Utrecht University Drives 84% Conversion Rate with Goin’

Want to See the Full Results?

The full report, Boosting Conversion, Reducing Dropout, Strengthening Community, shares in-depth findings from Utrecht’s 2023/2024 cohort. It includes clear breakdowns of the university’s conversion and retention overall and by study level, revealing how student-to-student connection affected both short-term enrollment and long-term persistence.

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

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3x Increase in Conversion

Among students who joined the Goin’ platform before arrival, 84% converted from admitted to enrolled. That’s more than three times higher than Utrecht University’s overall conversion rate of 26%. For master’s students, the results were even more striking: 88% of Goin’ users enrolled, compared to just 22% of the general master’s cohort. At the bachelor level, 79% of Goin’ users enrolled, compared to 29% of all admitted bachelor students.

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More Connections, More Likelihood to Convert

Beyond general usage, the number of connections each student made also mattered. The analysis revealed a direct relationship between peer connections and enrollment likelihood. Students with strikingly higher peer connections had conversion rates above 95%. Even those with 26–50 connections saw major benefits, boosting bachelor-level conversion by 14 percentage points (from 71% to 85%). 

This suggests that building even a moderate number of relationships can tip a student’s decision from uncertainty to enrollment.

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Why Early Connection Is the Missing Link in Enrollment

What makes this strategy so effective is the emotional and social layer it adds to the pre-arrival experience. Traditional outreach often focuses on information and logistics. But for many students, especially those relocating internationally, the real driver of confidence is feeling a sense of belonging. Students need emotional readiness. They want to feel like they belong before they arrive.

Goin’ helps students meet future classmates, ask meaningful questions, and see themselves reflected in the community they’re about to join. By enabling peer discovery, interest-based groups, and gamified milestones, Goin’ helped UU students:

• Meet future classmates with similar backgrounds
• Ask real, unfiltered questions about life at UU
• Form early bonds that made them feel part of a community

Those early relationships help transform uncertainty into excitement, well before the first class even begins.

[Download the Full Report] to explore Utrecht University’s full dataset, connection insights, and how you can apply this strategy to your own recruitment and retention goals.