Most of the prospective students I talk to aren't traditional 22-year-olds fresh out of undergrad. They're working professionals juggling careers, families, and a quiet feeling that they're ready for something more. Many arrive on our calls a little nervous, wondering if going back to school at this stage of life even makes sense for them. What I've learned is that the most successful recruiting conversations aren't about selling a program. They're about coaching a person.
So we start there. Before we talk about coursework or credentials, we ask what's really driving them: a career pivot, a promotion just out of reach, a goal they've been quietly holding onto for years. We listen first, then help them see how their goals connect to what our programs at Sy Syms, Ferkauf, and Cardozo can offer. And because "going back to school" can feel financially daunting on top of everything else, we walk with them through that piece too: talking honestly about cost, financial aid, and payment options so the numbers feel manageable rather than like a reason to give up before they've even applied.
But listening does more than shape a single conversation. Each conversation teaches us something about who's out there. When we hear the same story surface again and again, someone who has spent their career in corporate America eyeing a shift into mental health counseling, a manager who's hit a ceiling without a master's behind their name, we start to see the shape of our market, not just the person on the call. We share what we're hearing with our marketing team, who use it to find more people who look like the ones we've already connected with, or to speak more directly to the professionals we know are out there, quietly wondering if now is their moment. In that way, every conversation we have makes the next one a little easier to start.
What I love most about this work is watching someone's uncertainty turn into excitement. A person who started the conversation unsure if they belonged in a graduate program leaves it feeling like this is possible. Like someone actually heard them and is in their corner. That's the heart of our recruiting approach: meeting working professionals with empathy, not urgency, and helping them believe they can do this. It's why our students don't just enroll, they arrive ready, supported, and genuinely excited to begin.