More than 425 prospective students and guests attended the Spring 2017 Open House on Saturday, March 25 at BMCC’s main campus on 199 Chambers Street in lower Manhattan.
“The event included a meet-and-greet with faculty and staff, a presentation about BMCC and Admissions, tours of the main campus, and in-person admissions and refreshments for all participants and guests,” says Christina Lofaso, who along with Kevin Dougherty — both are BMCC Recruitment Coordinators and Admissions Specialists — coordinated the event.
Sixty-plus faculty and staff, including BMCC Professor of Sociology Amy Sodaro, were on hand to talk with visitors. “The open house was a great opportunity for prospective students to meet faculty,” says Sodaro. “Not only did it allow prospective students to speak one-on-one with faculty about the academic programs of study that BMCC has to offer, but meeting faculty, staff and current BMCC students is also a great way for them to get a sense of the culture and community of BMCC.” Modern Languages Professor Evelin Gamarra Martinez also participated in the Open House. “The prospective students and parents that I talked to seemed very happy, and willing to make questions about our program,” she says. “They also shared their own experiences with us.”
Lofaso adds that “Interaction with students is key, and has been shown to increase the conversion of prospective students to enrolled students.”
Close to 50 prospective students applied to BMCC at the event through Direct Admissions. They learned about opportunities at BMCC by speaking with faculty from 19 academic departments — and an exit survey administered to faculty who took part in the event, showed that 91 percent would likely represent their departments at a future Open House. Volunteers from the Student Government Association (SGA) and Student Partners Lending Universal Support (PLUS) program, as well as admissions and recruitment staff, were also on hand to talk with guests at the Open House and keep the day’s activities moving smoothly.
“We have already begun to plan the Summer 2017 Open House for Thursday, June 29 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., to be held on the main campus at 199 Chambers Streets,” says Lofaso. “This Open House will be very similar in style and will include faculty and staff from various academic and student affairs departments who will be available to talk with prospective students and their parents.”
Students, faculty or staff who want to take part in the June Open House can contact Christina Lofaso or Kevin Dougherty: at (212) 776-6308 and (212) 776-7008 or by email: clofaso@bmcc.cuny.edu and kdougherty@bmcc.cuny.edu.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- More than 425 prospective students and guests attended an Open House at the BMCC main campus
- Faculty from 19 academic departments were on hand to talk with guests
- Student volunteers from SGA and PLUS, as well as staff were also available to talk with prospective students and their parents
