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COVID-19 has changed the way we live and work. It is also changing the way students research colleges. Toward that end, Georgia Gwinnett College’s (GGC) enrollment management staff offered an innovative, safe and socially distanced way for students to check out its campus.

GGC hosted its first drive-through Preview Day on Saturday, Oct. 17. Students and their families visited informational booths, viewed the campus, met faculty, staff and students and picked up free GGC swag—all from the comfort of their cars. To meet with safety protocols, students selected 30-minute time blocks to participate in the event.

“While the pandemic has driven many prospective students online to conduct their college search, it’s important for them to see our campus and to experience who we are,” said Michael Poll, GGC’s vice president of enrollment management. “It’s important to make those in-person connections in a way that promotes safety.”

All in all, 110 families attended the event – some traveling more than two hours from across the state and some from neighboring states.

Poll said that as long as the pandemic continues, colleges will need to implement out-of-the-box methods to support recruitment.

“Nothing can replace that personal visit to a college campus,” said Poll. “We want to ensure prospective students and their families have the tools they need to make one of the most important decisions in their lives.”

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