Most schools still have one: the admission enquiry register. A ruled notebook at the front desk, a column for the date, the child's name, the class, a phone number, and a "remarks" column that fills up in three different handwritings.
It works well for one thing. It proves that someone enquired.
It does not tell you which of last week's forty enquiries nobody called back. It does not travel with the coordinator to the open day. It cannot be searched for "Class 1, Whitefield, visited, no decision". And the enquiries that arrived on WhatsApp, Instagram or the website never made it into the book at all.
The register is not the problem. Keeping it in one notebook is.
What to collect on a school admission enquiry form
An enquiry form is not an application form. Its job is to start a conversation, so every extra field costs you enquiries. Keep it to what the office needs to call back and to plan the visit:
| Field | Why the office needs it |
|---|---|
| Child's name and date of birth | Confirms the right class for the child's age |
| Class applied for, and academic year | The first filter the office uses |
| Parent's name | So the call starts with a name, not "who is this?" |
| Parent's WhatsApp number | The number parents actually answer. Ask for it by name |
| For the fee structure and admission timeline | |
| Area or locality | Transport questions come next; be ready |
| Current school | Helps the conversation, and tells you who you compete with |
| How did you hear about us? | Shows which banner, campaign or referral brings families in |
Leave documents, previous marks, income and medical details for the application stage. You do not need them to call a parent back, and asking for them early only puts parents off.
If you want a ready layout, our sister site has a free school admission enquiry form format: pick the fields, add your logo and colour, and print it on A4 for the front desk. The same design can become your online form later.
Where the enquiries are stored
This is the question schools skip, and the one parents increasingly care about. An admission enquiry holds a child's name and date of birth, a parent's phone number and an address. Before choosing a tool, ask three things:
- Whose server are the enquiries on? A hosted form service keeps them on its servers. A spreadsheet keeps them in whichever account created it, often a staff member's personal account.
- Who in the office can see them? The whole admissions team should see the same list. Nobody outside it should.
- What happens when someone leaves? If the enquiries are in one person's phone or inbox, they leave with that person.
Keep only what you need for admission, keep it in a place the school controls, and give the office a login rather than a shared phone.
One way to do it: the form on your own website
MarvelSoft, the company behind eKTextAI, makes an online admission enquiry form for school websites that answers those three questions simply. It installs on the school's own web hosting, so every enquiry is saved on the school's own website, numbered ENQ-0001 onwards. Nothing is hosted by MarvelSoft, and MarvelSoft never sees the enquiries.
- Parents fill it in online on a phone or computer, or print a blank A4 form, and keep a copy with their enquiry number.
- The office gets a private staff area: search and filter enquiries, fill in status, follow-up dates and remarks, and call or WhatsApp the parent in one tap.
- Two logins: an admin who designs the form and changes settings, and one staff login the whole admissions office can share.
- The register still exists: download every enquiry for Excel (CSV), print the enquiry register, and print any single enquiry on the A4 form to file it.
- Up to five forms, for example next year's admissions, an open day and a summer camp, each with its own link, list and download.
- Share it anywhere: WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, a QR code for banners and pamphlets, and code to show the form inside your website.
It is ₹1,900 + GST (₹2,242 in all) one time, with no monthly fee and no per-enquiry charge. It needs web hosting with PHP 7.4 or newer, which most cPanel and WordPress hosting has; for Wix or Google Sites there is a version that saves each enquiry to the school's own Google Sheet. You can send a test enquiry and sign in as the office in the live demo before you buy.
Installing it is a one-time job: the setup guide shows every step, so you can install it yourself or give it to your website or IT team. If you would rather not, MarvelSoft's installation service does it for you: standard installation is included with the kit (within 48 hours of your request), and priority installation is ₹950 in all: we contact you within 4 hours of your request.
Working the list every morning
Admission enquiry management is a routine, not software. Whatever you use, the routine is the same:
- 9:00. Open the enquiry list. Filter to new enquiries and today's follow-up dates.
- 9:15. Reply to every new enquiry: who will call, and when.
- Through the morning. Work down today's follow-ups. After each call, update the status (called, visit booked, applied, closed) and set the next follow-up date.
- Friday. Download the week's enquiries for Excel. Count them by class and by "how did you hear about us", and send the principal one line: enquiries, visits, applications.
The step most offices miss is the second-last one: always set the next follow-up date. An enquiry with no date is an enquiry nobody will open again. For what to say on each follow-up, see our 7-day WhatsApp follow-up plan.
Where eKTextAI comes in
An online enquiry form fixes the first half of admissions: every enquiry is captured, numbered and in one list. The second half is the conversation. Parents who enquired have questions about fees, transport, the admission test and documents, and in season they ask them in the evening, many at a time.
eKTextAI answers those questions on WhatsApp from the school's own admission circulars, hands the parent to staff when it should, and sends admission campaigns on WhatsApp and email, for an open day or the last week of admissions. The office keeps its mornings for the calls that decide an admission.
Start with the form.
Design your school admission enquiry form for free, try the online version in the live demo, and see how your office would use the list.
Questions schools ask
What should a school admission enquiry form ask for?
Child's name, class applied for, date of birth, parent's name, the parent's WhatsApp number, email, area or locality, current school, and how the parent heard about the school. Leave documents, fees and detailed history for the application stage.
Where are enquiries stored with an online admission enquiry form?
It depends on the tool. Hosted form services keep the data on their servers. MarvelSoft's online admission enquiry form installs on the school's own web hosting, so every enquiry is saved on the school's own website and nothing is sent to MarvelSoft.
Can we keep a printed enquiry register as well?
Yes. Staff can print the enquiry register, print any single enquiry on the A4 form to file, and download every enquiry for Excel (CSV).
How much does it cost?
₹1,900 one time plus 18% GST (₹2,242 in all), with no monthly fee and no per-enquiry charge. The enquiry form format is free.
Who installs it on our website?
You, or your website or IT team, using the setup guide; it takes about 20 minutes with cPanel or FTP access. Or use MarvelSoft's installation service: standard installation is included with the kit, within 48 hours of your request, and priority installation is ₹950 in all: we contact you within 4 hours of your request.
Do we need eKTextAI to use the enquiry form?
No. The online admission enquiry form works on its own on your website. eKTextAI is a separate product for answering parents and sending campaigns on WhatsApp and email; it has a free Starter plan, and you can use either one, or both.
Related reading
- Follow up every admission enquiry on WhatsApp: a 7-day plan
- Is Your Front Desk Leaking Enquiries? A Print-and-Pin Audit
- The Admission-Season Answer Key: WhatsApp Replies for Every Enquiry
- Live demo: the online admission enquiry form and staff area
- Setup guide: installing the online admission enquiry form
- How to collect admission enquiries online on your school website (MarvelSoft guide)