The Tufts Daily
2
News&features
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Streamlined Pre-O application process meant larger pool by
Laina Piera
Daily Editorial Board
A new, streamlined application and payment process for freshman preorientation programs this year paved the way for an unprecedented number of applicants to some of the programs and less stress for the incoming students who applied, according to organizers. In the past, each pre-Orientation program conducted its own application and payment process, each working independently of the others. All five programs — Conversations, Action, Faith and Education (CAFE), Fitness and Individual Development at Tufts (FIT), Freshman Orientation Community Ser vice (FOCUS), International Orientation (IO) and Tufts Wilderness Orientation ( TWO) — this year joined to revamp their protocol under the supervision of the Undergraduate Orientation Office. Incoming students applied online in May via the Connection 2015 website, an information portal for all incoming students. They were notified of their acceptance on June 15, according to Coordinator for Orientation and Administration Jamie Engle. In another change, students were this year only allowed to apply to one program. Those who were not accepted into their first-choice programs were asked to rank their next-best choices and could fill in the open spots in other programs, according to Engle. Engle said this system was an overall success in terms of allowing applicants admission to their second choice, if not their first. “Very few students were not placed into a program of their second choice,” Engle said. “The only students who weren’t placed were those who were not interested in any other program.” Once accepted into a program, the students paid their tuition online via credit card instead of using individual checks as they had done in previous years, a new feature that also helped to simplify the payment process, according to Engle. The Undergraduate Orientation Office this year required the leaders of all of the programs to undergo an alcohol training session with Director of Alcohol and Health Education Ian Wong, a feature that some of the programs already included their training. Partly as a result of these changes, and also because the program amped up its outreach and visibility efforts this year, FOCUS this year received an unprecedented number of applications. The program enrolled 201 students this year, up from 165 students last year, according to FOCUS co-Coordinator Mike Borys. “I think the biggest part of it was us and the other pre-orientations being out on the Quad during April Open House publicizing our events,” Borys, a junior, said. “I think the ease of registration was something that led to an increase in attendance as well.” TWO, the largest pre-orientation program, received roughly 70 more applications than last year, according to
courtesy Maddie Mayerson
FOCUS, along with other freshman pre-orientation programs, saw record numbers of applicants this year. TWO co-Coordinator Louisa Bradberry (LA ‘11). TWO used a lottery to pick its 216 freshmen from a pool of close to 400 applicants and was the only program to not use a first-come, first-served selection process. A waitlist of around 40 students was then also selected, according to Bradberry. “I think people were definitely more exposed to all of their options because of the new application,” Bradberry said. “For example, we had about 10 to 15 international kids apply, which has never happened before, and I think that’s because the common application was sent to all of the Class of 2015. … I also think there were more applicants to [TWO] itself.” FIT and IO both received approximately the same number of applications as last year. FIT enrolled around 180 students, according to Assistant Director of Athletics and FIT Coordinator Branwen Smith-King. IO enrolled approximately 118 students, International Office Director Jane Etish-Andrews, who
serves as the IO coordinator, said. Unlike in years past, IO has now joined the other programs in charging a fee for participation, according to Etish-Andrews, who added that the extra money was necessary given the program’s expansion. “We’re doing some nicer events that will now justify charging students a fee to come,” Etish-Andrews said. “Since we’ve become part of the package of what Tufts offers for pre-orientation programs, it would have been unusual that we would not charge.” CAFE was the only program to have fewer applicants this year than last year and enrolled six students, down from nine last year, according to CAFE co-Coordinator Rebeccah Marrero, a junior. Marrero said that while she was hoping for more applicants, she believes the program can still grow in the future. “We were hoping to get about 15 kids this year, because we had been growing every year,” Marrero said. “It made sense that we would grow. I think with
AEPi and DTD prepare to settle into their new homes FRATERNITIES
continued from page 1
AEPi’s lease on the 98 Professors Row house ended in June, allowing DTD to move back into the house, which is owned by DTD’s alumni foundation. AEPi’s return to 45 Sawyer will continue the fraternity’s decades-long history on Sawyer. During the time that AEPi occupied the space on Professors Row, 45 Sawyer was offered as an on-campus housing option. The 98 Professors Row house underwent extensive renovations this summer in an effort to restore the house to its original design, according to Beaton.
The restorations, financed by the Board of Directors of Delta Tau Delta Foundation of Tufts University, included new hardwood and carpeting, a redesigned basement, and an expanded foyer, according to Beaton. The house’s bathrooms were also revamped. “Pretty much everything has been replaced or gotten a facelift in some way,” Beaton said. Planning for the renovations involved examining archival photographs and drawings of the original building, Beaton said. “The consensus was to restore the building architecturally and stylistically as close as we could to how it was originally when it was finished in
1936,” Beaton added. The fraternity also hired two full-time chefs to prepare food in the house, according to Beaton. This change will make DTD the second Greek organization on campus with its own food staff, after Delta Upsilon, according to Director of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs Su McGlone. The house on 45 Sawyer has also undergone renovation this summer, according to AEPi President David Reiff, a junior. AEPi’s move from Professors Row to the smaller Sawyer location will mean that fewer brothers can live in the house. The fraternity prepared for the downsizing by accepting a smaller pledge class last spring,
the changes and everything, that didn’t exactly work out. … I have faith that we can grow.” Engle said that she is pleased with the outcome of the changes. “We think this was a positive experience for both incoming students and the pre-orientation programs,” Engle said. Smith-King agreed. “I thought it was excellent,” she said. “It really helped us a lot the way the orientation office took care of all the registration and payment.” Engle added that some groups of students have expressed interest in developing new pre-orientation programs, and the university is working on creating a pre-orientation advisory board with representation from all of the existing groups to make decisions about developing new programs. “Pre-orientation programs come from people in the community who are interested in developing one,” Engle said. We’re creating a mechanism by which new pre-orientation programs can start, but at this point we haven’t made any decisions on that.”
according to Reiff. Despite initial hesitation about moving out of 98 Professors Row, Reiff insisted that the fraternity members are excited to return to their old house. “We’re very excited about it,” he said. “It’s where our chapter used to be and it’s suited for the types of kids that we are.” “[What] anybody [in a Greek organization] will tell you, is that the house does not matter, the group of people matters … and it makes the sacrifice of leaving the house really not matter at all,” he said. McGlone offered her support to DTD during its return to its house. “I plan on supporting them
during their transition back onto campus in any way that they need it,” she said. “Usually during a growth period the national organization and the campus would work together to provide support, and I plan on doing that.” Despite the 98 Professors Row house’s central location on campus, Beaton insists that DTD will not be using the house as a recruiting point. “I think it will probably have a bigger impact on our visibility on campus and how others perceive us, rather than how we perceive ourselves,” he said. “We’re excited to be back on 98 Professors Row and to have that prominent place on campus,” Beaton added.