Prospective students and their families braved the snow on Jan. 16 to learn about the programs and services that Algonquin has to offer.
The college was hosting its winter open house for those potential future students and showcased the many programs and services that are available at the school.
“The goal is for prospective students to come in and find answers about their programs before applying,” said Anne Kalil, the manager of Student Recruitment and one of the organizers of the event. “We want to help them pick the right program.”
Making the right decision was on the minds of many in the crowd of potential students and their parents.
Liliann Kho, a student from Merivale High School, attended the event with her mother, Mimi, to learn more about the different programs she was interested in.
“I’m not really sure yet,” said Kho as she approached the police foundations booth. She’s also interested in social work and firefighting. “I’m just trying to get a feel for them.”
The police foundations and paramedic programs, always popular among applicants, had an almost constant flow of visitors throughout the morning.
Over 1,000 people attended the event.
The busy atmosphere was not surprising to the student ambassadors who volunteered at the event. Some of them attended college open houses when they were deciding where they were going to apply and to what program.
The visitors were greeted with smiles from the student ambassadors at the entrance of the Student Commons.
“We’re here to make people feel welcome and answer questions,” said Michelle Suchan, a first-year student in the police foundations program.
Kalil said that the highlight was the student ambassadors. She explained that there was a great sense of community created by the volunteers.
There was a wide variety of information sessions and booths for the prospective students so they can make an informed decision.
The open house took place before the application deadline for equal consideration of Feb.1. This is especially important for the competitive programs that tend to draw more applicants.
The registrar’s booth at the event had a list of these competitive programs, which include but are not limited to welding, practical nursing, early childhood education, paramedic and electrical engineering. The pre-health and pre-trade programs are also popular.
The potential students had the opportunity to learn about the programs that interested them at the booths set up in E-building as well as some of the actual classrooms throughout the school.
There were also general information, admissions and financial aid presentations in the Algonquin Commons Theatre in the morning and afternoon. There were 230 visitors in attendance for the morning presentation from representatives of Student Recruitment, the SA and the AC Hub. The presentations help the prospective students get a feel for Algonquin.
“It’s a really good place,” said Celine Beanh, a high school student from Gatineau. “It seems professional.”