November 11, 2025

Changing Models in Higher Ed with Sam Waterson

With schools closing across the country, Sam Waterson describes how models in higher ed are changing and predicts which strategies will lead schools to success.

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About the Episode

Sticker prices keep rising, but so do discount rates. While college may be getting more affordable for low-income students, most people believe the price is skyrocketing. So how will colleges adapt to this new marketplace and change public perception?

In this episode, Sam Waterson explores this and many more issues currently facing higher ed. He argues current discount-focused model hurts families and colleges by making pricing more opaque. He discusses the possibility of corporate partnerships at colleges, institutional resilience, and new strategies for marketing to students. He gets into the benefits of programs that track alumni achievement and sites like Handshake that help connect current students to alumni.

Mentioned in the Episode

Guest

Sam Waterson

Sam, with over 25 years of experience in higher education, has served as an account manager, account executive, and corporate ethnographer. He was named Executive Vice President and Creative Director of RHB in 2010 and President in 2019. Sam led goal-exceeding efforts, providing imaginative, wise, and data-driven solutions and strategic counsel. His work has won over 50 national, regional, and local awards and been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and NPR. He speaks at national and regional conferences, including AMA Higher Ed, UCDA, and CCCU. Sam now advises colleges and universities and education-related businesses.

Host

Will Geiger

Will Geiger is the co-founder of Scholarships360 and has a decade of experience in college admissions and financial aid. He is a former Senior Assistant Director of Admissions at Kenyon College where he personally reviewed 10,000 admissions applications and essays. Will also managed the Kenyon College merit scholarship program and served on the financial aid appeals committee. He has also worked as an Associate Director of College Counseling at a high school in New Haven, Connecticut.Will earned his master’s in education from the University of Pennsylvania and received his undergraduate degree in history from Wake Forest University.