Concourse Global

Concourse Global offers a technology platform that reverses the traditional university admissions process. Instead of students applying to institutions, universities on the platform proactively apply to qualified students with offers of admission and financial aid. The company was founded in 2016 by Joe Morrison, who now serves as Managing Director, Concourse at EAB, the company that acquired Concourse in September 2022. Morrison, a technology entrepreneur with degrees in Computer Science from the University of Waterloo and MIT, was inspired to create the platform after observing the inefficiencies of student recruitment while serving as Managing Director at his wife's international education company, Grok Global.

The platform primarily serves two groups of clients: higher education institutions and high school students. For universities, Concourse provides a tool to discover and recruit a diverse and global student body, including international and underrepresented domestic students who may be difficult to reach through traditional channels. For students, particularly those who are first-generation, from low-income families, or applying from overseas, the service simplifies the overwhelming application process. Students work with their high school counselors to create a single, anonymized profile showcasing their academic achievements and interests. Concourse's technology then matches these profiles with participating institutions based on their specific selection criteria. Universities review the anonymous profiles and make competitive admission and scholarship offers directly to the students. This model aims to increase transparency, reduce anxiety for students, and empower them by presenting multiple offers and clear financial aid information upfront.

Concourse's business model generates revenue by charging universities a flat rate for each student who enrolls via the platform, a fee that is reportedly less than what institutions typically spend on recruitment. The company waives its fees if a university admits a student on a full-need scholarship. Before its acquisition, Concourse had raised $2 million in a seed funding round in 2018, led by Colle Capital. A significant milestone was the partnership with EAB in 2021 to launch the Greenlight Match program in Chicago, which generated nearly 2,000 admission offers and over $135 million in financial aid for more than 650 local students. Following the acquisition, EAB expanded this program to several other major metropolitan areas.

Keywords: university admissions, college recruitment, higher education technology, edtech, student-centric admissions, global education, international student recruitment, financial aid offers, scholarship platform, college applications, EAB, reverse admissions, Joe Morrison, underserved students, first-generation students, enrollment management, college counseling tools, admissions platform, higher ed marketplace, student matching