Tomorrow while current students and alumni are celebrating Homecoming and the time that they have spent here, prospective students will be discovering Mississippi State University for the first time at Fall Discovery Day.
Associate Director for the Office of Enrollment Services Bryan Nesbit said Enrollment Services hosts Fall Discovery every year to give high school and transfer students a chance to see the campus in a casual atmosphere.
“Discovery Day provides a wealth of opportunities for prospective students. They get a chance to visit the campus and experience a complete college-fair-type environment with many organizations and departments all at one sitting,” Nesbit said.
The MSU Roadrunners assist the office of enrollment services with recruitment and recruiting events such as Discovery Day. Roadrunner Shawnboda Johnson said that they have been working to get potential students to come to the event.
“We have been calling students, reminding them that Discovery Day is coming up, inviting them to it, and telling them about the benefits of attending,” Johnson said.
Although it is earlier in the school year than most college recruitment days, the turnout for the event is usually high, Nesbit said.
“We typically have a couple of thousand prospective students attend Fall Discovery,” Nesbit said.
The approach to Fall Discovery is more casual than the events held later in the school year. Rather than attending specific meetings and events, prospective students have no set itinerary and are encouraged to freely browse the tables that will be set up at the Drill Field from 9 a.m. until noon, Johnson said.
“Students don’t have to notify us ahead of time if they plan to attend. Once they are here and have registered they can just walk around to each of the tables on the Drill Field,” Johnson said.
Several campus groups participate in this event and host tables which provide information to students on a more personal level through exhibits, demonstrations or people answering questions.
Each of the colleges and many of the academic departments will have tables, and several of the student organizations on campus will, too, Nesbit said.
“It provides a great opportunity for students to learn more about the departments that they are interested in and about some of the student organizations that we have on campus,” Nesbit said. “In addition to the academic departments, some of the larger groups that will be represented include Student Services, the Holmes Cultural Diversity Center, the Student Association, Army ROTC and the MSU Library.”
With the atmosphere of Fall Discovery being more laid back, the organizations participating in it will be contributing in more relaxed and fun ways also, Nesbit said. Dining Services will be providing food samples; several groups, including Black Voices and the MSU Jazz Band, will be performing; and the political science department will be hosting a trivia game.
The event also gives students a chance to grow more comfortable with MSU and meet more people at the university, Johnson said.
“There are a lot of fun activities for prospective students at Fall Discovery,” Johnson said. “It also gives them a chance to meet other prospective students and to make friends with people who might also be here next year.”
Because the event ends at noon and the Homecoming game against the University of Memphis kicks off at 1:30 p.m., potential students will also have the opportunity to experience an MSU football game. Discovery Day participants and their families will be able to purchase tickets for $10 each, Nesbit said.
2Reflector Newspaper2SORT^™2STR
o”