Prospective students Helen Le (red cap) and Nour Alideeb, attending from Mississauga, chat with guide Victoria Maxmen on Sunday.

The campus was buzzing Sunday March 3 as thousands of prospective students, their families and friends poured in for the 2013 Open House.

Open House is a critical part of Brock’s undergraduate recruitment plan, as most of the prospective students attending on Sunday had received an offer of admission and are considering Brock as their university of choice for September.

Beth Natale, Director of Recruitment and Retention, said more than 3,200 guests visited Sunday, a significant jump over last year and the best turnout ever for an Open House.

“It’s particularly impressive because we anticipate at least another thousand guests visiting next week during March Break,” said Natale.

Natale said motivating prospective students with a campus tour is a top priority during the conversion portion of the recruitment/admission cycle.  When the guests arrived, some 400 volunteer faculty, students and staff were waiting to show them around teaching areas, research labs, residences and support facilities.

Guests had the opportunity to speak with professors, staff and students from every academic program and student service, including Co-op, career services and student awards and financial aid. There were also dedicated staff to help facilitate the transfer of students moving between Ontario colleges and Brock, or to help interested college students with on-the-spot university applications, admissions and credit assessments.

An invitation-only Scholars Reception was held in the Sean O’Sullivan Theatre lobby for students achieving an admission average of 90 per cent or higher, while another invitation-only event offered guests an insider’s view of student life in the Goodman School of Business.  Each event was near capacity.

“Our people and campus show very well,” said Natale. ” If we are successful in motivating applicants to visit campus during a ‘red carpet day’ such as Open House, it significantly affects the likelihood of that applicant becoming a confirmed and registered student.”

Open House also caused a stir on Twitter as academic representatives, proud current students and excited future students and parents mentioned the event more than 270 times.

Brendan Joseph (@BrendonAJ) tweeted, “The open house helped a lot with convincing my parents to let me go away for school, Thank you so much !!”

Jon Sniderhan (@callmesnides) tweeted, “Had an awesome time at #BrockOpenHouse , Looks like my future is in Brock!”

Chelsea Ancio (@ChelseaAncio) tweeted, “Great day at #BrockOpenHouse today. Can’t wait to go there #woo”