How to Create Low-cost College Recruitment Videos (with 3 Examples)

$2,795

Take that figure in. Because that, on average, is what it costs a four-year private institution to recruit each student. For public institutions with much tighter purse strings that figure is $494. But either way, when you consider how many new students are enrolled in college each year, it’s a staggering amount. And it’s up 32% for private institutions since 2020. 

Embracing the Lo-Fi Approach

The lesson to be learned here is that attracting new students to your college comes with a hefty price tag. All the travel, events and promotional videos really add up. However, that last one is coming in way more expensive than it should be because of one word - perfection. Chasing it with costly production budgets, high-end sets, big crews, lighting rigs and slick effects is a false economy. And that’s because today’s students don’t want to see that kind of video. Lo-fi, real-life, authentic content is what they really want, and you can deliver it to them at a fraction of the cost.

Unpolished Videos for Greater Impact

When students are looking at the college or higher education institution where they’ll spend the next 3-4 years of their lives, they want insights. But not the kind that comes from scripted promos and talking heads. They’re way more interested in “a day in the life” and behind the scenes video footage shot by students, for students. Just like you’d want the real intel from an employee working at a company you’re thinking of joining, students want opinions straight from the source. 

A recent study by Meta shows “a strong correlation between unpolished video and greater creative impact” when talking to Gen Z and millennials. And a staggering “90% of 18–36-year-olds like it when people showcase their flaws and imperfections.” 

Empowering Students to Tell Their Stories

The revelation here is that you can spend a lot less money recruiting each student, AND get a higher success rate, simply by giving your current students the chance to tell their own stories using smart phones and User-Generated Content.

Capturing great UGC for your recruitment videos is a cakewalk. 

Forget all the hassle that comes with traditional video productions. The only pieces of equipment needed to capture the content you want are the smartphones that students already own. The tech these days is more than enough to get the kind of results that look real without looking cheap. Just find a handful of students to be your go-to filmers, create a shot list (if required, you can just let them go do their own thing if that works) and then sit back and watch the footage come in. 

All too easy? Well yeah, that’s the point. But when you take a look at what other colleges and higher education institutions have already produced using this exact method, well, the results more than speak for themselves. 

CMU | Making Mavericks

Here are three inspiring examples:


1. Colorado Mesa University - "Making Mavericks"

Colorado Mesa University put together a series of student-shot pieces which they called “Making Mavericks,” which combined UGC with regular production techniques. 

2. University of Central Florida (UCF) - "Day in the Life"

University of Central Florida (UCF) students ditched the lights, crew and high-end production to shoot everything on their cell phones. The resulting “Day in the life” videos were much more genuine and impactful than a traditional recruitment piece. 

3. The Association of Former Students of Texas A&M University

The Association of Former Students of Texas A&M University overcame tough pandemic restrictions to shoot everything they needed using smartphones. No travel or film crews were required, and what was produced is just what millennials and Gen Z is looking for. 

These are just a few of the many examples of the kinds of student recruitment videos and student-shot pieces of content that are resonating so well with your target audience. And remember, not only is this kind of footage way more effective, it also comes in well under the typical recruitment video budget. With costs for everything skyrocketing, it just makes sense to take the lo-fi road. That’s the kind of lateral thinking that gets an A+ in anyone’s book.