The University will welcome thousands this weekend as several colleges will open their doors to prospective students and their families for open house events.

The Colleges of Engineering, Media, Veterinarian Medicine, ACES, AHS, FAA and LAS will all have open houses Friday and Saturday. This is the first year that these colleges will have their open houses on the same weekend, as the Admissions Office asked colleges to start thinking collaboratively about their open houses. 

“The initiative to have all colleges host open houses on this weekend was a deliberate decision that we have been working on since the beginning of last year,” said Megan Tucker Zwilling, director of Student Services in the College of Media.

Aside from campus tours that many students take, open houses provide prospective freshmen with an opportunity to receive a comprehensive look at colleges of their interest.

“They will walk away having a strong feeling of what the culture is here, what the students and faculty are like and what it will take to be successful in certain departments,” said Lori Kay Paden, an advisor of Experience AHS.

This year’s 93rd annual Engineering Open House is expected to attract more than 20,000 visitors. It will include three design competitions, more than 250 exhibitions throughout all engineering facilities and a Friday keynote speech by Phil Plait, writer for Slate Magazine and former NASA astronomer.

“(Prospective students) get to see projects that they could get to work on,” said Gloria Lin, director of EOH and senior in Engineering. “It is really a unique experience because every engineering discipline is on display here at EOH.”

Returning to EOH will also be the Tesla Coil Performance, which will recreate popular music by using bolts of electricity.

ExplorACES anticipates 2,000 visitors. Tours, mini-classes and exhibits from all ACES departments and student organizations will be available.

“(ExplorACES) will present a lot of information from the standpoint of interest,” said Jason Emmert, advisor for ExplorACES. “They’ll see things about food and about business and about animals. It’s these areas of interest that pulls them in.”

Students attending the College of FAA open house will have a more structured experience. Faculty-led workshops will be conducted according to major, giving a hands-on experience to attendees.

“Student ambassadors are creating personalized itineraries the night before for every single family,” said Katrine Trantham, assistant dean of recruitment and admissions for FAA. “Every student will have a completely different itinerary from other students that will be customized to their interests.”

The event will also feature “Student Spotlight,” at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, which gives current students the opportunity to display their artwork.

Academic advisors throughout the University, like Paden, hope that while future students may be unsure of a major, they will leave open houses knowing where a degree can take them in the future.

“They are going to have a better understanding of the majors and the programs that we offer here (in ACES), and perhaps even more importantly, the connection of our areas of interest with future careers,” Emmert said.

Amaya can be reached at [email protected].