While most University of Victoria students are off on their four-month summer break, their successors will flock to campus this weekend to experience UVic.
Soon-to-be high school grads and their parents will participate in a two-day Experience UVic orientation, giving them a chance to get answers to all the questions they have to decide whether UVic is their right school.
“It’s not enough to have students come and meet us on the first day of classes in September. We make sure that students have that bridge between applying to UVic and then that first day because we know they have a lot more questions they need to be answered,” said Melana Mar, event officer with UVic’s student transitions.
Questions range from how the registration process works and which classes they should take, to what it feels like living in dorms and what the cafeteria food tastes like, she said.
“The biggest thing is we connect students with staff, faculty and students on campus so they can get exactly what they need to make that choice,” Mar said.
Experience UVic has been held each year since 2007, and Mar says that 90 per cent of last year’s attendees ultimately chose UVic as their post-secondary destination.
Students will have an opportunity to experience campus life and get information on all the faculties and programs the school has to offer. Parents will participate in sessions that discuss how to best support their children.
“It’s really for us to help them figure out what kind of questions they should be asking their kids, and reemerge from the process with the questions that help facilitate the decision-making, not doing it for them,” Mar said.
Registration for post-secondary has seen steady growth in the last couple of years. Since 2008, UVic’s undergraduate student population has grown from 15,839 to 16,863.
Mar says the event is highly anticipated by UVic staff each year.
“It’s a great opportunity to show off what we’re doing and give future students an idea of what we’re like here,” Mar said. “I think (an event like Experience UVic) is needed so students aren’t just making this big decision on university based off of a pamphlet.”
For more information on Experience UVic or to register for the event, visit transition.uvic.ca/experience.
kslavin@saanichnews.com
