Vision Weekend attendance reaches record high
Approximately 155 prospective students attended Vision Weekend, a recruitment weekend for underrepresented minorities hosted by the Office of Admissions this past Sunday through Tuesday.
Many of the students who were invited were either accepted under Early Decision and have committed to Rice or have a strong likelihood of being accepted under Regular Decision.
Student Admissions Council Minority Interests Committee co-chair Jessica Fowler said the number of prospective students who attended this year is at an all-time high.
Fowler, a Hanszen College junior, said Vision Weekend had the highest attendance in its 13-year history. She said this showed that President David Leebron’s Vision for the Second Century, which aims to increase undergraduate student enrollment to 3,800, was effective.
Fowler said no major problems were encountered.
“There are always those little nuances that are easily fixed, such as not being able to get in touch with hosts, hosts canceling at the last minute, prospective students getting lost in the airport or missing airport shuttles,” Fowler said. “Expected things like that usually happen, but we get those fixed as soon as possible.”
One change to this year’s Vision Weekend included a mixer for the prospective students to get to know each other and their hosts which included Nintendo Wii, Xbox and board games on Sunday afternoon.
“One of the complaints from past prospective students was that they didn’t get a chance to meet other prospective students, so we thought this would be a good opportunity,” she said.
In response to complaints from past prospective students who were upset they did not get to see what Houston was like as part of their Rice visit, another change was an evening tour of Houston on Sunday night. Prospective students toured downtown Houston, the Rice Village and the Reliant Park area.
Prospective students attended classes and academic panels, including pre-professional panels for prospective pre-law and pre-health professions students, on Monday. Students also went to natural sciences, social sciences and engineering information sessions where current students discussed research opportunities and current projects.
Other events included dinner Monday night at the Cohen House where President Leebron gave welcoming remarks and history professor Alex Byrd gave the keynote address. Prospective students dined with faculty, staff, alumni and Minority Interests Committee members. An open mic night was held in Willy’s Pub Monday evening to discuss life at Rice.
The Minority Interests Committee will meet in March to evaluate this year’s Vision Weekend and determine what to focus on for next year, Fowler said.
“Overall, I think Vision Weekend went really well,” she said. “I found myself really comfortable with the prospective students and already wanting them to come here.”
Carlos Plata, a prospective student from Amarillo, Texas, said Vision Weekend significantly impacted his college decision-making process. Plata said that although Rice had not been high on his list before Vision Weekend, the positive experience he had changed his mind.
“When I arrived and met all of y’all and saw how much y’all enjoy being at Rice I began to see myself there,” Plata said. “All the feedback from [my host] and his friends helped me understand the gist of what it is like to be a student at Rice and how much fun it can really be.”
Martel College sophomore Alex Siller said that, as a former Vision Weekend participant, hosting prospective students of his own was a great experience. Siller said, however, that he wished the program had remained an actual weekend like it was when he was a prospective student instead of the Sunday through Tuesday event it is now.
“I think the program has lost something,” Siller said. “It was nice to take them to classes and all but I felt like the material in the Systems Physiology class I took them to was way over their head so they didn’t get a feel for what classes would be like. I think it would have been better to have them have activities and get them to experience campus life and the college system because that’s more of what sets Rice apart.”
Owl Days, Rice’s general recruiting period for admitted students, will be held three Mondays on April 7, 14 and 21 and, for the first time, will not allow prospective students to stay overnight.
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