by Megan Dreher & August Kissel
Assistant Editor and Editor
Spring has officially sprung, and Manhattan College is getting in the spirit of the season with fresh flowers and big banners. This has all been in preparation for the three Accepted Students Days, an event which welcomes high school seniors to campus, the first of which was hosted on Wednesday, March 29th.
“We had a wonderful day on Wednesday for our first Accepted Students Day. We had close to 400 prospective students on campus,” said Caitlin Reed, executive director of admissions and enrollment operations.
The 400 students spent their day touring the campus, viewing the facilities, visiting the rooms in each of the dorm buildings, listening to President O’Donnell speak, eating at Locke’s Loft and experiencing what it’s like to attend a college class. They also had the benefit of viewing what a typical day is like around campus.
“We consciously hold these events on Wednesdays when classes are in session, in order for prospective students to get a sense of what it is like to be a student at Manhattan College,” said Reed
Prospective students who came to visit the campus agreed that the day was not only educational, but also influential in their college decision process.
“I thought it was pretty insightful, they definitely explained the school pretty well, and they give you a good glimpse of what everything is around here. It was inspiring and kinda makes me want to come here. It was pretty well put together,” said Andrew Klienitzke, a high school senior from Babylon Village, Long Island who is seriously considering joining the Manhattan College Class of 2021.
Attending an Accepted Students Day is crucial in the college decision process. Prospective students noted that aspects of Manhattan stood out to them and were ultimately influential in making their decision.
“I really liked it because I got to meet with so many students and professors, and I had the chance to talk to the Dean of the school I’m interested in. I think that’s really rare for a lot of college Accepted Students Days,” Rachel Foertch said.
Along with the admissions office, the student engagement office organized many of the day’s events.Their team oversaw the table sessions, the Jazz Band performance, and John Bennett, director of student engagement, spoke on the Student Life Panel. Bennett said that having warm, sunny weather was a huge help for the day’s success.
“Half the battle seems to be the weather, and considering the past few weeks of weather, it was as nice as could be. The campus looked really nice and everybody seemed to be in a really good mood, and it was good to get the process started again,” Bennett said.
While admissions and student engagement are key in keeping a smooth flow throughout the day, it truly is a campus-wide effort. The day could not have gone as well without cooperation and compassion from students and faculty of the college.
“The entire campus community contributed to making the event a success and helped prospective students and their families to understand what makes Manhattan College such a dynamic learning environment,” said Reed.
As the spring season continues, the campus will see two more Accepted Students Days. Both are an opportunity to welcome potential members of the class of 2021.
“To be honest, I believe the next two will be even more successful than the first, which is really boding well because this first one was good too. It’s only going to get warmer, and the flowers will come out, and that’s such a huge sell for the campus and how beautiful it actually is,” Bennett said.