A crowd of approximately 500 students and family members gathered in Daemen University’s Lumsden Gymnasium on Sept. 19 for College Night, the largest annual fall recruitment event in Western New York.
Hosted by the WNY Consortium of Higher Education, this year’s event was the most successful in five years, with admissions representatives from over 105 colleges from New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Alabama, and other states.
Each institution was given its own information table where representatives spoke with attendees about their programs, campuses, and more.
“The event is an opportunity for prospective students and their families to kick off their college search,” said Austin Brass, director of undergraduate admissions at Daemen. “For us at Daemen, it’s often the first time we get to meet these individuals face-to-face. It’s our opportunity to get to know them and start to build meaningful connections and relationships.”
Attendance was made up of mostly junior and senior high school students, along with their parents.
“Through this event, these prospective students from across Western New York were introduced to Daemen – it was a great opportunity for them to visit campus and see it in person,” said Brass.
“When admissions counselors recruit students at high schools, they often only get to meet with students. This event allows us to speak with both the students and their parents at the same time. We can then answer their questions all at once and cover a lot of ground,” he added.
Additionally, Brass said the event encourages colleges visiting from out of state to visit other local high schools and college fairs in the days following College Night.
“We hope that our region benefits from College Night and that students across Western New York gain increased access to institutions of higher education,” said Brass.
Daemen plans to continue its tradition of hosting College Night annually.
Learn about upcoming admissions events at Daemen here.