I think it's safe to say we were all OVERWHELMED by how many people came out. We had such an amazing turnout, about 126 people! This was my first big admissions event, so I had no idea what to expect. I actually didn't get a chance to visit the university before I accepted my offer of admission, so this event made me wish that I had. It was so nice to be able to interact with the prospective students and show them my passion for GSE and for my program.
I feel like coming out to the open house is, if anything, the perfect way to go from being unsure of whether you're going to apply to GSE to turning in your completed application. I so wish I'd had the chance to talk to people in my program and see how they felt about it and what it was like to live in Philadelphia. I kind of got lucky (here and in my undergrad) because I didn't visit before accepting my admission offer.
I think one thing I took from this event that made a lot of sense is how important it is to ensure that the graduate program you apply for FITS. You don't have much of a chance to decide whether GSE fits you unless you come for a visit. And I hope we helped the prospective students who visited today to decide whether GSE is a good fit or not.
One thing I really wish I could have done differently would be to spend more time talking to the prospectives who were interested in the counseling program! I know we had ambassadors to help with that part, mingling with them at the beginning of the event, but I think my favorite part of this assistantship with admissions is having the opportunity to interact with people, especially people who are interested in counseling and share my passion for helping people. I did get more of a chance to talk to the prospective students when we led the campus tours after the event, but I hope next time I can take more of a role in telling them how I feel about GSE, CMHS, Philadelphia, and the whole admissions process they're going through.
To anyone reading this blog who is thinking about applying to GSE, I'd say the best way to decide is to come here and see it for yourself! Or talk to one of us and we can help you see the student perspective.
Thinking back to undergrad, THAT'S why it was so easy to warm up to UVA. My cousin went there, and when he spoke about it, he spoke with such genuine affection for the school, and now, when I talk to my own younger cousin about UVA, I have my own genuine affection for it, same for GSE. So anything you want to know, just ask! And (shameless plug) visit www.gse.upenn.edu/rsvp if you're interested in finding out about our open house in the spring or any other events we host. We seriously love seeing and talking to you, and it's really the best way to see whether GSE is the place for you.
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