Now that most high school students have spent the past several months trying to impress college admissions officers, it's time for a role reversal.
With acceptance letters currently in the mail, Tufts' admissions team now has to work to win over seniors who are deciding between several schools.
As with previous years, the admissions office will attempt to accomplish this goal with April Open House, which will be organized by Associate Director of Admissions Courtney Minden and Admissions Counselor Jon Godsey (LA '06), along with a 25-person committee of students headed by admissions interns from the Class of 2007.
This year's programming will take place during the day on April 19, 20 and 23 and the evening before each of these days, when prospective students will have the opportunity to spend the night on campus.
While at Tufts, students will be able to take part in a variety of traditional and new activities sponsored by organizers and will also be encouraged to take advantage of events coincidentally scheduled at the same time as April Open House.
According to Minden, last year's Classroom Experience program, during which professors briefly lecture on selected topics, will be featured again during this month's programming.
As usual, organizers will also help showcase extracurricular opportunities through performances by student bands, a cappella groups and comedy groups, according to senior and admissions intern Meghan Fenzel.
But not everything will be the same. Added features for this year include a screening of student films and a debate between Tufts Republicans and Tufts Democrats, she said.
The School of Engineering will also have a more prominent role in this year's programming. More engineering faculty will be available to talk with prospective students, and current students will demonstrate some of their work.
Coincidentally, the students involved with Institute for Global Leadership will be presenting individual research projects during April Open House, according to senior and admissions intern Fred Jones Jr. Plans are in the works to "publicize the event through the admissions office," he told the Daily in an e-mail.
The admissions office's Spring Telescope program, which will bring students from minority groups to campus, and the Education for Active Citizenship Poster Session, organized by the Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service, will coincide with the programming as well, Minden said.
Throughout this year's open house, organizers also hope to showcase Tufts' recent construction projects.
A Trivia Night program is slated to take place in the Hotung Caf?©, which is currently being refurbished, assuming that it reopens in time, according to Fenzel.
There will also be an open-door policy at the new Granoff Music Center to allow visitors to freely tour the building and observe classes, she said.
Minden said that by highlighting Tufts' distinctive characteristics, April Open House aims to differentiate it from other colleges and universities to which prospective freshmen have been accepted.
"It is an interesting time," she said. "It's gone from them trying to impress us to us trying to impress them."
As a result, the event's coordinators must ensure that its programming reflects Tufts' academic focus on global affairs and interdisciplinary learning and research, which has been under-emphasized in recent open houses, Minden said.
"Students in previous years were saying, '[Yes] it was fun, but I didn't see any intellectualism here,'" Minden said. In response to this feedback, organizers will be emphasizing Tufts' "sense of active intellectualism" this year.
Still, one obstacle remains. While planning for the event is in its final stages, Minden said that the current number of student volunteers is insufficient to guarantee an event of the caliber that organizers would like to see.
"One of our biggest roadblocks is the lack of volunteers for overnight hosting and [helping out] during the day," she said. "We need volunteers all day long to work at info booths, be lunch guides and even be around to answer questions and show families where to go."
