Trinity Hall’s first virtual Open Day for Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) applicants on was co-organised by the Admissions Office and current students, led by BME Officer, Maro Okiti. More than 120 people attended the virtual Open Day on Friday 26 June
Attendees heard from Maro, Roshni Parmar-Hill (Chair of CUSU BME 2020-21) and Toni Fola-Alade (Ex-ACS President 2018-19), and took part in two Q&A sessions. Dr Marcus Tomalin, Director of Admissions, took questions from attendees, followed by a second Q&A session with a panel of seven BME students who were mostly from Trinity Hall. The topics addressed ranged from the practical (‘What is the accommodation like at the College?’) to the social (‘Is the student community in the College diverse?’).
The afternoon sessions focussed on subject areas: Physical Sciences, Biological Sciences, Social Sciences and Arts & Humanities. Each subject group was hosted by a Cambridge college Schools Liaison Officer and led by current Trinity Hall students. The students spoke about their Tripos courses and their own experience of the application process, and answered questions about studying at Cambridge.
The feedback from the attendees was positive and encouraging. The average score given to the statement ‘How likely were you to consider applying to Cambridge University BEFORE this event’ was 7.7 out of 10, while the average score for the statement ‘How likely are you to consider applying to Cambridge University AFTER this event’ was 8.7.
Open Day attendees said:
“It got rid of misconceptions about Cambridge and made me feel more confident about applying”
“I enjoyed hearing honest accounts about what it is really like to be a BME student”
“It was eye-opening and changed some of my perspectives of Cambridge”
