A prospective student submits an application to your university. They're excited. They've researched your programmes. They've told their family. They're imagining themselves on your campus.
Then nothing happens.
Days pass. A week. Two weeks. No confirmation that the application was received. No update on the status. They send an email asking for information. No response. They call the admissions office. They're put on hold, then transferred, then disconnected.
They finally get through to someone. That person doesn't have access to their file. They're told to email a different address. They do. Silence again.
Three weeks after applying, they still don't know if their application is being processed, if documents are missing, if they have any chance at all. They're stressed. They're frustrated. They're forming an opinion.
That opinion is: this institution doesn't have its act together.
They haven't attended a single lecture. They haven't met a professor. They haven't walked through your library or sat in your cafeteria. But they've experienced your systems. And your systems told them everything they needed to know.
If applying feels this hard, what will studying here be like? If they can't get a simple question answered now, what happens when they need academic support? If the admissions office is this unresponsive, what about financial aid, or registration, or any other service they'll need?
Your admissions process is your first impression. For most students, it's the only impression they'll have before deciding whether to accept an offer. And right now, at most universities, that impression is terrible.
What Students Experience
Let's walk through what applying to a typical South African university actually feels like from the student's perspective.
They start by trying to figure out how to apply. The website says "Applications Open" but doesn't clearly explain where to go. There's a link to an application portal, but it's not obvious. They click around. They find a PDF with instructions. The PDF is from last year and references deadlines that have already passed.
They create an account on the portal. The password requirements are absurd: minimum 12 characters, at least two symbols, no dictionary words, must include a number that isn't at the start or end. They create a password. The system rejects it. No explanation why. They try again. It works this time.
The application form asks for information they don't have yet. Predicted results for exams they haven't written. Details about subjects they haven't chosen. They leave fields blank, hoping that's allowed. No guidance on whether blank fields will cause rejection.
They upload documents. The system wants PDFs under 2MB. Their phone scanner creates 5MB files. They don't know how to compress PDFs. They try uploading anyway. The system rejects them. No suggestion for how to fix the problem.
They submit the application. A message appears: "Your application has been received. You will be contacted within 10 working days." Relief. Finally, progress.
Fifteen working days pass. Nothing. They check their email obsessively. Spam folder, everything. Nothing from the university. They log back into the portal. Their application status says "received." That's all. No detail. No timeline. No next steps.
They email admissions. No response. They try the general enquiries address. Automated reply: "We are experiencing high volumes. Responses may take 15 working days." They call. Forty-minute hold time. When someone finally answers, they can't access the applicant's file on the spot. They promise to look into it and call back. They don't call back.
This continues for weeks. Anxiety builds. Other universities have already sent offers. Should they accept those? But this university is their first choice. They just don't know where they stand. They feel powerless. Ignored.
Eventually, an email arrives. Subject: "Application Update." They open it with a mix of hope and dread. The email is generic. "Your application is being processed. Further communication will follow." No specifics. No timeline. Nothing actionable.
By the time an actual decision arrives, months have passed. The excitement is gone. The student has been accepted, but the feeling is relief, not joy. Relief that this process is finally over.
And in the back of their mind, a question lingers: if this is how they handle applications, what will registration be like? What about getting exam results? What about any of the hundred other administrative interactions they'll have over the next few years?
What This Communicates
Every interaction a student has with your admissions process is sending them signals. Most of those signals are negative.
Slow responses signal that the institution doesn't value their time. If admissions can't respond to a simple query in under two weeks, the implicit message is: you're not important enough for us to prioritise. Students hear this. They feel it. It shapes how they see you.
Confusing processes signal incompetence. If your application system is hard to navigate, if instructions are unclear, if requirements keep changing, students conclude that the institution doesn't know what it's doing. This might be unfair. It might be that you're understaffed, or working with outdated systems, or dealing with complex regulatory requirements. Students don't see any of that. They just see the mess in front of them.
Unanswered emails signal indifference. When a student reaches out for help and gets nothing back, the message is: we don't care enough to respond. Maybe the email got lost. Maybe the staff member was overwhelmed. Maybe the system failed. From the student's perspective, none of that matters. What matters is they asked for help and were ignored.
Lack of transparency signals distrust. When students can't see where their application is in the process, when timelines are vague or non-existent, when decisions appear arbitrary, they feel anxious and powerless. They start to assume the institution is hiding something or doesn't have a proper system at all.
All of this adds up to a single conclusion: this institution is disorganised, unresponsive, and doesn't care about me as an individual. That's the impression. That's what students take away. And it happens before they ever set foot on campus.
The Cost of Bad First Impressions
This isn't just about feelings. Bad admissions experiences have real, measurable consequences for universities.
You lose students to competitors. When a student applies to multiple universities and one offers a smooth, responsive experience while yours is chaotic, they choose the smooth one. Even if your programmes are better. Even if your campus is nicer. Even if your fees are lower. Because the admissions experience is the only data point they have, and it told them everything they needed to know.
You damage your reputation. Students talk. They tell their friends, their siblings, their parents. They post in Facebook groups and WhatsApp chats. "Don't apply to [University X], their admissions process is a nightmare." This spreads. Future applicants hear it. Your brand gets associated with frustration and incompetence.
You create anxious, distrustful students. Even if students do accept your offer, they arrive on campus already wary. They've learned that your systems don't work smoothly and your staff don't respond quickly. So they're defensive. They're constantly worried something will go wrong. They don't trust that things will be handled properly. This makes every subsequent interaction harder.
You set a low bar for your own services. If students experience dysfunction during admissions and learn to accept it, they'll expect dysfunction everywhere else too. Poor communication becomes normal. Delays become expected. Unresponsiveness becomes just how things are. This makes it harder to build a culture of accountability and service excellence across the institution.
You waste staff time on damage control. Every confusing process generates extra queries. Every delayed response leads to follow-up emails and phone calls. Every mistake requires apologies and corrections. Your admissions team spends more time managing frustrated applicants than actually processing applications. The dysfunction creates its own workload.
Why This Keeps Happening
Most universities know their admissions process is broken. Staff hear the complaints. Applicants express frustration. Yet the same problems persist year after year. Why?
Outdated systems are part of it. Many universities are running admissions on software that was built decades ago, designed for a different era. These systems are clunky, inflexible, and weren't built with the student experience in mind. Replacing them is expensive and complicated, so they limp along, getting worse every year.
Understaffing is another factor. Admissions teams are stretched thin, especially during peak periods. There simply aren't enough people to respond to every email promptly, to handle every call, to process every query. The workload is impossible, so things slip through the cracks.
Siloed departments make everything harder. Admissions needs information from academic departments, financial aid, residences, IT. Getting that information requires navigating internal bureaucracy. Nobody has a complete picture. Nobody has the authority to solve cross-departmental problems. So students get bounced between offices, each one claiming it's someone else's responsibility.
Lack of accountability compounds the issue. When there's no clear ownership of the student experience, when nobody's job depends on applications being processed smoothly, when failures don't have consequences, nothing improves. Staff know the system is broken. They just don't have the power or mandate to fix it.
Institutional inertia is the biggest barrier. Universities are conservative institutions. Change is slow. "This is how we've always done it" is a powerful argument. Even when everyone agrees the process is terrible, mobilising the resources and political will to actually change it is incredibly difficult.
What Good Looks Like
Fixing admissions isn't mysterious. The principles are simple. Execution is harder, but the direction is clear.
Immediate acknowledgment. When a student submits an application, they should receive instant confirmation. Not "within 10 working days." Instantly. An automated email that says: "We received your application. Your reference number is [X]. Here's what happens next." Simple, reassuring, immediate.
Transparent tracking. Students should be able to log into a portal and see exactly where their application is. "Documents received." "Under review." "Awaiting exam results." "Decision made." They shouldn't have to email to ask. The information should be there, updated in real-time, clear and accessible.
Realistic timelines. If processing takes six weeks, say six weeks. Don't promise two weeks and then go silent. Students can handle waiting if they know what to expect. What they can't handle is uncertainty. Give them a realistic timeline and stick to it.
Responsive communication. Emails should be answered within 48 hours. Not 15 working days. 48 hours. Even if the answer is "we're still processing, we'll update you by [date]." Students need to know they've been heard. Fast responses build trust. Silence builds anxiety.
Clear guidance. Every step of the process should be explained in plain language. What documents are needed. How to upload them. What happens if something is missing. When decisions will be made. Students shouldn't have to guess. Instructions should be so clear that following them feels easy.
Empowered staff. The people answering queries should have access to systems and the authority to solve problems. Students shouldn't be bounced between departments. The person they speak to should be able to check their file, answer their questions, and take action if needed. Empower your frontline staff.
Proactive updates. Don't wait for students to chase you. If there's a delay, tell them. If documents are missing, notify them. If decisions are ready, communicate immediately. Proactive communication eliminates anxiety and reduces inbound queries.
The Admissions Experience Is the Student Experience
Here's the thing about first impressions: they're predictive.
Students who experience a dysfunctional admissions process are experiencing a preview of what studying at your institution will be like. Because the same systems, the same culture, the same resourcing constraints that make admissions difficult also affect registration, financial aid, academic administration, and every other service.
If you can't respond to an admissions query in a reasonable time, you probably won't respond to academic support requests either. If your application portal is confusing, your student portal probably is too. If your staff are overwhelmed during admissions, they're overwhelmed year-round. The dysfunction isn't isolated. It's systemic.
Students sense this. They might not articulate it consciously, but they feel it. The admissions process tells them what kind of institution they're joining. Smooth, responsive, transparent admissions signals an institution that has its act together. Chaotic, slow, opaque admissions signals the opposite.
This is why fixing admissions matters beyond just recruitment. It's a signal of institutional competence. It's a demonstration that you value students. It's proof that your systems work. Get admissions right, and students arrive with confidence and trust. Get it wrong, and they arrive expecting problems.
This Is Solvable
The good news is that admissions processes can be fixed. The technology exists. The best practices are known. It doesn't require a complete institutional overhaul. It requires focus, investment, and a commitment to putting the student experience first.
Silentium helps universities redesign their admissions processes to be faster, clearer, and more responsive. We identify bottlenecks, streamline workflows, improve communication, and build systems that actually work for students. Not in theory. In practice.
Because your admissions process is your first impression. And right now, for most universities, it's telling students that you're disorganised, unresponsive, and don't care. You can fix that. You should fix that. Students deserve better. And your institution's reputation depends on it.
The students forming opinions about you right now, based on how hard it is to apply, will be your alumni in a few years. They'll remember how you treated them. Make sure it's a memory worth keeping.