HubSpot can be a powerful tool for school and university admissions teams, helping them streamline recruitment, manage applications, and enhance student engagement. One of the most essential features in HubSpot is properties, which act as data fields to store and organise critical information about students, parents, applications, and more.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover:
- What HubSpot properties are and how they work
- The different types of properties and how they apply to admissions
- Best practices for customising properties for school and university admissions teams
- Examples of useful properties for tracking applicants, partnerships, and enrollment
- How to use properties for segmentation, automation, and reporting
- Custom objects in HubSpot and how they can be used for admissions
- Tips for keeping properties organised and up to date
What Are Properties in HubSpot?
In HubSpot, properties are data fields used to store and track information. Admissions teams can use properties to record details about:
- Prospective students (e.g., name, email, course)
- High schools, colleges or agents that refer students
- Application and enrolment status
- Financial aid requests and other student support needs
There are four main types of properties in HubSpot:
- Contact Properties – Store data about students, parents, agents, and alumni.
- Company Properties – Track feeder schools, educational partnerships, and referral sources.
- Deal Properties – Manage student applications as deals in a pipeline.
- Ticket Properties – Organise admissions-related support inquiries. (Often less used)
Each property has a field type that determines how data is entered, such as:
- Single-line text – Open-ended responses (e.g., “High School Name”)
- Dropdown select – Standardised responses (e.g., “Program of Interest: MBA, Computer Science, Nursing”)
- Single check box (Yes/No) – Binary choices (e.g., “Scholarship Awarded: Yes/No”)
- Date picker – Tracks deadlines and key dates (e.g., “Application Submission Date”)
Key HubSpot Properties for Admissions Teams
Contact Properties for Student Profiles
These properties help admissions teams store key details about prospective students or parents, making it easier to track engagement and personalise communication.
- Intended Start Term (Dropdown) – Tracks when a student plans to enroll (e.g., Summer 2025, Spring 2026).
- Program of Interest (Dropdown) – Segments students by their preferred courses (e.g., MBA, Computer Science, Nursing).
- Current Education Level (Dropdown) – Indicates if the student is in high school or applying for graduate studies.
- Scholarship Eligibility (yes/no) – Tracks whether a student qualifies for financial aid or merit-based scholarships.
- Application Status (Dropdown) – Shows where a student is in the application process (e.g., Inquiry, Submitted, Under Review, Accepted, Waitlisted, Enrolled). This can also be used as a deal property depending on how you setup your process.
Company Properties for Feeder Schools & Partnerships (agents)
For institutions that receive applicants from specific high schools or colleges, tracking feeder schools can strengthen relationships and streamline student pipelines.
- Feeder School Name (Single-line text) – Records which schools send the most applicants.
- School Type (Dropdown) – Categorises the institution (e.g., Public, Private, College, International).
- Agency Contact (Single-line text) – Stores the name of the high school or agency agent assisting applicants.
- Partnership Status (Dropdown) – Tracks if there is a formal partnership with the school (e.g., Active, Pending, Expired).
Deal Properties for Application Tracking
By using HubSpot’s Deal Pipelines, admissions teams can track student applications like deals that move through different stages.
- Application ID (Number) – A unique identifier for each student’s application.
- Decision Release Date (Date picker) – The expected date when admission decisions will be sent.
- Deposit Paid (yes/no) – Tracks whether the student has paid their enrolment deposit.
- Enrolment Status (Dropdown) – Indicates if the student has Committed, Deferred, or Withdrawn.
Ticket Properties for Admissions Support Requests
For institutions using HubSpot’s Service Hub, ticket properties could help admissions teams track student inquiries related to financial aid, housing, or application issues.
- Request Type (Dropdown) – Categorises inquiries (e.g., Financial Aid, Visa Support, Housing Inquiry, General Admissions).
- Urgency Level (Dropdown) – Assigns a priority level (High, Medium, Low).
- Resolved Status (yes/no) – Tracks whether the request has been addressed.
Using Custom Objects in HubSpot for Admissions
What are Custom Objects?
Custom objects allow institutions to store and manage data that doesn’t fit into HubSpot’s standard objects (Contacts, Companies, Deals, and Tickets). Unlike regular properties, custom objects allow schools to track unique relationships and store highly specific data.
How Can Custom Objects Help Admissions Teams?
Custom objects can be used to track data related to:
- Student Applications – Instead of tracking applications as “deals,” a custom object for applications can store multiple applications per student (useful for students applying to multiple programs)
- Event Attendance – Track which students attended admissions webinars, open houses, or campus tours.
- Scholarships & Financial Aid – Store details on awarded scholarships, application deadlines, and eligibility criteria.
- Housing Assignments – If your institution manages on-campus housing, you can create a custom object for housing preferences and assignments.
Imagine a student applies to both the MBA and Data Science programs. Instead of creating multiple deals under their contact record, a custom object for applications would allow you to:
- Store separate properties for each application (e.g., “Program Applied To,” “Application Status,” “Decision Date”).
- Link each application to a single student contact.
- Create reports to track application volume per program.
If a prospective student attends a virtual open day, a custom object for “Event Attendance” can track:
- The event name and date.
- Whether the student attended live or watched the recording.
- Follow-up emails or actions (e.g., sending additional program details).
By optimising HubSpot properties and leveraging custom objects, admissions teams can improve student tracking, enhance engagement, and streamline application processes. With the right setup, schools and universities can better manage student relationships, automate workflows, and drive enrolment success.
Would you like help setting up HubSpot properties and custom objects for your admissions team? Contact us today!