New and improved Admitted Students Day

SUNY Geneseo is beginning to make new changes to the Admitted Students Days. After several reviews and feedback, the school felt it necessary to improve the event for all. The improvements within the program have been orchestrated by Costas Solomou, the vice president of enrollment management at SUNY Geneseo.  

“One of the things that I wanted to do pre-pandemic is start building relationships on campus as a new person,” Solomou said. “And one of the most important relationships is with our students.”

The first impression that a student makes about a campus is important. In an attempt to make the campus more inviting to potential students, the admissions department is creating an improved way for students to get to know the University: 

“We wanted to move away from…the big transactional experience of an admitted student program, rather than just showcasing how beautiful the campus is,” Solomou said. Through looking at both national and local models and surveys, Solomou stated that they use this information to guide the ways in which they navigate what students are nervous about for transitioning to college.  

One of the ways Solomou enhanced Admitted Students Day was by getting to know more about what it is that the potential students may be looking for in the experience and incorporating what students may be anxious about.

Solomou explained, “We restructured our admitted student programs this year, and we did something that I think is bold—we moved away from just doing a few programs to offering six admitted student programs that included two Saturday programs.”

Solomou also noted that the school created an event where potential students can take a bus from New York City to stay overnight. This is a way to create an opportunity for those who may not otherwise be able to make the trip to Geneseo to come, stay overnight, and get to know the campus. 

Another addition that Solomou discussed was the introduction of a student success panel. Some of those that would be included on this panel are advisors from the Department of Academic Planning and Advising (DAPA), Residential Life, Career Design Center, and Health and Safety, who are able to answer many different questions regarding what prospective students may be inquiring about. 

“We also created a series of academic symposiums [because] one of the burdens I think over the years has been trying to get all our faculty and staff together in the ballroom doing an academic fair; it became just a sea of people trying to get to tables, trying to get information about academic departments,” Solomou said.

Solomou also stated that there are departments that may be harder for prospective students to access during the Accepted Students Days due to the high volume of people seeking information. To deter from the problems that come from a lower quantity of potential students getting information, the symposium will open the opportunity for many different panels.

Solomou detailed that: “Rather than having eight or nine different majors, you would have one professor with a student or students within those majors. [The professor would] host a 15-minute quick overview of the programs that are offered within that discipline.”

The results of the improving program have indicated success thus far; the new program is attracting more students than what was executed before and is an encouraging improvement to campus administration. 

Solomou stated, “We’ve surveyed, again, families and students who’ve attended four out of the six programs so far, and the responses have been overwhelmingly positive. As a result, we’re seeing good results in terms of students who’ve responded back to us back to our faculty saying this is [their] first choice.”

The pandemic made connecting with staff and other students much more difficult, and the consequences are still being felt today. As the community is getting back to regular procedures, there are aspects that have been kept from the pandemic-era models, which have been useful and accessible. Solomou noted that there are still virtual tours available for people who cannot make it to campus for one of the in-person events. In all regards, the combination of improvements and revamps of the Accepted Students Days shows promise of a better Geneseo for future generations of students to look forward to.