Bentley University pivots from in-person to online events

In the face of global lockdowns, Bentley University moved all of their admitted student events online—using Unibuddy Events to host real-time group chats between applicants, student ambassadors, and staff.

Shanell Cartagena, Senior Assistant Director of International Admission, said: “Setting up the live event is really easy. And it’s simple to edit it right up to the start of the event. The platform is really user-friendly.”

The versatility of Unibuddy Live meant they could run large-scale recruitment events, as well as smaller and more targeted events.

Shanell explained: “We had more than 100 students and staff involved in these events, but with good organization, it was very straightforward to run. For others, we had just 3 channels and a handful of staff and that takes just 5 minutes to set up.”

Bentley University found a number of advantages to running virtual events.

For a start, without travel restrictions, it becomes possible to reach huge audiences of international and out-of-state students.

Shanell explained: “Especially for us, we have a large international audience and we had a lot more students from outside the US participate than we had in the past. You also don’t get 10 students asking the same question 10 times, so staff and student ambassadors prefer it for that reason.”

Bentley’s prospects and applicants love the ability to reach out and connect with a current student or staff member on a one-on-one basis.

And now, Bentley University will use our new product to add a face to their events: “We know students feel comfortable with chatting and now we’re adding a face to that event. It makes it more personal”

63% of Admitted Students that used Unibuddy went on to enroll.

In the face of global lockdowns, Bentley University moved all of their admitted student events online – using Unibuddy Live to host real-time group chats between applicants, student ambassadors and staff.

“This was definitely the largest group of international students we’ve ever had at an admitted students event.”
Shanell Cartagena, Senior Assistant Director of International Admission