High School Day brings prospective students to UIndy campus
By Erik Kispert
Staff Writer
Prospective students and their families visited the University of Indianapolis campus for the annual High School Day on Oct. 26. The event was hosted by the admissions office.
For more than 40 years, UIndy has hosted High School Day. The event is free, and every high school in Indiana received flyers promoting it.
Students and their parents were invited to tour the campus and meet professors and current UIndy students. This year between 250 and 300 high school students attended.
While the university traditionally tries to recruit high school seniors, the last few years have seen an increased number of juniors and even underclassmen in attendance, according to Jolanda Bean, admissions counselor and one of the coordinators of High School Day. It is still the seniors who are recruited most aggressively. They are encouraged to turn in an application with the promise of a free UIndy t-shirt.
Bean said the event tries to introduce the college experience to future students.
“We hope to get high school students immersed in the culture of campus life,” she said.
Aside from being present on the campus, high school students interacted with current UIndy students at the Student Organization Fair held in Schwitzer Student Center. Nearly every organization on campus was represented at the fair by at least one member and an information table.
In addition to meeting with current UIndy students, High School Day participants had the opportunity to meet with faculty members from every department. Ron Wilks, director of admissions, said that this is part of what sets UIndy apart from other schools.
“We are happy we can offer the students who come to High School Day a chance to talk with actual professors who teach the things they’re interested in,” Wilks said. “The faculty and students are what makes this event work. We couldn’t do it without them.”
Bean said making this very large-scale event more personal is important.
“We want these [high school] students to come back to campus for an individual visit,” she said. “We want them to see all the things that make our school unique, like always getting a smile when you walk across campus, and people always holding doors open for you.”
Wilks said that it is the people at UIndy who sell the university to prospective students.
“High School Day fits very nicely with our school’s motto, ‘Education for Service.’ That’s what the event is all about, helping students find out what they want to become.”
