The Big Day Arrives-Congratulations You’ve Been Offered Admission!

Posted on Sunday, January 31st, 2021

February 1st is one of the greatest days of the year for Ontario college applicants. As the clock ticked past midnight, all of the province’s public colleges started making offers of admission, including Algonquin College’s Pembroke Waterfront Campus.

What a way to start the week. It’s one of the best feelings an applicant can have. It’s like a breath of fresh air while standing on a mountain, realizing that your career goals are now within reach. That is what today is like for hundreds of applicants who first received the good news from the Pembroke Campus by email. Their hard-copy admissions offer will arrive by traditional mail this week.

The email was packed with great information about the next steps applicants must take to secure their seat in their program, but mostly it was about making applicants feel welcome. Video congratulatory messages from the Campus Dean, Dr. Keltie Jones and the program coordinator were included, plus some programs included an invitation to meet with the coordinator and other admitted students in a virtual meet and greet later in the day. In other programs, faculty were busy calling incoming students to congratulate them.

These initial contacts are a great way for applicants to start making connections with the campus and the people they will be spending a lot of time with once classes start in September. It makes applicants feel much more comfortable with the important decision they now have to make, confirming they have found the right program and the right campus for their post-secondary studies.

Applicants have until May 1st to confirm their offer of admission, but from past experience, the College knows that many applicants will confirm their seat within hours or days of receiving the good news. They’re excited to get their plans in order, but the message the College wants them to receive is that our team will be there for them all the way through their educational journey. First impressions matter and the Pembroke Campus has a well-earned reputation for fulfilling the College mission to help students transform their hopes and dreams into life-long success.

There are many key dates in the admissions cycle. Beyond the confirmation deadline of May 1st, tuition deposits are due June 15th and conditionally accepted applicants who have outstanding academic requirements have until August 1st to get this work done. Orientation activities will be available in the summer months to prepare students for classes and formal academic orientation sessions will be offered a few days before classes begin the day after Labour Day.

So to keep applicants on track with the tasks that need to be completed, the Pembroke Campus will communicate with applicants through email, phone calls, social media posts and website updates. Staying connected is critical to ensure a successful start to college and today was the first step in building a relationship with the incoming class to ensure they know who they can reach out to if they need help with things like applying for financial aid, submitting documents, or securing housing in Pembroke.

Staying in touch with the campus is important because September is many months away. Given the many questions newly admitted applicants will have about how the College is delivering courses and services during the COVID-19 pandemic and how things might change in the weeks and months ahead is a good reason for prospective students to participate in activities the College plans for them. Applicants can also visit the College’s COVID-19 website for the most up-to-date information.

Applicants who do not receive an offer on February 1st should not be discouraged. There is still plenty of time to apply to College or complete academic upgrading to be considered for admission. Most programs will remain open leading into the start of classes in September until there are no longer any seats available. Applications will now be reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis and offers of admission will be made once the College admissions officers have all of the information they need to assess the application. This primarily requires the submission of educational transcripts.

Some programs attract many applications and these are the programs that require applicants to apply as early as possible. Programs that attract a lot of applications at the Pembroke Campus include Nursing, Forestry Technician and Carpentry and Renovations Techniques, so applying soon is advised to avoid the risk of being placed on a waitlist.

Today is a day to celebrate for the applicants who applied early and received an offer of admission. Congratulations to every one of you and we look forward to having you study with us at the Waterfront Campus.

Posted by Jamie Bramburger, Manager of Community and Student Affairs

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