Stop chasing worthless leads: How to get real returns from your higher ed marketing budget

Most higher ed marketing teams feel the pressure to continually prove their impact. But too often, they focus on the wrong metric: leads. Schools throw money at lead-gen campaigns, collect piles of names, and celebrate when the cost per lead goes down. But what happens next? Admissions teams drown in unqualified inquiries, yield rates stay stagnant, and marketing’s contribution to enrollment remains murky.

Real impact starts with impressions, sure — but not just any impressions. The type of visibility matters. By targeting the right prospects with the right message, you can create awareness that actually leads to engagement and, ultimately, enrollment. Effective marketing isn’t about being seen by the most people; it’s about being seen by the right people. Too many campaigns prioritize volume over quality, wasting budget on broad awareness that doesn’t convert. 

We care about return on ad spend (ROAS) — a metric that’s measurable, strategic, and tied to tangible outcomes. Because a person’s decision on where to go to college isn’t an ordinary e-commerce transaction. It’s one of the most important choices they’ll ever make. So marketing should be about delivering the right prospects, not just more names. 

Let’s set the table. Here’s the simple math for ROAS: 

Ad spend = $100,000

Attributed enrollments from ads = 10 students

Average tuition per student = $50,000

Total revenue from enrollments = 10 × $50,000 = $500,000

ROAS = $500,000 ÷ $100,000 = 5.0

Higher ed advertising isn’t one size fits all. Undergrad prospects behave differently from adult learners, and transfers have different motivations than grad students. ROAS has to reflect that. 

So, let’s strip away the mystery. Here’s our breakdown of ROAS by audience (OMG, we’re giving away the secrets).

Undergraduate Students

• ROAS Benchmark: 2.5 to 4.0
• Why? This group has the biggest audience and the longest decision timeline. High school students take time to convert, so schools need a strategy that nurtures them while keeping the ad spend efficient.
• Common Pitfall: Spending too much on general awareness, without a plan for engagement tactics that lead to conversion.

Transfer Students

• ROAS Benchmark: 3.0 to 5.0
• Why? These students are further in their decision process and tend to convert faster. They also have clearer intent, making targeting and retargeting strategies more effective.
• Common Pitfall: Assuming transfers behave like first-year students and wasting budget on channels that don’t fit their mindset.

Adult Learners

• ROAS Benchmark: 2.0 to 3.0
• Why? This audience is career driven, ROI focused, and more likely to weigh cost, flexibility, and speed. Campaigns need to address these factors directly to avoid wasted spend.
• Common Pitfall: Treating adult learners like traditional students, instead of prioritizing messages about work-life balance.

Graduate Students

• ROAS Benchmark: 2.5 to 5.0
• Why? Grad students bring in higher tuition revenue, but competition is fierce. Stronger targeting and conversion-focused messaging drive a better ROAS.
• Common Pitfall: Over-focusing on rankings and prestige, instead of practical benefits like career outcomes and network value.

If your campaign isn’t generating real, high-intent prospects who convert into enrollments, it’s not working. That’s why we stick to personalized prospect generation. This means:

• Targeting the right students, not just blasting ads at everyone.
• Creating campaigns that nurture engagement instead of just compiling names.
• Prioritizing measurable enrollment impact over vanity metrics.

Again, higher ed marketing isn’t about filling a database. Now more than ever, you have to connect people with the right school, the right program, and the right future. Anything less isn’t worth the ad spend.

 If tangible outcomes resonate with you too, we’d love to connect and talk more.