How Monash Business School Uses Student Sentiment to Identify “On-the-Fence” Students And Build Confidence Before Arrival

For business schools today, delivering a strong candidate experience between acceptance and arrival helps build confidence and readiness before students begin university.

Accepted students may receive onboarding information, attend webinars, or browse university resources, but many still arrive at the same silent question:

"Can I actually see myself there?"

For institutions, these moments of hesitation are often difficult to detect before students disengage, delay enrollment, or choose another university entirely.

At Monash Business School, pre-arrival student community insights helped surface these signals much earlier in the student journey, giving the institution greater visibility into what students were feeling, where uncertainty existed, and what support students needed most before arrival.

Rather than waiting until orientation or semester start to understand student wellbeing and engagement, the university gained earlier insight into the emotional and practical factors influencing student confidence and preparedness before arrival.

Turning Student Signals Into Action

Within the Monash Business School community, hundreds of students connected ahead of arrival across 37 nationalities, forming an average of 27 peer connections before starting their studies.

Alongside this, students achieved an average Goin’ Score of 89, reflecting exceptionally high levels of engagement, confidence, and preparedness across the cohort.

However, one of the most valuable findings came from the students who were still uncertain.

While 67.5% of students showed exceptionally strong engagement and confidence indicators before arrival, nearly one-third of students still expressed varying levels of hesitation before arrival.

Importantly, these concerns were not primarily academic. Instead, the strongest uncertainty signals came from:

• language concerns
• financial pressure
• visa-related stress
• uncertainty around fitting in socially
• wanting more opportunities to connect with peers before arrival

This gave Monash Business School something many universities struggle to obtain clear visibility into why students still felt uncertain before arrival.

More importantly, it created opportunities to act.

Supporting Students Before Uncertainty Leads To Withdrawal

One of the clearest findings from the community data was the impact that peer connection had on student confidence and readiness before starting university.

Students consistently requested:

• more opportunities to connect with others
• pre-arrival events
• webinars
• accommodation guidance
• enrollment support

These insights help universities move beyond generic communication strategies toward more targeted and proactive support.

For example, students expressing language-related concerns may benefit from:

• peer-led discussion groups
• introductions to students from similar backgrounds
• informal conversation spaces before arrival
• webinars explaining classroom expectations and student life experiences

While practical concerns such as finances or visas can often be addressed through informational support, emotional concerns around belonging are more difficult to solve through institutional messaging alone.

This is where peer interaction becomes especially important.

When students see others asking similar questions, sharing the same worries, or successfully navigating the same transition, uncertainty becomes more manageable. Confidence grows through relatability.

In fact, 92% of students expressed that connecting with other students on Goin’ strengthened their confidence in their university choice — reinforcing the growing role that peer connection plays in student confidence before arrival.

Across Monash Business School’s community, several themes consistently emerged around what early connection provided students before arrival. Students frequently described reduced anxiety around moving abroad, greater confidence entering university life, reassurance through finding familiar faces before arrival, and a stronger sense of belonging before stepping onto campus. 

Others highlighted that connecting early helped make practical challenges feel more manageable, while also making the transition feel less isolating and overwhelming. 

Students described this experience in their own words:

“I can chat with new friends before the school starts. Now I am relieve since I know I won't be alone in school!”
— Student from Japan

“Connecting with classmates before arriving can reduce anxiety and make it easier to settle in and make friends.”
— Student from Taiwan

“Knowing I'll have familiar faces and acquaintances… will make the whole journey less anxiety-inducing and overwhelming.”
— Student from India

“Having someone on the same boat as you can make the journey more comforting and exciting.”
— Student from Cambodia

“Making friends before the journey begins can make students feel more confident in forming more friendships along the way.”
— Student from Cambodia

“Building a community before arriving helps with social anxiety and makes the study experience better from day one.”
— Student from Burkina Faso

“Connecting with other students before uni is great, makes me feel much more comfortable moving abroad.”
— Student from Thailand

Together, these patterns suggest that peer interaction supports more than engagement alone, but it shapes confidence, preparedness, and emotional readiness before students begin university.

Building Confidence Between Acceptance And Arrival

For business schools operating in an increasingly competitive global environment, these insights are becoming strategically important.

Students are no longer evaluating universities solely based on rankings or employability outcomes.

They are also evaluating:

• whether they feel welcomed
• whether they can build friendships
• whether support feels accessible
• whether they can picture themselves belonging within the cohort

The Monash Business School community demonstrates how student sentiment and peer interaction can help institutions identify hesitation earlier, personalize support more effectively, and strengthen confidence before students arrive on campus.

Because in today’s recruitment environment, supporting students effectively between acceptance and arrival is becoming just as important as recruitment itself.

For many students, the experience after accepting an offer can play a critical role in building confidence before arrival.

Because increasingly, confidence does not begin at orientation.

It begins long before students step onto campus.