Students who were recently accepted to the University of Connecticut got the opportunity to attend UConn Bound Day on Saturday, March 28, to explore campus and determine whether UConn is the right school for them or not.
UConn Bound Day took place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Within those six hours, students and their families could go on 60-minute campus tours beginning at the Homer Babbidge Library. They could also tour the Student Recreation Center, stop by the bookstore and visit the Jonathan the Husky Statue.
In addition to tours, an array of events took place all around campus. One of those events was the Campus Welcome. The ceremony began with a 60-second countdown that mimicked the countdown at UConn sports games. After the countdown, the UConn Pep Band and UConn Spirit gave a remarkable performance. Following the countdown were speeches such as one by Vern Granger, the director of undergraduate admissions.
Another notable event was Navigating Your First Year at UConn, where students learned about campus resources that’ll guide them throughout their first year on campus. Resources include the Academic Achievement Center (AAC), Learning Communities and the First-Year Experience Programs.
A third significant event was How Major Is Your Major, which allowed students who are currently undecided to hear about resources that will help them narrow down a major, such as the Academic Center for Exploratory Students.
There were also presentations about living on campus, career readiness, transfer admissions, undergraduate research and financing your UConn education. Advising sessions for the pre-law, pre-medical and pre-dental organizationstook place as well.
Students and their families were also able to attend the Campus Connections Expo, where they could connect with the UConn Bursar’s Office, the Office of Fraternities and Sororities, the Center for Students with Disabilities, the AAC and the UConn Undergraduate Science Journal (USJ).
Devesh Karthik, who is the vice president of the UConn USJ and a sixth-semester physics and mathematics double major, discussed the goals that he had for presenting the journal at the Campus Connections Expo.
“We’re hoping that our organization is inviting enough that people interested in coming to UConn can have a community of people interested in science and publishing in a journal,” Karthik said. “And also, we’re hoping that people want to join our club, so that we can have more people to work on this journal.”
Each of UConn’s cultural centers offered tours to newly admitted students as well. Some of the cultural centers offered food to guests. The Asian American Cultural Center (AsACC) served cookies, iced water, lemonade, beef empanadas, grilled Korean bulgogi and fruit such as blueberries, strawberries and watermelon.
The Rainbow Center also provided food with similar options to the AsACC. They also served chicken tenders, cheese cubes and crackers.
Martine Remi, an eighth-semester digital media and design major who works at the Rainbow Center, discussed the importance of allowing newly admitted students to tour the cultural centers on UConn Bound Day.
“This gives incoming students a really good opportunity to get a jumpstart on all the cultural centers offering different resources, especially since they offer first-year programs,” Remi said. “The Rainbow Center’s program is called IRIS. It pairs a first-year transfer student with an undergraduate student who is a sophomore or higher. That would allow them to have a connection on campus.”
Remi also mentioned their experience in IRIS as a first-year student.
“I was a first-generation in the program when I was a freshman,” Remi said. “It was really helpful to be paired with somebody who had a grasp of what UConn is like and what the environment is like on campus. They might know more resources and have more connections, especially if you get partnered with somebody in your department or with a lot of shared interests as you.”
UConn’s learning communities hosted their own showcase, too.
Natasha Khetan, a sixth-semester allied health sciences and individualized major in disability studies student, shared the significance of presenting the learning communities to newly admitted students.
“Learning communities are a part of what makes UConn so unique,” Khetan said. “And being able to explain what learning communities are and disseminating that information to the people who are considering coming to UConn is so important because that can be the deciding factor between them picking UConn versus another school.”
Khetan also shared her experience being a part of a learning community and how it impacted her.
“Learning communities contributed a lot to my ability to find opportunities on campus and finding a community,” Khetan said. “And I think it’s important that people considering going to UConn know about this opportunity and are aware of it when filling out the housing application.”
According to the UConn admissions website, there will be a second UConn Bound Day. That will take place on Sunday, April