Washington and Lee University hosted prospective students from all across the country this path month through the Diversity and Inclusion Visit Experience (DIVE).
The three-day fly-in program invites high school seniors from underrepresented backgrounds to get to know the campus, faculty, classes and the admissions and financial aid process, all while staying with a current student. The program took place during two weekends, Sept. 24 -26 and Oct. 1-3. All travel expenses are covered by the university.
“It really does create access for students,” said admissions officer and DIVE host coordinator Leslie Sparling, ’22.
Former DIVE student Emily Scaff, ’27, thought the same. As a low-income student, she felt that she could only apply to tiny public schools. Scaff said that if she hadn’t attended DIVE, W&L would probably not have been on her radar.
“Once you come to campus, you learn how wealthy the student body is and it kinda makes you feel alienated from it,” she said. “But when I came to DIVE, the admissions staff and everyone on campus was so genuinely welcoming. It made me feel like I had a place here.”
Scaff added that DIVE prospects are able to create a community before coming to campus. Her positive experience with DIVE and with her student host, she said, was one of the reasons she decided to come to W&L. This year, she served as a host herself.
“I wanted the opportunity to be that for other students while also being the person to help increase the diversity here,” Scaff said. “For W&L to be diverse, we need people to come and that’s what DIVE’s about.”
Former DIVE participant Rebecca Kim, ’27, said that she felt like the program allowed her to get to know W&L the most out of all the other schools she was considering.
Fall 2022 was the first in-person DIVE since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and it had a small cohort of 25-35 prospective students. This year, the application volume was four times higher.
But to keep the experience faithful to W&L’s small-school environment, Sparling said she intentionally limited each weekend to about 50 students to emulate the one-on-one attention they can expect to get from the university. Before the pandemic, however, DIVE would typically host around 100 prospective students.
In addition to changes in attendance, Sparling said that there were programmatic changes like the Office of Inclusion and Engagement (OIE) Night.
At the OIE Night, student-led groups including the Student Association for Black Unity, Comunidad Latina Estudiantil, the Pan-Asian Association for Cultural Exchange, the Student Association for International Learning and Around the Globe were invited to talk about their organizations. The multicultural groups also hosted a Jeopardy-style trivia game for the DIVE students.
The usual faculty panel was also adjusted to a more engaging showcase where students could learn about Washington Term, the DeLaney Center and other resources. Sparling also spoke about the virtual aspects of DIVE, which was transformed from a livestream of in-person activities to its own individual threehour slot on Oct. 7.
When asked what she would have improved about her experience with DIVE, participant Kim said she would have liked more time to mingle with current students.
Sparling said she sees future growth opportunties for DIVE, including more involvement between prospective and current students. She said that the admissions office is grateful that campus partners are always enthusiastic in welcoming DIVE prospects, and that current students are always willing to help out as hosts, mentors and workshop leaders.
“Talking to current students is just one of those things you can’t ever replace,” she said.
