Thursday, March 2, 2017

Nota Bene: On Becoming a Marlin: VWC Day Welcomes 350

This past Saturday, 350 prospective students and family members (the largest in recordable history) visited Virginia Wesleyan for our spring VWC Day Open House. Thank you to Vice President for Enrollment David Waggoner and Assistant Vice President for Enrollment Beth Clarke for their leadership, as well as the many faculty, staff and student ambassadors whose hard work made this day a huge success.

For our enrollment counselors in particular, Saturday was an exciting opportunity to meet the students with whom they have been building relationships over the last several months. Our counselors have been engaged in an extensive, unprecedented outreach program via email, direct mail, phone and text messaging. They have been sharing information about the quality and breadth of our academic programs and co-curricular opportunities as well as the many successes of our graduates.

Our enrollment counselors’ commitment was evidenced in the many productive conversations and positive interactions that took place throughout the day. Their work will continue to be a critical part of our recruitment efforts as we build toward welcoming the Class of 2021.

I was also pleased with the level of engagement from parents who attended a panel discussion following the morning welcome. It is clear that they care deeply about the high-quality academic and co-curricular opportunities we offer so abundantly here at VWC.

The event coincided with the conclusion of our inaugural Batten Honors College competition, which welcomed its second set of participants February 23-25. A total of 71 students were invited to compete for 20 selective Batten Fellowships and 20 Shumadine Scholarships for the fall of 2017. Collectively, these students have a grade point average of 4.07 on a 4.0 scale, an average SAT score of 1320, and an average ACT score of 29. Special thanks to Steve Pinto, Director of Enrollment for the Batten Honors College, and Dr. Joyce Easter, Dean of the Batten Honors College, for their excellent work throughout this process.

Overall, applications for the incoming class are higher than they were a year ago. Prospective students and their families are sharing the excitement of the college-search process, and we are looking forward in the coming months to welcoming many as new members of the Marlin Family.

It truly is "A Great Day to be a Marlin!"