Woodbury University enjoys robust open house
It was a record.
More than 500 interested students and families and parties attended Woodbury University’s Discover Woodbury Open House on Saturday on the Burbank campus.
“This was the best Discover Woodbury Open House event we have had in my almost three-year tenure, based on the excellent booth displays and the participation of so many deans and department chairs,” said David M. Steele-Figueredo, president of Woodbury University.
“Both potential students and the parents I mingled with seemed excited and somewhat in awe of the variety of majors we offer,” he added. “The small, intimate campus was also mentioned several times.”
The school offers 20 majors.
There were a few goals for Saturday’s event, with priority No. 1 to provide information about the small, private nonprofit university.
The turnout was considered a major success, while the majors that attracted the most attention, according to school officials, were architecture, animation, game art and design, filmmaking and public safety administration.
Greg Houle, Woodbury University’s director of marketing, said the event couldn’t handle many more attendees.
“That’s at about the capacity we can handle, so the expectation is really to try to get to that number,” he said. “It’s really hard for us to handle more than that number, realistically and logistically.”
One of the more interesting demonstrations Saturday dealt with student financial aid, said Jamie Brown, the university’s director of communications and public relations, when the amount of help an incoming freshman receives was shown to be tied directly to academic success.
The annual base tuition for Woodbury is $38,370.
A freshman entering with a 2.5 to 2.74 grade-point average receives $6,000 in grants, while that number grows to $10,000 for a grade-point average from 2.75 to 2.99, $16,000 for 3.0 to 3.49 and $18,000 for 3.5 and higher. Those grants are renewable annually.
