The Good
1. There was a pretty big group of families touring today. Bigger than I expected.
2. In our small group that walked around, we had my daughter, a local, someone from the Dallas area, and someone from North Carolina - a young man who traveled here alone for his tour today. Seemed like good diversity from most angles.
3. The overview and the tour was not in any way political either way. It was not focused on how TU can be a great vocational experience for lower income students. It was not PC. It was not True Commitment. But they did note a focus on academic support that was not overplayed.
4. Our tour guide was an energetic and approachable pre-med student who seemed to love being at TU.
The Bad
1. I don't have a lot of "bads" but some things were sort of "meh." There was no mention of having D1 sports as a selling point. No mention of us being the smallest enrollment FBS school.
2. It may have been due to the cold weather (and eventually us walking around campus in the snow) and of course the Saturday choice, but campus was totally dead. It was hard to see a student anywhere. It seemed like a ghost town.
3. When one of the parent asked our guide why she was drawn to TU, all she had was "small classes and getting to know faculty" which is great, but I would have hoped to hear a laundry list from a sales perspective.
4. The look at a dorm room was fine, but not ultra exciting. Neither my wife nor I lived in a dorm ever, so of course it seemed miniscule. Beyond that we didn't get to see any other exciting dorm features and it was dead quiet.
All in all, it was fine but I think it could have been better. I think the admissions staff could sharpen their message before the tour and highlight D1 athletics as a unique plus. Perhaps a short video that makes sure all the biggest selling points before the talk would be good.
Of course, most attendees there were seniors and I think might already have a lot of info, so for them this might just be about seeing the lay of the land. Also, I suspect seeing things midweek would be better.
1. There was a pretty big group of families touring today. Bigger than I expected.
2. In our small group that walked around, we had my daughter, a local, someone from the Dallas area, and someone from North Carolina - a young man who traveled here alone for his tour today. Seemed like good diversity from most angles.
3. The overview and the tour was not in any way political either way. It was not focused on how TU can be a great vocational experience for lower income students. It was not PC. It was not True Commitment. But they did note a focus on academic support that was not overplayed.
4. Our tour guide was an energetic and approachable pre-med student who seemed to love being at TU.
The Bad
1. I don't have a lot of "bads" but some things were sort of "meh." There was no mention of having D1 sports as a selling point. No mention of us being the smallest enrollment FBS school.
2. It may have been due to the cold weather (and eventually us walking around campus in the snow) and of course the Saturday choice, but campus was totally dead. It was hard to see a student anywhere. It seemed like a ghost town.
3. When one of the parent asked our guide why she was drawn to TU, all she had was "small classes and getting to know faculty" which is great, but I would have hoped to hear a laundry list from a sales perspective.
4. The look at a dorm room was fine, but not ultra exciting. Neither my wife nor I lived in a dorm ever, so of course it seemed miniscule. Beyond that we didn't get to see any other exciting dorm features and it was dead quiet.
All in all, it was fine but I think it could have been better. I think the admissions staff could sharpen their message before the tour and highlight D1 athletics as a unique plus. Perhaps a short video that makes sure all the biggest selling points before the talk would be good.
Of course, most attendees there were seniors and I think might already have a lot of info, so for them this might just be about seeing the lay of the land. Also, I suspect seeing things midweek would be better.