Vision Weekend to host 100 minority prospective students
Taking the chance to visit Rice as spring settles in to Houston, prospective students from underrepresented minority groups will begin arriving on campus Sunday, Feb. 18, for Vision Weekend. The event lasts until Feb. 20.
More than 100 students are expected to attend Vision Weekend, Assistant Admission Director Laura Villafranca said. About 300 have been invited.
Many of the students who attend Vision Weekend have already been offered admission or were accepted under Early Decision and have committed to attend Rice.
“Usually over 75 percent of the students who come have been offered admission already,” Villafranca said.
Student Admission Council Minority Interests Committee Co-Chair Dara Ufot said there will be campus tours Sunday evening, followed by a mixer with current students.
Weekend participants and their hosts will attend a reception barbecue Sunday night at the R Room at Rice Stadium, SAC Minority Interests Committee Co-Chair Erica Solis said. On Monday, prospective students will attend classes and academic advising sessions.
Ufot, a Lovett College senior, said a dinner is planned Monday night at Cohen House, which will give students an opportunity to meet faculty and staff.
“We’ve added a pre-professional panel this year with the pre-med advisor [Dana McDowelle] speaking to the students on Monday afternoon,” Villafranca said.
The Rhythms dance party will not be held this year, Solis, a Baker College senior, said. Instead, SAC will host an open mic night at Willy’s Pub.
Ufot said Rhythms was canceled because it would have been held on a weeknight when few students would be likely to attend.
The Office of Admissions subsidizes plane tickets for some students to attend the preview weekend.
“We give students partial sponsorship if they are not from the Houston area,” Villafranca said. “We pick them up at the airport, bring them to campus and then bring them back on Tuesday.”
Villafranca said about 50 percent of the 114 students who attended last year’s Vision Weekend matriculated into the current freshman class.
“It is a good yield event,” she said. “It opens up their eyes to what Rice has to offer other than what they’ve seen in the brochures. It is a huge step when you actually set foot on a campus, and I think Rice does a very good job of selling itself.”
About 50 people have signed up to host prospective students, but almost 100 hosts are needed, Ufot said. In addition, more volunteers for Sunday are needed.
“If you are off-campus, you can still volunteer at registration or as an airport greeter,” Ufot said.
The Admission Office is still looking for volunteers and hosts. Interested students should contact the Admission Office, Villafranca said.
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