More than 4,500 prospective students and their parents attended the Spring Open House March 31 to find out more about what York has to offer before deciding whether to accept admission offers.
They took tours, talked to faculty and students, and attended mini-lectures at the largest – and, for the University, most critical – annual on-campus recruitment event designed to help them decide to accept York’s offers of admission before the June 1 deadline.
With months to deliberate and consider this important life decision, students and their parents came to the open house with specific questions about programs, courses, financial information, college community and campus life.
A retrospective of this year’s successful Spring Open House on March 31, 2012
Future students at this point in the recruitment cycle have narrowed their focus to a specific program and are evaluating programs, course offerings, student life and academic support at various institutions. The Spring Open House gives Faculties a chance to promote their programs and resources. It gives prospective students a chance to connect with professors, who can answer their questions – so crucial to converting offers of admission into acceptances – as well as current student, alumni and staff.
This year’s event offered the usual information fair in the Vari Hall Rotunda, campus tours, residence tours, mock lectures, a student services fair and Faculty zones. Faculties offered mini-lectures, specialized tours and break-out sessions, and the Faculty of Fine Art staged a flash mob.
Visitors who hadn’t received admission offers had a chance to sit down with staff from Admissions Central and review their documents. This resulted in more than 10 offers of admission being extended on the spot.
Bethune College Council members chat with prospective students.
The Spring Open House also reached out to parents, who often play a pivotal role in influencing their children’s choice of university. This year, they received a refreshed parent guide and bookmarks highlighting dates and resources they should know.
June 1 is the deadline by which Ontario high school students must notify the Ontario Universities Application Centre that they accept an admission offer. York began making offers of admission to high-achieving high school students beginning in December, the earliest in the University’s history.
In addition to the Spring Open House, the York recruitment team is giving undecided prospective students another chance to chat with admission experts, recruiters and Faculty representatives at an E-Party on May 16 from 5 to 7pm.
Meanwhile, the team also continues to offer online admission advising appointments, hand-deliver scholarship offers to top applicants, make return visits to schools to talk about financial support, engage with prospective students on Facebook and Twitter, hold alumni mixers, Saturdays@York, and applicant and parent receptions.
View a video of the Spring Open House 2012 on the York Future Students channel on Vimeo and photographs on York University’s Future Students Flickr feed.