Students admitted early sample life at Emerson

Dozens of new faces were on campus Friday, January 28, peering into classrooms and dorms, as Emerson’s Office of Admission hosts a special event for early action admitted students.

Of approximately 1,000 admitted through the early action process, approximately 170 prospective students and their parents—320 in all—attended the first-ever Lights, Camera, Early Action event, which focuses on the Emerson experience outside of the classroom. Participants came from 19 U.S. states and from as far away as Turkey.

Early action allows students to seek admission on an accelerated timeline, but does not require them to commit to attending Emerson. An April Open House is still planned for the larger body of prospective students admitted under the traditional timeframe. More than 2,000 sought early action decisions from Emerson this year. Total applications are up 12 percent over last year, with international applications up by 50 percent.

“It’s not an open house; it’s a celebration,” said MJ Knoll-Finn, vice president for enrollment management. Her staff proposed the event after observing prospective students sharing their anticipation of life at Emerson on Facebook. “The most important thing to these students is the community. They can’t wait to get to campus. There’s a strong excitement about whom they’re going to be with.”

The event started with a tour of the residence halls, student activity opportunities, and facilities; followed by a dinner at the Ritz-Carlton focusing on academics, including faculty or staff members at each table; and concluded with a choice of an ArtsEmerson show to cap off the evening. Some students arrived early to visit classes.

Zeynep Abes, from Istanbul, was excited to see Emerson, and even looks forward to the snow. “My major is Interactive Media because I get to combine all of my passions in one major. No other college in America offers this kind of a program,” she said. “Emerson is my first choice so I wanted to apply early action just to get the waiting process over with. I really liked Emerson from the beginning and I knew that it would end up as my first choice school.”