'prospective-student-focused' originates from Modern English, composed of the words 'prospective', 'student', and 'focused'. 'prospective' ultimately comes from Latin 'prospectus' (via French), where 'pro-' meant 'forward' and 'specere' meant 'to look'; 'student' comes from Latin 'studēns' (present participle of 'studēre') where 'studēre' meant 'to be eager or zealous'; 'focused' comes from Latin 'focus', where 'focus' originally meant 'hearth' (later 'center of activity').

'prospective' passed into English via Middle French/Middle English forms such as 'prospectif'/'prospectif' and became 'prospective' in Modern English; 'student' came from Latin 'studēns' into Old French/Anglo-Norman and Middle English as 'student'; 'focus' was borrowed from Latin into scientific and figurative English usages in the 17th–18th centuries, and the adjective/past-participle form 'focused' developed in Modern English. The compound adjective formed in recent Modern English usage by combining these elements.

Initially, the component words had literal senses ('looking forward', 'one who is eager', 'center/hearth'), but over time they combined in Modern English into a figurative compound meaning 'aimed at or concentrating on potential applicants', which reflects a shift from literal roots to a functional, audience-focused sense.