After a year of secret shopping as a student and parent, I uncovered what most colleges get wrong about text messaging. Generic, one-off blasts don’t build trust—thoughtful, timely, personalized texts do. In this episode, we explore what works, what doesn’t, and how to make SMS a real relationship builder.

This year, I gave my cell number to 26 colleges as part of my annual secret shopping experiment. The results? 77% texted me as a student, but none texted me as a parent. In this blog, I share real examples of what colleges are sending, what’s working (and what’s not), and simple rewrites that turn one-way announcements into real conversations.

We say it all the time: “Parents are important,” but how often do our actions actually reflect that? Walk through specific, tangible strategies for making parents feel seen, heard and empowered to help their student say yes.

At my last institution, we had a real challenge: students just weren’t completing their enrollment forms. Counselors were calling, emails were going out daily, and portal reminders were non-stop—but nothing seemed to move the needle. That’s when I had a moment of clarity—what if the key wasn't reaching out to the student, but their parent?