In these uncertain times, one thing that is certain is that 18.3 million students enrolled in degree-granting postsecondary institutions for the fall 2008.  Education will continue to grow for years to come.  Projections for 2016 are 20.4 million enrollments.(Source: Digest of Education Statistics, 2007)

What will the characteristics of your student be next year, ten or fifteen years from now?  According to the U.S . Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics,Projections of Education Statistics to 2017,
 
Projected increase from 2006-2017
      
Enrollment By Age of Student
2006; 2017 (millions)
- 18-24 (10.6; 11.7)
- 25-34 (3.8; 4.8)
- 35 and older (3.1; 3.3)
 
Enrollment by Gender
2006; 2017 (millions)
- Male (7.6; 8.6)
- Female (10.2; 11.5)
 
Enrollment by Level of Education
2006; 2017
- Associates Degree (713,000; 773,000)
- Undergraduate (15,200,000; 17,000,000)
- Graduate (2,200,000; 2,600,000)
- First Professional (300,000; 400,000)
 
Enrollment By Race
2006; 2017 (millions) 
- White (11.6; 12.2)
- Black (2.3; 2.9)
- Hispanic (2.0; 2.7)
 
While these projections above do not factor in the cost of a college education, economic value of an education or impact of distance learning due to technological changes, they do provide a benchmark.
 
Test, Test and Test Again

• Test enrollment trends.
• Test different creative pieces.
• Test multiple channels:  direct mail, email, PURLS.
• Test seasonality.
• Test predictive modeling.
• Test splits such as age, household income, gender, education level.

Continue to tweak and test your direct mail marketing efforts.
 
Once you find your "hot spot", things may shift and/or change on you.  What would you do then?