How Thomas More Signed Up 30 More Students for Fall Preview Day

Thomas More University is a small Catholic university in Kentucky with a growing student body and an international population that’s risen steadily for six years. Its admissions team is lean, so it needed a way to reach students on the channels they actually use, from first inquiry through life on campus. Thomas More uses Mongoose Text and WhatsApp, connected to Slate, to do exactly that.

Thomas More at a glance

• Institution: Private Catholic university, Kentucky
• Teams: Admissions, global education
• Channels: Text, WhatsApp
• CRM: Slate

The challenge: one small team, several student populations

Thomas More enrolls on a rolling basis and supports several distinct groups at once: domestic undergraduates, international undergraduates (many of them athletes), and international graduate students. Outreach was spread across several teams, and international students lived on WhatsApp, a channel the university couldn’t yet use well.

The team needed one platform that could handle two-way, personal conversations across the whole enrollment journey, and it had to be simple enough for a small team to run while still offering detailed segmentation, automation, and reporting.

How Thomas More uses Mongoose

Thomas More runs Text for domestic students and WhatsApp for international students. Both connect to Slate, so the team can build segments, automate campaigns, and reply to students quickly. Tony Otten, Associate Director of Admissions, manages all of it himself.

“I’m the only super user for Mongoose. I manage the texting plans, templates, queries, and campaigns. The fact that I can do that from a centralized platform like Mongoose makes it manageable, even for a small team like ours.”

Tony Otten, Associate Director of Admissions, Thomas More University

Event signups that move the needle

Events are one of Thomas More’s most important conversion levers. Tony tracks link requests and event signups to see what’s working, and auto-replies send students the signup link as soon as they ask for it.

“From one mass text, we might get 25 students asking for the event link. For a school our size, that’s huge. We’re already 30 students ahead for fall preview day compared to last year, and texting has been a big part of that.”

Tony Otten

WhatsApp for international students

Thomas More’s international admissions team works with students across Latin America, Europe, South Asia, and Africa. For them, WhatsApp is the main way to communicate, especially during the visa and documentation process. Before WhatsApp through Mongoose, the team was limited to email and Zoom calls. Now one WhatsApp inbox lets students get real-time answers from several team members, send required documents quickly, and sort out problems without long delays.

“The instant responsiveness matters. They have so many questions about forms, their I-20s, CPT, travel, and more. WhatsApp lets us help them faster and better.”

Tony Otten

One shared inbox

The team no longer relies on siloed email chains. The Designated School Official (DSO), admissions counselors, and the Global Education enrollment manager can all see and triage student messages in one place.

“Email just doesn’t cut it for international support. With Mongoose WhatsApp, we have a shared space, so no one’s left hanging if someone’s out sick or on vacation. That centralization is a game-changer.”

Tony Otten

Outbound WhatsApp, built in

Meta-approved templates inside Mongoose let Thomas More start WhatsApp conversations, where before the team could only reply.

“Before, we had to wait for the student to message us first. Now we can initiate contact. And we don’t have to go through Meta Business Manager to create the templates; it’s all inside Mongoose.”

Tony Otten

Less melt, more belonging

After students deposit, summer campaigns keep them warm through the first day of classes, which cuts summer melt and builds an early sense of belonging. International students keep using WhatsApp once they’re on campus. “We have current students reaching out about travel emergencies, I-20 renewals, or OPT,” Tony said. “It’s become their trusted resource.”

Clear ROI

WhatsApp has already helped Thomas More recruit more than one additional international student, so it’s paid for itself.

“Costing one-fifth the revenue we receive from a traditional student, WhatsApp pays for itself if it helps us enroll even one more international student. And we know we’re doing more than that.”

Tony Otten

Looking ahead

Today, Thomas More uses WhatsApp mostly to support enrolled and in-progress international students. As interest grows, the team plans to use WhatsApp segments and templates for proactive international recruitment.

“We have good problems; we’re swamped with interest. But as we grow, I can see us using segments and templates in WhatsApp to do more proactive recruitment.”

Tony Otten

“Good service generates more engagement. And Mongoose helps us deliver that service at scale. Whether it’s a student trying to enroll or someone already on campus, we’re there, and they know it.”

Tony Otten

Get the full case study

For a two-page summary of Thomas More’s results to share with your team, download the Thomas More case study.

Download Here

Want to see what Text and WhatsApp could do for your enrollment? Book a demo.

Frequently Asked Questions

How did Thomas More grow event signups?

Thomas More sends targeted Mongoose Text campaigns for events like fall preview day, with auto-replies that send the signup link to anyone who asks. One mass text can bring in about 25 link requests, and fall preview day signups ran 30 students ahead of the same point the year before.

How does WhatsApp support international students at Thomas More?

International students from Latin America, Europe, South Asia, and Africa use WhatsApp as their main channel. Through one shared WhatsApp inbox in Mongoose, they get real-time answers about visas, I-20s, documents, and travel, both before they arrive and after they’re on campus.

How does a small admissions team manage it all?

Tony Otten, Associate Director of Admissions, is Thomas More’s only Mongoose super user. He handles texting plans, templates, queries, campaigns, segmentation, and reporting from one platform connected to Slate, while the DSO, counselors, and Global Education team share the inbox.

What ROI has Thomas More seen from WhatsApp?

WhatsApp costs one-fifth of the revenue Thomas More receives from a traditional student, so it pays for itself if it helps enroll even one more international student. It’s already helped recruit more than one.

How does Thomas More reduce summer melt?

Summer campaigns keep deposited students engaged through the first day of classes, so they stay connected and start building a sense of belonging before they arrive.

What’s next for Thomas More?

The team plans to use WhatsApp segments and Meta-approved templates for more proactive international recruitment as interest keeps growing.