Six Tips To Help Answer The Question: Why Choose Lewis & Clark?

By the end of May, more than 1,000 newly admitted CAS students and their families will visit campus with the same general question in mind: “Why choose Lewis & Clark?” 

As the volume of prospective-student visitors is enormous, the Office of Admissions refers to this time of year as the “season of yield.”

“Many prospective students will base their college decisions on a two- or three-hour visit to campus,” Dean for Enrollment and Communications Lisa Meyer said. “If during this visit they see a warm and collaborative community of scholars, they are likely to choose Lewis & Clark as their home. If they feel frustrated or neglected, however, they are likely to choose another campus to call home.” 

Here are six tips to keep in mind as we enter the busiest visiting period of the year:

1. If you see anybody on campus who looks like a visitor, don’t be shy! Say hello and ask if you can answer any questions they might have.
2. Wear your gold name tag. It’s an easy way to instantly become more accessible.
3. Even if you don’t have a chance to reach out to any would-be Pioneers, try to cultivate a welcoming presence through good old-fashioned friendliness. Smiley people are certainly not uncommon here, and we want visitors to see that and feel it too.
4. Print out a stack of campus maps to have on hand just in case. Even if you know the campus well, nothing is easier for a visitor to understand than “X marks the spot.”
5. Make sure information on your department webpage is current and correct.
6. Keep yourself up-to-date on campus events and the available resources for visitors. Let prospective students know about the exhibitions, concerts, and other opportunities happening here every day—and be able to show them where to go.

New students are, unsurprisingly, very important to the successful continuation of Lewis & Clark, so let’s treat them accordingly, and give all our visitors a friendly community experience.