ConU welcomes 3,500 visitors at Open House

Concordia University opened its doors on Saturday to thousands of potential students looking to learn more about what the school has to offer.

This year’s open house had a budget of $80,000, with roughly half of that money paying for advertising. Similarly, the university spent $35,000 on advertising last year. University spokesperson Chris Mota said that Concordia sees money spent on Open House “as an investment rather than an expense.”

“Open House brings us potential students, many of whom apply for admission at Concordia. So it is considered money well spent,” Mota said.

Organizers estimate that approximately 3,500 people attended Open House, around the same turnout as last year.

Organizers have yet to find a way to track the number of people coming in and out of both the Sir George Williams and Loyola campuses, said Mota.

“They’ve tried various methods, like [keeping track of] how many programs come back, but not everyone takes a program,” Mota explained. “They’ve tried counting how many giveaway bags come back but, there too, not everyone takes one.“

Both campuses featured presentations and workshops aimed at getting potential students interested in the school. Four 75 minute lectures showcasing each faculty were held throughout the day in the J.W. McConnell Building, while the faculty of arts and sciences held 13 mini lectures giving visitors a taste of what classes will be like. Fine arts held its annual portfolio day for students looking for creative feedback, as well as musical performances and a contemporary dance workshop, while the John Molson School of Business ran info sessions for undergrads and graduates the entire day.

Sophia Wright, a third year contemporary dance student, saw a “steady flow” of people pass through the main floor of the EV building. She also said the contemporary dance workshop drew a large crowd to the seventh floor of the Molson building.

JMSB saw a lot of traffic as well according to Anna Pakkala, one of several students in charge of setting business school hopefuls up on tours of the MB building. “We’ve been booking tours one hour in advance,” she said.

Over at Loyola, which could be reached via a free ride on the shuttle bus, departments set up interactive booths inside the science complex. Communications studies had a massive camera dolly looming over their booth and the department of chemistry and biochemistry offered guests free cups of ice cream made on the spot with liquid nitrogen.

McGill University held their open house on Sunday. UQAM and Université de Montréal will be opening their doors in November.