Report: How Community and Connections Boosts Conversion and Retention at Utrecht University

[Download the full report here] to see how Utrecht University turned early engagement into enrollment success, and how other institutions can do the same.

What if the key to boosting student enrollment and retention isn’t more email reminders, but more meaningful relationships? That’s exactly what Utrecht University set out to explore by partnering with Goin’, their premium friendships and community platform that connects students before they ever set foot on campus.

The university’s goal was simple: understand whether early social integration, enabled digitally, could influence two of higher education’s biggest priorities: conversion (from admitted to enrolled) and retention (staying enrolled throughout the year). The results were striking.

In a joint study, Utrecht University and Goin’ findings showed that students who joined the Goin’ community were significantly more likely to enroll and less likely to drop out. Conversion rates for Goin’ users hit 84%, compared to the university average of 26%. Among master’s students, it climbed to 88%.

But it didn’t stop there. The number of connections students made on the platform was directly linked to outcomes. Students who formed between 76 and 100 connections converted at over 95%, while dropout rates among highly connected students dropped as low as 3%. In contrast, students with way lower connections connections, saw the lowest conversion and highest dropout.

The report also revealed the longer-term impact of connection. Students who began building friendships before arrival were more confident, more engaged, and more likely to persist through challenges. Goin’s role wasn’t just to support onboarding, it became a social infrastructure students continued to rely on during their academic journey.

[Download the full report]  to explore Utrecht’s methodology, segmented insights by study level, and what these findings mean for the future of enrollment strategy.