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After strong results with current students, BUas moved upstream, giving future students a social home where connection starts early and confidence follows.
The starting point: lots of info, little connection
Before launch, most pre-arrival touchpoints lived in emails, portals and occasional webinars. Questions about housing, visas and course life were handled across scattered channels. Offer-holders had no single place to meet future classmates or share questions and tips.
The objective was simple: create one social home where future students could find each other early, see relevant pre-arrival events, and reduce anxiety, all while keeping the lift low for staff.
That’s the gap the BUas Future Students Community set out to close. As mentioned by Maaike Vergouwen Kocken, Lead International Recruitment: “It gives them a sense of belonging before they even arrive on campus and allows them to get in touch with others who are who are going through the same experience.”
Creating a central hub
BUas adapted the same model that worked on campus and made Uni-Life the central hub for future students too: one place where public discussion threads sit alongside private one-to-one chats. Offer-holders can ask questions in the open, follow what’s relevant, join groups around shared interests, and see what’s coming up - from webinars and meet-ups to orientation previews, so they can start real friendships before they arrive.
Implementation was deliberately light-touch and collaborative. Campaign templates and targeted invites brought offer-holders in; onboarding prompts nudged first posts and introductions; event previews surfaced the most relevant pre-arrival sessions.
“The implementation process was smooth and well-coordinated. Communication with the Uni-Life team has been very pleasant; they are approachable, quick to respond and open to feedback. Managing the platform has been straightforward, and it’s clear the team genuinely cares about the success of each university they work with.” said Maaike.
From sign-ups to real connection
With the foundation in place, participation was high and interactions were meaningful: 35.6% of offer-holders signed up, and since launch students have exchanged 11,724 one-to-one messages on the pre-enrolment platform. The tone was warm and practical:
“I became closer with future classmates before arrival!”
“The Uni-Life app is a genius idea. It is really helpful and makes you feel "closer" to other students and the university.”
Many students connected via Uni-Life before meeting at the in-person events. The numbers match the feeling: in a survey of 190 new BUas students, 80.8% found it easy to connect with students from similar backgrounds, 55.8% felt more prepared to study at BUas thanks to the community, and 68.8% felt more confident about enrolling.
One student summed up their experience as “a platform that made me feel at home right away!” As one staff member also reflected, “We wanted one platform that could foster a community for future students, and Uni-Life did exactly that.”
Continuing the momentum
Looking ahead, BUas will keep this central social home at the heart of pre-arrival and onboarding, alongside the existing community for current students.
Maaike ties the approach to BUas’ goals:
“It’s a great way to strengthen engagement and build community from the very start, creating a smooth transition from interested student to active member of our BUas community. In the long run, it also supports our goal of improving conversion between application and enrolment, ensuring that the right students find their place with us.”
BUas is happy to recommend the model to peers looking to foster a sense of belonging early:
“I would definitely recommend Uni-Life to universities that want to build stronger connections with their students before day one. It’s an effective, accessible platform that brings together everything related to study choice and student life in one place. The platform helps new students feel part of the university before they even start, which contributes to early engagement and a positive student experience,” said Maaike.
