Waiting for your O-Level/A-Level results with bated breath? Excitedly imagining the schools and courses you’ll be in?
Take it one step further with the help of a virtual open house, which gives you and your parents a chance to explore universities all from the comfort of your couch!
Aren’t virtual open houses a delight to attend? You don’t have to worry about travelling to campus and navigating an unfamiliar space if this isn’t your thing: hopefully, this means you’ll be able to send in all the questions at the tip of your tongue. Conserve your energy to absorb the bountiful information headed your way.
You’ll have more control over your experience, too! During a virtual open house, you can choose which sessions or activities you want to join based on your interests.
Benefit 1: Hearing from Faculty During Information Sessions
Many virtual open houses organise Zoom information sessions that are open to all, where teaching faculty share about their department’s programs and answer your burning questions. For example, here are some speakers who will be sharing during the upcoming virtual open house hosted by the Singapore campus of James Cook University (JCU):
Dr. Ai Ni Teoh, a senior lecturer in Psychology and researcher of Health and Social Psychology
- Her information session covers what it takes to be a clinical psychologist and the various career paths you can embark on with a psychology degree.
Dr. Neil Hutchinson, a senior lecturer in Environmental Science and researcher of marine community ecology
- He’ll be sharing information about environmental science and aquaculture, highlighting the differences between both undergraduate programmes, and discussing career prospects in these fields.
Associate Professor Roberto Dillon, a senior lecturer in Information Technology and author of game design books
- He’ll discuss how technology builds a Smart Nation and the exciting career opportunities it presents. He also shares about the difference between the Internet of Things, data science, information technology and cybersecurity disciplines.
Such information sessions usually set time aside for Question and Answer segments, so do some research and head in prepared! As you listen to the speakers sharing their expertise and enthusiasm for their fields of study, pay attention to the topics that spark your curiosity and excite you. These could point to areas you’re passionate about and where you’ll thrive.
Hopefully, you’ll get a glimpse of the faculty’s teaching styles or personalities, too, which are important parts of your learning journey.
Benefit 2: Connect With Current Students
Connecting with current students is a great way to get a feel for what life at a university is really like. During virtual open houses, you’ll often get opportunities to chat with students already in the programs you’re interested in and hear first-hand why they chose the university. You’ll also have a chance to hear from alumni on how their studies launched their careers.
Have questions about school workload, internships, student clubs, or anything else? Seize the chance to fire away! Seniors are usually happy to share advice for navigating the first year, and to provide recommendations on how to thrive.
Want to speak to a student even before the open house(s)? Visit the university’s website to see if you can do so! JCU Singapore, for example, allows you to reach out to student marketers through online chat. Hailing from different countries and walks of life, these students (and alumni) can be reached by clicking on the pop-up bubble at the bottom left of your screen.
You’ll find the pop-up bubble here!
Benefit 3: Tour the campus virtually
Curious about what the campus looks like? You can get a glimpse of the university’s campus via “live” tours through Zoom, pre-recorded videos, or a virtual 3D map. You may not have time to visit the campus in person, so this is the chance to take your time to “explore” your prospective university and its facilities: are they what you expected? Are the labs or practical learning classrooms using up-to-date equipment? Take a close look!
Touring the campus virtually is made more fun by “experiencing” the vibrant student life, too. Add some extra spice by checking out the university’s student clubs via their social media, publications, and any other content you discover!
Looking for a virtual open house to attend?
Good news! JCU Singapore’s University Pathways Discovery Week is happening really soon, and registration is free. From 8th to 14th January, you’ll get to hear from campus academics (some of whom we’ve shared about above) and current students.
If you have your heart set on JCU Singapore and still have some queries, you can have all your questions answered by JCU Singapore’s recruitment team in person on 14th January at their Sims Drive campus. Wondering about admissions requirements, deadlines, scholarship eligibility, student housing or support services? Ask away during the 1-to-1 session to obtain helpful information and guidance.
Don’t forget to register for a slot on the JCU Singapore website! We hope you take the opportunity to see for yourself all that JCU Singapore has to offer!
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