Case Study: University of San Diego achieves higher admissions yield and student engagement with PeopleGrove

University of San Diego - Customer Case Study

The University of San Diego partnered with PeopleGrove to solve a pressing admissions challenge: how to recreate the feel of an on-campus Visit Day and provide personalized, peer-to-peer support for the incoming class of 2024. Admissions Communications Supervisor Austin McKinley had launched an informal Regional Connections ambassador program, but matching students to ambassadors via email was manual, inefficient and hard to measure—USD needed a scalable way for student ambassadors to authentically evangelize the campus experience.

PeopleGrove implemented the Torero Ambassador Network using its Enrollment Success platform and integrated it into USD’s T.E.A.M. network, launching in two weeks. Within the first week 70+ ambassadors signed up to support 5,000+ prospects, driving an 88% student-to-ambassador response rate, 65% ambassador opt-in acceptance, 65% of prospects from out-of-state, and 700 messages exchanged in 14 days. By enabling instant, interest-based matches and seamless connections to alumni and employers, PeopleGrove helped USD deliver personalized outreach at scale and sustain admissions yield despite campus closures.

University of San Diego

Austin McKinley

Admissions Communication Supervisor