It is that time of year again when high school students dive deep into their college searches and high school seniors are scrambling with the application and decision-making processes. As many students will remember, choosing a school for higher education is an incredibly stressful process, but luckily Mercyhurst does a phenomenal job at welcoming prospective students throughout a variety of different events.

Taking a campus tour is a vital part of the decision-making process and often makes or breaks a student’s decision to confirm their enrollment at an institution. Mercyhurst has a unique process since most of the tours given on campus are individual, meaning the only people on the tour are the prospective student and their family or guests and the student ambassador. Although these tours occur during both the academic year and the summer, the end of the fall semester typically brings a larger number of guests to campus as students are thinking about their futures and submitting applications.

Ambassador President and senior Music Therapy major Mikayla Tupek describes prospective student season as a time where “ideally Mercyhurst is marketing itself and the opportunities we have here to students interested in the school.” This is done by both individual campus tours and other types of larger events which are making a return after many months off due to COVID.

Some of the biggest events for ambassadors are the Open Houses that Mercyhurst hosts throughout the year. These occur on the weekends and usually bring hundreds of guests to campus, so ambassadors are working many different aspects of the day from parking control to holding doors to directing families to the dining halls. Ambassadors also give group tours during these events, something that has not happened since the pandemic. Senior Early Childhood and Special Education major Anika Pearson reflects on the first Open House of the year that occurred in October. “Giving tours in person and in large groups makes campus feel so much more vibrant and homey. Interacting with guests face to face brings more personality to the interactions and gives students a better snapshot of what life really looks like at Mercyhurst.”

There have also been several “day in” events in the past several weeks including Day in Intelligence, Day in Cyber, and Day in Fashion. During these days, prospective students interested in these specific courses of study are able to sit in on class, meet professors and faculty, hear from current students in that major and experience a day in the life in addition to receiving a campus tour.

Looking forward, the Admissions department will be hosting the second Open House of the academic year on Nov. 13th in addition to more “day in” events including Hospitality Management, Art and Applied Forensic Science. More Open Houses and “day in” events will occur in the spring semester in addition to Accepted Student Day which is the largest prospective student event that Mercyhurst hosts. If you see an ambassador in a green jacket in the upcoming months, make sure to say hello to the family and let them know that Hurst is Home.