As College recruits potential students, first-years reassess initial impressions

Trista Turley

2/17/12

In recent weeks, William Jewell College has played host to several groups of prospective students.  Although sometimes referred to as “prospies,” these students represent the potential future of the William Jewell student body.  Through campus visits and major recruiting events such a tomorrow’s Scholar Recognition Day activities, prospective students develop an impression of William Jewell that ultimately will help inform their college decision.  Yet developing an accurate impression can be difficult.  Admissions counselors, Cardinal Blazers and other representatives of the College are tasked with condensing a four-year experience into a few hours.  Consequently, a prospective student’s impression of life on the Hill sometimes differs from the actual student experience.
According to Angie Petersen, sophomore and vice-president of outreach for the Cardinal Blazers, the Cardinal Blazers strive constantly to improve their methods of communicating with prospective students and their families.
“There are three of us on the executive board [of Cardinal Blazers],” Petersen said.  “We want to occasionally pop up [during] the middle of tours conducted by other blazers, so we can give them [our] feedback on how they can improve and what they’re doing well.”
Some current first-year students feel that certain aspects of campus tours can be adjusted to give prospective students a more realistic conception of student life at William Jewell.
“I definitely would say that showing us Melrose gave a really false impression of what the rest of the dorms were going to look like,” James Webber, first-year, said.  “They need to show more dorm rooms.”
Yet Webber said his overall impression of William Jewell has not changed significantly in his time as a student.  “My impression has changed a little bit for the negative, but at the same time I am not upset with my decision to come here,” he stated.  “I am happy to be at Jewell.”
Misconceptions about life on campus may be driven by the reluctance of many prospective students to ask questions of current students.  “Most of my tours are parent-led in terms of questions,” Petersen said.  “For the students to be asking the questions, that’s pretty rare.  I love my school and I want to show people the best parts of it.  I wish [prospective students] would ask about what makes Jewell unique.”
Petersen said that when prospective students do ask questions, the questions tend to focus on residence life rather than academics.  “Most questions tend to be about the dorms or what people can and cannot have in their rooms,” she said.  “I don’t get a lot of questions about what professors are like or class schedules.”
Despite this trend, first-year students interviewed by the Monitor indicated that the academic experience at Jewell has been consistent with their expectations.
“I came here for academics and the education program, and the education program is pretty good,” Caleb Adams, first-year, said.
“There are classes for different levels of academic ability,” Katelyn Coombes, first-year said.  “You’re free to choose the classes that appeal to you.”
Like Webber, Coombes indicated that her impression of William Jewell has changed somewhat from the impression she developed as prospective student.  Yet she believes that this is a natural consequence of being new to the college experience.
“There are just things I had to figure out for myself,” Coombes said.  “I wish I would have known I wouldn’t eat in the cafeteria three times a day, but those sort of things aren’t a matter of not having enough information about a school.  It’s just a matter of individual choices.”
All of the first-year students interviewed by the Monitor staff indicated that, while their impressions of William Jewell have changed somewhat, they are still comfortable with the decision to come to the College.
“My impression is a little more defined now,” Adams said.  “But yeah, I’m happy with my decision.”