Potential students roam the halls of Loyalist

Potential students roam the halls of Loyalist
by Ben Ricetto

It is that time of year when colleges and universities are preparing promotion and recruitment campaigns so students can decide which programs are right for them.

Starting this month, acceptances will be sent out and high school students will have to decide which school is for them.

When deciding what school to attend, students tend to use location as one reason and as Gretta Rossi, recruitment officer at Loyalist says, "Loyalist tends to get that population of students that don't want to be in the big city but don't want to be in a rural environment. We are based on a 200-acre parkland, which in turn is a great area for a school."

Schools tend to offer tours and incentives to bring students to their school. Loyalist College offers tours Monday to Friday, 9 a.m to 4 p.m throughout the year.

Rossi suggests students make an appointment for a tour, so Loyalist can tailor that tour to their desired program. The tour gives students a chance to talk to other first-year and second-year students about courses and the facilities offered at Loyalist.

Loyalist College also hosts " Be a student for a day", in which high school students from Grades 10 to 12 can get the lowdown on what it is like to be a college student at Loyalist, and to determine if certain programs are right for them. While the day is geared to Grade 12 students, others high school students are welcome to attend.

Mature students can take advantage of the Return to Learn program in which people who have been out of school for a number of years can get information about the college and find which program will take them where they want to go.

Loyalist has two full-time recruiters and two contract positions; they work from September to December travelling to high schools telling students what Loyalist has to offer.

Loyalist is also part of the College Information Program in which 26-28 college representatives travel to other colleges and provide information about each school in a miniature open house/convention type setting, which occurs in the fall.

This allows students to talk to all representatives and learn everything they need to know about the colleges without having to travel to the campuses. For example, if a student is interested in a certain program, they can talk with all representatives and then when making their five choices on the applications, they can use the information to establish preferences.