The 15 questions every prospect asks before enrolling

Your prospects all ask the same questions. Here they are.

89% of prospective students want to know about tuition fees before anything else. The second question concerns career outcomes (84%), the third is about work placements (78%). This is not guesswork: it comes from an analysis of 12,000 chatbot conversations between September 2025 and February 2026.

If you work in admissions, you know these questions by heart. Your team probably answers them 200 times a month — by phone, by email, at expos, at open days. Yet most university websites bury the answers in PDFs or pages three clicks from the main navigation.

This article ranks the 15 most frequent questions by recurrence, grouped into three blocks: finances, program, and practical life. For each one, you will find the raw data and what it means for your admissions strategy.

The complete ranking of the 15 questions

Before the detail, here is the overview. Percentages indicate the share of conversations in which each question appears at least once.

• 1. "What are the tuition fees?" — 89%
• 2. "What are the career outcomes after graduation?" — 84%
• 3. "Do you offer work integrated learning / placement options?" — 78%
• 4. "How much does it cost to live on campus or in the city?" — 71%
• 5. "What are the payment options?" — 49%
• 6. "What are the entry requirements?" — 65%
• 7. "How many months of work placement are included?" — 61%
• 8. "Is the degree recognised / accredited?" — 58%
• 9. "What is student life like?" — 52%
• 10. "What international exchange programs are available?" — 67%
• 11. "When is the next open day?" — ~45%
• 12. "How do I submit an application?" — ~42%
• 13. "Is student accommodation available?" — ~38%
• 14. "What student societies and clubs exist?" — ~33%
• 15. "Is the university accessible for students with disabilities?" — ~28%

Source: analysis of 12,000 chatbot conversations, Skolbot, Sep 2025 — Feb 2026. Ranks 11-15 are extrapolated from session replay and internal site search data.

The 5 questions about finances (ranks 1 to 5)

1. "What are the tuition fees?" — 89%

The prospect wants a number, not a redirect to a course guide download. Group of Eight universities with Commonwealth Supported Places (CSPs) ranging from $4,000 to $12,000 AUD per year depending on the discipline, private providers at $15,000-$30,000 AUD: whatever the figure, it must be visible on the program page.

The paradox: 89% of prospects ask this question even though the information is theoretically on the website (Source: Skolbot analysis, 12,000 conversations, 2025-2026). It is usually buried in a PDF or accessible only after requesting a course guide. The QS International Student Survey confirms that cost remains the top decision criterion for 78% of international students.

2. "What are the career outcomes after graduation?" — 84%

Prospects want three things: the employment rate at six months, the median starting salary, and concrete examples of job titles. Not a paragraph about "numerous opportunities".

The Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching (QILT) Graduate Outcomes Survey publishes annual data you can cite directly. Under the TEQSA framework, institutions are expected to provide transparent outcome data. A prospect who cannot find employment figures leaves your site — they visit 4.7 institutions on average before asking their first question.

3. "Do you offer work integrated learning / placement options?" — 78%

Work integrated learning has moved from niche to mainstream. In Australia, the proportion of students undertaking industry placements and cooperative education has grown steadily since 2020, supported by government policy encouraging closer university-industry ties. The question masks a financial concern: a paid placement offsets living costs and builds the CV. Answer by specifying which programs include mandatory work placements and the employer placement rate.

4. "How much does it cost to live on campus or in the city?" — 71%

The prospect wants to estimate their total monthly budget: accommodation, transport, food. Publish a "typical student budget" on your admissions page. Study Australia and the Department of Home Affairs publish living cost benchmarks — currently around $24,500 AUD per year as a visa requirement — that you can contextualise for your city.

5. "What are the payment options?" — 49%

HECS-HELP, FEE-HELP, SA-HELP, scholarship, instalment plan? Half of prospects explicitly ask about funding. Most domestic undergraduate students access deferred loans via HECS-HELP through Study Assist. The answer should sit on the same page as the fees, not behind a separate tab.

The 5 questions about the program (ranks 6 to 10)

6. "What are the entry requirements?" — 65%

The prospect wants to know whether they have a realistic chance before investing time. ATAR cut-offs, prerequisite subjects, IELTS thresholds for international applicants: be factual. If you recruit through UAC, VTAC, or QTAC, specify both the ATAR threshold and any subject prerequisites. Ambiguity generates drop-off.

7. "How many months of work placement are included?" — 61%

One semester? A full year of industry experience? Optional or compulsory? The prospect is planning their CV as much as their studies. Programs accredited by the relevant professional bodies (Engineers Australia, CPA Australia, the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council) can cite the mandatory placement hours as a credibility signal.

8. "Is the degree recognised / accredited?" — 58%

TEQSA registration, professional accreditation (AACSB, EQUIS, AMBA for business schools; Engineers Australia for engineering), self-accrediting authority: prospects — and especially their parents — want guarantees. Do not assume the prospect understands the difference between a diploma and a bachelor's degree, or between institutional and program-level accreditation.

9. "What is student life like?" — 52%

This question comes later in the conversation, once financial and academic aspects are settled. The prospect is trying to picture themselves on your campus. The most effective answers are visual — campus photos, student video testimonials — not lists of clubs.

10. "What international exchange programs are available?" — 67%

Semester abroad, dual degree, summer school: the prospect wants destinations and first-hand accounts. Institutions with partnerships through the New Colombo Plan or with universities ranked in the QS World University Rankings should highlight this explicitly. Go8 universities, in particular, maintain extensive global exchange networks that are a strong differentiator.

The 5 questions about practical life (ranks 11 to 15)

11. "When is the next open day?" — ~45%

Between March and September (the main Australian application cycle), this is the most searched piece of information. If it requires more than one click from the homepage, you are losing sign-ups.

12. "How do I submit an application?" — ~42%

Which documents, which deadline, which portal. A downloadable checklist reduces clarification emails. For UAC, VTAC, or QTAC applicants, a step-by-step timeline of the application cycle is invaluable. International students applying for a student visa (subclass 500) also need clear guidance on the Confirmation of Enrolment (CoE) process.

13. "Is student accommodation available?" — ~38%

University-managed residences, purpose-built student accommodation, share houses: accommodation is a deciding factor for students relocating, especially those moving interstate or from regional areas. A visible link to your accommodation service is enough.

14. "What student societies and clubs exist?" — ~33%

Student guild, sports clubs, volunteering groups: the prospect is assessing the richness of campus life. This is a differentiation criterion between institutions of comparable academic standing.

15. "Is the university accessible for students with disabilities?" — ~28%

This question directly concerns the growing population of students with declared disabilities. The answer should name the disability support service, available adjustments, and the process for accessing support through the institution's equity and access team, as well as any eligibility for the Disability Support Program or other state-based support.

What these questions reveal

Three findings emerge from this analysis.

67% of questions are asked outside office hours, peaking on Sunday evenings between 8 pm and 9 pm (Source: Skolbot interaction logs, 200,000 sessions, Oct 2025 — Feb 2026). Your admissions team finishes at 5 pm. Your prospects start searching at 8 pm. This mismatch is a major blind spot.

72% of questions are basic FAQs — "how much does it cost" or "when is the open day" — that require no human expertise to answer (Source: automatic classification, Skolbot, 12,000 conversations). Only 7% genuinely need a human adviser. The rest is available information, poorly distributed.

Prospects visit 4.7 pages on average before asking their first question (Source: analytics and session replay, 15,000 journeys, 2025-2026 cycle). This figure rises to 5.2 for Group of Eight institutions.

The pattern is consistent: the information exists, but the prospect cannot find it fast enough. The issue is not creating content — it is making it accessible at the right moment, including at 9 pm on a Sunday.

How to answer these 15 questions around the clock

The most direct approach is to restructure your website so that each question finds its answer in fewer than two clicks. Display fees on the program page. Publish open day dates on the homepage. Create a living FAQ, not a static PDF.

To go further, an AI chatbot trained on your institution's data can take over when your team is unavailable. Skolbot data shows that institutions with a chatbot reduce their bounce rate from 68% to 41%, a drop of nearly 40%. Session duration rises from 1 min 45 s to 4 min 12 s.

This is not about replacing your advisers. It is about freeing their time for the 7% of cases that genuinely need human expertise — personalised guidance, contextual offers, complex cases involving international student recruitment.

What Gen Z expects from a university website is the same thing they expect from any online service: an instant answer, available when they need it.

FAQ

Where does this data come from?

Ranks 1 to 10 come from the analysis of 12,000 chatbot conversations (Skolbot, Sep 2025 — Feb 2026, panel of 50 institutions). Ranks 11 to 15 combine session replay and internal site search data (15,000 journeys).

Are these questions the same for all institutions?

The top 5 is stable regardless of institution type. Variations appear in the lower ranks: more accreditation questions for engineering programs, more dual-degree questions at business schools. The common core remains fees, career outcomes, and work placements.

Why do 67% of questions arrive outside office hours?

Prospects are primarily Year 12 students or those considering a change of course. Their research window corresponds to their free time: evenings and weekends. During the UAC and VTAC deadline periods, this rate climbs to 74%.

How can I use this ranking practically?

Check that the answers to the top five questions are accessible in fewer than two clicks on your website. If the answer about tuition fees requires downloading a course guide, you have a conversion problem, not a content problem.

Can a chatbot really answer all of these questions?

72% of them, yes — without human intervention. The remaining 21% need institution-specific context, and the 7% of complex questions should be escalated to an adviser. A well-configured chatbot handles all three scenarios.