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September 13, 2002
Getting
Personal: Admission Program to Cast a Longer Shadow
Last
fall, the admission office decided to try something new. It worked
so well that the College is now expanding the program. High school
juniors and seniors participating in focus groups had told admission
that they preferred personal, individualized ways of getting to
know colleges and that they were wary of programs that seemed
overly scripted and formalized. With the students' suggestions
in mind, Dean of Admission Diane Anci and her team developed Shadow
Days, a visitation program that stresses spontaneous student-to-student
experiences—a departure from the College's more structured
programs such as Preview and Spotlight.
During two Shadow
Days held last October and November, prospective students "shadowed"
MHC students and got a sense of how a typical day at the College
might unfold. They also had the option of striking out on their
own for part of the day to pursue their own interests on campus
at their own pace. Admission used questionnaires to match the
academic and cocurricular interests of prospective students and
MHC hosts. Parents participated in tours, admission information
sessions, and financial aid discussions.
Apparently the prospective
students liked what they saw, and their experiences helped them
picture themselves at the College. Of the eighty-six seniors who
attended Shadow Days, seventy-three, or 85 percent, applied to
the College. Thirty-six of these Shadow Days alumnae started classes
at MHC this fall.
With this kind of
"extraordinary success" driving planning, says Anci,
admission decided to make some changes. The Spotlight program,
a conventional open house, has been eliminated, and another Shadow
Day has been added to the schedule. This year, Shadow Days will
be held September 30, October 21, and November 11. "The November
11 Shadow Day will be preceded by a special program for prospective
ALANA [African American, Latina, Asian American, and Native American]
women," says Anci. "ALANA students who are curious about
what life is like on a predominantly white campus should find
this optional program enormously useful. The program will give
them the opportunity to meet current ALANA students and faculty
and to discuss the college admission process and opportunities
at MHC."
Changes have also
been made to the overnight-visit schedule. "We have learned
that overnight visits ask a lot of our current students and sometimes
meet with uneven results for prospective students," says
Anci. "New this year, we will allow prospective students
to spend the night in a residence hall only when they request
this kind of activity. Liz Braun and the SA/HP staff have been
enormously helpful by allowing us to cluster prospective students
by floor. Visiting students will not only have the opportunity
to interact with current students, but will get to meet other
prospective students. In order to better serve our current students,
we have limited overnights to October and April."
Admission will continue
to offer Explore! (planned for April 4, 7, 16, 18, 21, 25, and
28 this year), a half-day program for juniors and their parents,
and Preview, an overnight program for accepted students (this
year, set for April 12–14, with ALANA preview scheduled for
April 12), as well as a number of events that focus on particular
MHC programs and facilities. Athletes, for instance, often want
to meet with coaches and athletes or to observe practices and
games and to spend time in Kendall Sports and Dance Complex. They
can do so during Focus on Athletics programs (set for September
19–20 and November 22–23 this year). Athletes who receive
invitations from MHC coaches have the opportunity to stay overnight
in a residence hall with an MHC athlete (such a program is planned
for November 22–23). Riders who want to see every bit of
MHC's world-class equestrian center will continue to participate
in equestrian open houses (this fall, one is set for November
14–15). Potential transfer students, often concerned about
transfer credits and advising, will continue to find credit-evaluation
sessions and current transfer students at transfer open houses
(this year's will be held March 9–10). Admission will
also continue to offer Counselor Weekend, a program for high school
guidance counselors (set for this weekend).
With applications
at record levels for the past four years, admission's personal,
tailored approach appears to be an effective means of showcasing
MHC to prospective students—students who come away from a
day of shadowing better able to see the light.
Hosts Wanted
The admission office
sponsors many visit opportunities—both day and overnight
programs—for prospective students. Please volunteer to show
a prospective student why so many smart women choose Mount Holyoke.
For details on all admission's hosting volunteer opportunities
visit www.mtholyoke.edu/adm/events/hosts.
Sign up soon. The first program is the September 30 Shadow Day.
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