
Pre-Conference
Tuesday & Wednesday
September 22 & 23
Additional fees apply
General Conference
Thursday, Friday & Saturday
September 24, 25 & 26

Denotes additional fees and pre-registration required.
- Tuesday, September 22, 2026
- Wednesday, September 23, 2026
- Thursday, September 24, 2026
- Friday, September 25, 2026
- Saturday, September 26, 2026
7:30 AM - 5:00 PM
|Tuesday, September 22, 2026
Pre-Conference Institutes - ATI, ADI & FLI
12:30 PM - 1:00 PM
|Tuesday, September 22, 2026
FAI: Financial Aid Institute Pre-Conference Institute Registration
1:00 PM - 5:00 PM
|Tuesday, September 22, 2026
FAI: Financial Aid Institute Pre-Conference Institute
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
|Wednesday, September 23, 2026
Pre-Conference Institutes - ATI, ADI & FLI
8:30 AM - 9:30 AM
|Wednesday, September 23, 2026
FAI Pre-Conference Flagship Institute Breakfast
9:30 AM - 12:00 PM
|Wednesday, September 23, 2026
FAI Pre-Conference Flagship Institute Morning Sessions
12:00 PM - 7:30 PM |Wednesday, September 23, 2026
Member Lounge
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Registration for General Conference
Swag Store
Member Lounge
12:05 PM - 12:55 PM
|Wednesday, September 23, 2026
FAI Pre-Conference Lunch
12:55 PM - 5:00 PM
|Wednesday, September 23, 2026
FAI Pre-Conference Flagship Institutes Afternoon Sessions
1:00 PM - 5:00 PM |Wednesday, September 23, 2026
Pre-Conference Workshops (pre-registration required)
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Equitable Strategy Pre-Conference Workshop:
AI in Enrollment & Marketing Pre-Conference Workshop: We Tried AI in a Real Enrollment Office. Here’s What Happened.
Perceived Value & Affordability Pre-Conference Workshop - Turning Data Insights into Action: Behavioral Economics Takeaways for Enrollment, Marketing, and School Leadership Teams
6:00 PM - 7:30 PM
|Wednesday, September 23, 2026Opening Reception
7:00 AM - 4:00 PM
|Thursday, September 24, 2026Registration
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM
|Thursday, September 24, 2026Breakfast
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM |Thursday, September 24, 2026
Sponsor Hall, Swag Store and Member Lounge
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Member Lounge
Swag Store
Sponsor Hall
9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
|Thursday, September 24, 2026Welcome and Opening Remarks. Presentation of Bretnall & Changemaker Awards
10:00 AM - 10:15 AM |Thursday, September 24, 2026
Coffee Break
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Coffee with Sponsors
Coffee in the Member Lounge
10:15 AM - 11:15 AM |Thursday, September 24, 2026
Concurrent Sessions
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The “Season After The Season” - Strategies to Tackle Melt and Retention
When Marketing and Admissions Become Strategic Engagement: Year One
Doing It All: Running a One-Person Admission and Marketing Office
The 2026 State of AI in Enrollment: What Leaders Must Do Now
United Nations E3n: Learning From our International Colleagues
Predicting Student Success
Yielding the Invisible
Engaging Faculty as Partners in Enrollment Success
More Than a Tour: Building an Ambassador Program Students Actually Want
Death of the Inquiry: A Two-Funnel Framework for the Enrollment Journey
How Schools and CBOs Build PK–12 Access Pipelines
Creating Joyful Admissions Events: Fresh Ideas for Meaningful Engagement
FEATURED SESSION - Trendsetters: A Conversation with our Higher Ed Counterparts
Designing the First Yes: The Lower School Admissions Experience
How to Combat Enrollment Decline
Aligning Admissions and Athletics: Data-Driven Evaluation System
11:30 AM - 12:30 PM |Thursday, September 24, 2026
Concurrent Sessions
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Candor as a Retention Tool: Rebalancing Adjusted Tuition
How Junior Boarding Schools Prepare Students for Secondary School
China Market Reset: Rethinking Recruitment, Yield & Why China Matters
Burn Bright, Not Out - Sustainable Excellence in Enrollment
Communicate Your School’s Value Proposition in a Competitive Landscape
Financial Aid 101: Other Duties as Assigned
Don't Let Admissions Be An Island
Admissions + DEI Partnerships: A Roadmap for Success
Rethinking Balance in Admission: Designing Work That Sustains Teams
Reimagining Student Ambassadors with Canvas for Ownership & Excellence
FEATURED SESSION - AI In Enrollment Management: From Hype to Practice
The Art of the Ask: Practical Strategies for Total Campus Buy-In
Easier Said Than Done: Supporting Trans and Nonbinary Students Effectively
Students as Storytellers:Student Programs that Foster Belonging & Retention
Moments That Matter: Meaningful Family Engagement on Campus
12:30 PM - 1:30 PM
|Thursday, September 24, 2026Lunch
1:30 PM - 2:30 PM
|Thursday, September 24, 2026Keynote - Jeff Selingo
2:30 PM - 3:00 PM |Thursday, September 24, 2026
Book Signing & Sponsor Hall Activities
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Book Signing with Jeff Selingo
Dessert with the Sponsors
Paws for a Cause: Powered by Blackbaud
Dessert in the Member Lounge
3:00 PM - 4:00 PM |Thursday, September 24, 2026
Concurrent Sessions
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Balancing Readiness and Data in Early Childhood Admissions
Main Character Energy: Write the Story They Want to Be in
Spring Cleaning Isn't Just for Your House!
The Mystery of Disappearing 9th Grade Applicants and Departing 8th Graders.
Widening the Welcome: Leveraging Community for Enrollment Impact
FEATURED SESSION - AI Implentation: How Can You To Do So in Compliance with Sound Legal, Technological, and Operational Principles?
Beyond the Application: Building a Powerful Admission-Teacher Partnership
From “Maybe” to “Yes”: Aligning Your Community to Strengthen Enrollment
Stuck in the Middle: Making “Too Much” for Aid & Not Enough for Tuition
Retention Starts on Day One
Effectively Transitioning Your Admission Database
“Plot Twist - You’re the Open House Guest AND the Creator”
Directorship...are you ready for it?
Beyond the Dashboard: Telling Your Enrollment Story to the Board
Science Meets Practice: The West Point Admissions Study
Audacious to Actionable: A Case Study in Creating a New Enrollment Offering
5:00 PM - 6:30 PM
|Thursday, September 24, 2026Boarding School Reception and Placement Fair
5:45 PM - 6:45 PM
|Thursday, September 24, 2026Early Career Enrollment Professionals Reception
6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
|Thursday, September 24, 2026PoC Reception
8:00 AM - 9:00 AM |Friday, September 25, 2026
Breakfast
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Breakfast
Breakfast for International Schools
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM |Friday, September 25, 2026
Registration, Member Lounge, Swag Store and Sponsor Hall
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Swag Store
Registration
Member Lounge
Sponsor Hall
8:30 AM - 9:00 AM
|Friday, September 25, 2026Francis Parker School Pep Band Performance
9:00 AM - 10:30 AM
|Friday, September 25, 2026Keynote, Crystal Washington, and Presentation of Gourley and Rising Star Awards
10:30 AM - 10:45 AM |Friday, September 25, 2026
Coffee and Headshots
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Coffee in Member Lounge
Coffee with Sponsors
10:30 AM - 2:00 PM
|Friday, September 25, 2026Headshots
10:45 AM - 11:45 AM |Friday, September 25, 2026
Concurrent Sessions
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The Kindergarten Playbook: From First Inquiry to Enrollment
Beyond the Enrollment Cliff
Welcome to the Nest: We are ALL IN on onboarding
The Unquantifiables: Reading Between the Lines How admissions professionals interpret readiness, partnership, and fit beyond grades and testing
Better Together: A Case Study in Collaboration for Schools
Best in Class: Learnings from National Leaders in Enrollment Data.
Yielding is All Year (Flipping Admitteds to Enrolleds at a Small School)
FEATURED SESSION - AI in Enrollment Management: Build Your Own Assistant
The Belonging Blueprint: Beyond Access to Improved Outcomes
Modernizing Enrollment Without Losing Your Mission
Decoding the Next Generation of Parents
Retained: Building a Culture of Retention from Application to Graduation
Beyond the Enrollment Office: What Enrollment Strategy Really Looks Like
What No One Tells You About Leading: Missteps & Power of Connection
From Retreat to Results: Building a School-Wide Enrollment Plan
First Click to First Day: Crafting a Relationship Driven Admission Journey
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM |Friday, September 25, 2026
Concurrent Sessions
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Enrollment Management: Partnerships for the Win!
Think Horizontal: Future-Proofing School Leadership Structures
Recruited, enrolled, and then what? Supporting & Empowering Girls of Color
Mission in Motion: Collaboration to Strengthen Enrollment and Retention
Understanding India: A High-Potential Market for Boarding Schools
Spreadsheet Skills to Take You from Intimidated to Impactful!
From Data to Voice: Turning Student Voice into Enrollment Impact
They Don't Fall from the Sky: Aligning Faculty with Enrollment Reality
When Growth Is the Strategy: A Case Study in School Expansion
One School, One Experience: Aligning Marketing, Enrollment & Advancement
Search & Apply: Inside The Admission.org Search Funnel
Two Readers, Two Approaches: A Practical Debate on Slate’s AI Reader
From Allocation to Strategy: A Program-Level Approach to Financial Aid
Tying Outcomes to the Independent School Value Proposition
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM |Friday, September 25, 2026
Lunch
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Lunch
Women's Affinity Lunch
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM |Friday, September 25, 2026
Concurrent Sessions
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From Puzzles to Purpose: Escape Rooms as Equitable Admission Assessments
Good News: Your Digital Marketing Is Working. Bad News: You Can’t Prove It.
Beyond Financial Aid: Access to Equitable Inclusion & Belonging
Creating a Peerless Paradigm
From Nerves to Numbers: Student Ambassadors Drive Middle School Retention
Bridging the Gap: Placement & Admissions in Dialogue
From Data to Direction: Quartile Analysis in Admissions Strategy
Leading Change Together: The Dance of New Leadership and Deep Legacy
What’s Next? Mid-Career Pathways and Influence in Independent Schools
Clarity Without Coldness: Humanizing Admissions & FA Communications
Building the Plane While Flying It!
Brand, Strategy, and Enrollment: Why the Order Matters
Can AI Help Analyze My Pipeline?
Retention by Design: Turning Admits into Engaged Students
Head–Enrollment Partnerships: From Alignment to Boardroom Influence
3:00 PM - 3:15 PM
|Friday, September 25, 2026Snack Break with Sponsors
3:00 PM - 6:00 PM
|Friday, September 25, 2026Headshots
3:15 PM - 4:15 PM |Friday, September 25, 2026
Concurrent Sessions
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Mission, Money, and Fit: How Heads of School Make Enrollment Decisions
Beyond the Enrollment Cliff: Cliff Notes For The Future
The Admissions Process From Start to Finish!
Elevating The Voices Of Parents, Who Receive Financial Aid
Does AI Affect Cognitive Development? What Parents Need to Know
All Hands on Brand: Marketing as a Team Sport in Small Schools
Enrollment is Everyone's Job: Building a Whole-School Culture
When Admission and Marketing click!! The results are fantastic.
From lululemon to Leadership: The Future of Enrollment Design
From Recruitment to retention: Aligning Enrollment Strategy...
Why Chinese Families Choose Day Schools and Give Back
Applying MQL/SQL Framework to Independent School Admissions
Clear and Confident Communication When It Matters Most
Admissions in an AI World: Tools to Improve Review and Efficiency
Strengthening Sending School Relationships: Growing Enrollment Pipeline
Building Enrollment from the Ground Up Why Enrollment Is Everyone's Job
4:15 PM - 5:15 PM
|Friday, September 25, 2026Block Party/Reception
5:00 PM - 6:00 PM
|Friday, September 25, 2026LGBTQIA+ Reception
5:15 PM - 6:15 PM
|Friday, September 25, 2026Canadian Schools Reception
8:00 PM - 11:00 PM
|Friday, September 25, 2026Off-Site Late Night Networking and Social Event
7:30 AM - 8:30 AM
|Saturday, September 26, 2026
Community Walk/Run
8:30 AM - 9:30 AM
|Saturday, September 26, 2026Breakfast
9:30 AM - 10:30 AM
|Saturday, September 26, 2026Keynote Speaker - Donnie Campbell
10:45 AM - 11:45 AM |Saturday, September 26, 2026
Concurrent Sessions
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