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The NYU Usability Lab conducted user research on Steinhardt graduate admissions website and graduate application process.
Project Background
Project Background
The goal of this research was to assess the user experience, identify pain points, and gather insights to inform future improvements that improve application rates for NYU Steinhardt.
Product: The Steinhardt graduate admissions web pages and the graduate application portal.
Project timeframe: 6 weeks. March-May 2025.
Audience: Potential graduate applicants to Steinhardt
Stakeholder: NYU Steinhardt Office of Digital Strategy and Experience
The Study
The Study
Research Methods: Qualitative Usability Testing and Think Aloud & Survey
5 participants were recruited for usability testing. Participants were observed as they completed tasks related to researching program information and filling out a graduate application. The focus of this usability testing was to uncover how users are searching for information when applying to grad school and if they are able to find what they are looking for when visiting Steinhardt's website. The research sessions concluded with a short interview so that the facilitator could better understand the participant’s overall impressions and experiences.
The focus of the survey was to gather insights from users who began Steinhardt's graduate application process but dropped off at some point. Facilitators had follow-up interviews with 2 respondents to learn more about their experience.
Research Sessions: Sessions were conducted one-on-one remotely via Zoom web conferencing and recorded for post-session analysis. Sessions ran for approximately 60 minutes per participant.
Analysis: After speaking with a participant, the facilitator reviewed notes and highlighted key insights from each session. Cumulative impressions and themes in user behavior were collected, along with specific sources of user frustration to help measure the overall usability of the process and highlight user pain points.
Key Takeaways
Key Takeaways
Top takeaways from this research included:
Users had trouble finding cost of attendance for their program. When asked about the cost of attendance for the program they are interested in, all five users had trouble finding this information. Some users noted that if they could not find the price to compare to other programs, it would turn them away from applying because it is important information for them.
Lab’s recommendation: While on the Graduate Study Tuition and Fees page, consider making the tuition more visually prominent. Users often missed the bullet points with cost, and did not think it was for their program of interest.
Users did not want to read all the text on the website. On the Steinhardt Admissions website, multiple users mentioned that they would not want to read the big blocks of text. Users discussed this throughout multiple pages on the website while trying to find information they were interested in.
Lab’s recommendation: Consider shortening some of the paragraphs to essential information only, so users are not intimidated by the amount of information on a page.
Users stated they would not read the long instructions on the application. Users discussed how they would not want to read the instructions on the graduate application. They only would consult the instructions if they felt lost or confused, and otherwise felt they were too long. Users stated they felt the amount of text was unnecessary, it was too much, and they would just scroll past it.
Lab’s recommendation: Consider making instructions more concise so users can easily skim them.
Impact
Impact
The stakeholder plans to implement changes to the admissions website and application portal that reflect the user feedback, with the potential to reduce user friction and increase school application rates.
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