Earnest Growth Plan: Attracting and Converting More Student Loan Applicants

You are a growth product manager at Earnest, an online lender, and you own acquisition and the metrics at the top of the funnel. How would you get more students to engage with Earnest and sign up for its student loans? Explain which students you would focus on, how you would reach and convert them, and how you would measure the results. ```hint Start from how students decide to borrow Think about when a student actually starts looking for a private loan, what they have usually tried first, and who else has to agree before they apply. Aim growth work at those moments instead of spreading effort evenly. ``` ### Clarifying Questions - Which product is in scope: private loans for students who are still enrolled, refinancing for graduates, or both? - Is success measured by more sign-ups and rate checks, or by more approved and funded loans at an acceptable cost per loan? - Are undergraduates, graduate and professional students, and their cosigners all in scope? - Are there limits on budget, channels or credit standards that growth work must respect? ### What a Strong Answer Covers - A goal that ties top-of-funnel activity to approved, funded loans rather than raw sign-ups. - A segmentation of prospective borrowers and their cosigners, with a reasoned primary segment. - A map of where students drop out between first awareness and a completed rate check, with ideas aimed at those points and timed to the academic calendar. - Prioritized channels and product changes, with success metrics, cost per funded loan, and guardrails on credit quality. - The responsible lending, trust and compliance considerations that come with marketing loans to students. ### Follow-up Questions - A campaign sharply increases rate checks, but the share of applicants who end up funded falls. What would you look at? - Would you work with university financial aid offices, and what are the limits and risks? - How could Earnest's refinancing business, which serves graduates, help it win borrowers who are still in school?