day attendees vary significantly by institution type, selectivity, and event quality, but attendees typically yield at higher rates than the general admitted pool because they've made the effort to visit. Indiana Tech's experience, moving from 40% to 82%, reflects what's possible when the event experience is smooth, personalized, and memorable. Many institutions start in the 40% to 60% range for event attendees, with room to improve through better communication, personalization, and on-the-day logistics.

Q: How much does running an Admitted Students Day app cost compared to printed materials?
A: Indiana Tech was spending $4,350 per event on printing before switching to Guidebook. After implementation, printing costs dropped to minimal. Beyond direct print savings, the team reduced preparation staff from 5 to 2 and cut event prep time from 400 hours to 25 hours annually, a total of 375 staff hours saved each year. The overall cost reduction across the program came to 29%. For most institutions, the app pays for itself within one or two event cycles when staff time and print costs are both factored in.

Q: Does a mobile app actually affect whether admitted students enroll?
A: The evidence from Indiana Tech suggests yes, meaningfully. Their yield rate more than doubled over three cycles after implementing Guidebook, and Admitted Students Day attendees grew from representing 14% of their total enrollment to 32%. The mechanism isn't magic: a well-run app removes the friction and confusion that make a campus visit feel disorganized. When admitted students can find where they're going, follow a personalized schedule, and experience the day as seamless and welcoming, they leave with a stronger impression of the institution, and that impression drives deposits.
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