New Campus Visit Experience Developed by UT Students

Recently, students from Erin Reilly’s Experimental Storytelling class in the Moody College of Communication were tasked with reimagining the campus visit experience for future Longhorns. With the digital era top of mind, the students unveiled the “See Yourself in Austin” campaign in a showcase to faculty and staff members at the new Admissions Welcome Center.

In the presentation, they proposed a more immersive campus visit with interactive demos and prototypes of the suggested technology.

Starting from the moment a prospective student receives a UT Austin brochure in the mail, their individualized visit agenda is in motion.  Before arriving on campus, prospective students will have access to a mobile app and are encouraged to take a “Which Longhorn Are You?” quiz that narrows responses into five interest categories. The results of the quiz help shape the student’s future visit to campus.

The “See Yourself in Austin” campaign – which was developed in only seven weeks – includes a virtual tour of campus with augmented reality, student-curated social media pages, and a photo booth in the Admissions Welcome Center.  Many of the sights featured in the virtual tour go beyond campus and dive into the local experience. The goal is to immerse prospective students into the full experience of being a student at UT Austin.

Professor Reilly said the class chose the overarching experience to be “See Yourself in Austin” because many of the students felt one of the key attributes to choosing UT Austin for their college experience was because it was situated in the heart of a city that is one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States. She added, “And [Austin] offers an abundance of opportunities, internships, and indoor/outdoor experiences to expand their learning, network, and enjoyable lifestyle.”

Close to 70,000 people visit the campus every year, consisting largely of prospective students and their family and friends. Professor Reilly expressed “We’re looking forward to continuing to work on this project in 2020 and see it permanently installed as a way to engage prospective UT students.”

 

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