Record Number of AdvoCats Next Year

The semester has ended, finals are over and graduation has come and gone. The MSU Office of Admissions was very fortunate to have such a dedicated group of tour guides this year. They also worked very hard promoting our AdvoCat program across campus, and we ened with a record number of applications for the 2010 - 2011 school year! We will have more than 65 AdvoCats next year!! The largest class we have had in recent years had about 50 students, so this is quite a bit more. We want to expand the AdvoCat program to 65 students because of the volume of visitors we have seen over this last school year. As MSU admissions applications increase each year, we have more and more campus visitors and large MSU Friday visit programs, and will need even more tour guides next year. I am looking forward to such a large and energetic group next year. We had our first event of the year at the SOB Barn, an Ice Cream Social and it was a blast (even though it was snowing all day long)!

2010-2011 AdvoCat Applications Available!!

AdvoCats is a great way to get involved and build a strong resume! Each year the Office of Admissions looks for about 50 student volunteers to be AdvoCats. It is a year long committment and students earn 2 upper division credits throughout the year in a training course. The AdvoCat Seminar focuses on tour training and developing tour information about MSU's academics and special programs available to students. AdvoCats also help with MSU Fridays (March MSU Friday hosted over 1,000 prospective students) and attending other recruitment activities on campus and even around the state.

In addition to recruitment activities, it is also a great way to connect with other MSU students. We have all kinds of fun activities throughout the year like procrastinator movie nights, sledding, dinner at President Cruzado's home and pizza @ colombos.

Pick up your 2010-2011 AdvoCat Application at Ask-Us or the Office of Admissions (SUB 201). They are due on Friday, April 16th by 5pm. When you return them, you can sign up for a group interview next week.

You can also find your application online at www.montana.edu/admissions/advoapp.pdf. We are looking forward to seeing your application!

AdvoCat Museum of the Rockies Tour

Last week the AdvoCats went on a behind the scenes tour of the Museum of the Rockies. We traveled into the basement and actually held a dinosaur fossil! The Museum of the Rockies lobby was recently rennovated, and work is also being done upstairs to create a new childrens exhibit area. It was fun to go behind closed doors and see the work that was being done at MOR. Even undergraduate paleo students were working on cleaning fossils!

Largest MSU Friday EVER!

On March 12, 2010 we broke a record! Previously the largest amount of visitors on campus for our MSU Friday preview program was 740. We knew we had broken that record after the morning registration had ended, and we estimated about 890 people were on campus. The AdvoCats did a great job of leading large tours around campus, directing groups to other locations, answering questions and hosting student and parent panel discussions. It was the Friday before spring break and we needed all hands on deck for this crowd! At the end of the day with everyone accounted for we ended up with a final head count of 1,020 visitors on campus! Thanks for all of your hard work AdvoCats!

Spring Semester Tour Guides

We have a ton of excellent tour guides this semeter. In fact, you can see all of the advocats by following this link, http://www.montana.edu/admissions/tourguides.shtml. The spring is when we have our biggest volume of campus visitors, so these spring tour guides keep busy with their tours and usually have a good size group to show around campus! High school seniors are visiting schools that they have been accepted to and are making their final college decisions. We also have quite a few juniors who are getting an early look at their colleges, and everyone is probably taking advantage of the skiing discounts offered to campus visitors too!

Below are some of the photos of our tour guides for the semester:







Doesn't that make you want to go on a campus tour? Keep up the great work AdvoCats!

Advocat Sledding!

As Advocats, we don't just give tours and host MSU Fridays, we also have a lot of fun together! Next week, we are meeting up after our weekly class and heading over to Pete's Hill for some sledding action. After Spring Break, we are going together and play some Guitar Hero, Wii Sports and have a good time over at Ren's house. Look for applications coming out soon!

Engineering Complex Tour

Yesterday, the Advocats went on a tour of the engineering buildings lead by the Engineering Ambassadors. We looked at all sorts of things, from machines that crush concrete columns, 3D printers, automated lawn mowers and a micro-fabrication lab. The picture shows one of the Advocats holding up his key which he had coated in a polymer coating by the machine to his right.




Advocats also take tours of other places around the campus, including the Visual and Communications Building, Museum of the Rockies, and the mysterious steam tunnels. We learn a lot about places on campus so we can be informed will giving our regular tours. If you are interested in becoming an Advocat, look for applications that will come out this spring!

MSU Friday - January 29th

In just two short days, MSU will be flooded with enthusiastic prospective students and parents! We are getting prepared for 700+ students and families to attend MSU Friday.


MSU Friday is one of the best parts of being an AdvoCat. We have special shirts to wear so that we can be easily identified, and of course our awesome nametags! Giving tours in the morning is just one of the tasks of the day. We also help direct the groups around campus for meetings, lead student and parent panels, answer questions at the info table and eat lunch with visiting students and families. It is a busy, fun-filled day that usually starts at 7am with decorating the ballrooms and hanging signs.

Typically, the March MSU Friday is the largest program of the year, but our January program is a close second. Many of these families will spend the weekend visiting Bridger, Big Sky or Moonlight Basin too! The AdvoCats are gearing up for our second MSU Friday this Friday, Jan. 29th!

AdvoCat Retreat

The AdvoCat Retreat was held this year on Friday, September 11th - Saturday, September 12th. We had a ton of fun! Here are some of the best pictures from our overnight adventure!
































Stay tuned for more photos from the retreat and video clips are also on their way!

Fall 2009 Kicks off another AdvoCat Year

I am so excited for this year's group of AdvoCats. The Admissions Office was fortunate enough to find more than fifty fantastic student volunteers who are very passionate about MSU. Our first two classes have already happened and the AdvoCats are starting to give their own tours this week. Training tours last week went really well, and they now have all sorts of information to share with their tour groups.

Several changes have happened this year (of course!) including a new nametag board. Every AdvoCat will have a magnetic nametag (hopefully by next week) and they will be on the door to the conference room next to a photo of the tour guides. Below are some of the photos I have taken so far!

The AdvoCat Retreat is tomorrow night and promises to be filled with plenty of sugar and good times!

2009-2010 AdvoCats

Thursday, April 30th the Admissions Office hosted our first event with the 2009-2010 AdvoCats - An Ice Cream Social! The event was located in the basement of Johnstone Hall (Johnston Academic Center) and was a huge success. I think many of you got a chance to know some of the fellow AdvoCats through the fun games we played. First we awarded AdvoCat of the Year to Joe Dunn! Congratulations Joe for a job well done over the last two years as an AdvoCat. Joe will have the chance to travel with an Admissions Representative to help recruit at a busy college fair in the fall.

Another award handed out at the Ice Cream Social was AdvoCat of the Year Runner-Up. The runner-up is eligible to go on the recruiting trip *if the AdvoCat of the Year is unable to fulfill his or her duties. This year AdvoCat of the Year went to Kate Snapp! As a freshman this year, Kate has taken the lead on many projects with the Admissions Office and had been an outstanding tour guide, always very personable with the visiting families!

After all of the awards were given out, the fun began. We had over 40 of the 51 new AdvoCats attending this event, and we started off with introductions then moved to AdvoCat Speed Dating. "Speed Dating" was a great way to get to know a little more about your fellow AdvoCats and it looked like everyone had a pretty good time! Of course we ended the night with delicious ice cream and all the toppings one could hope for!

I am really looking forward to getting to know all of you next year!

End of the Year Party!

Thank you 2008-2009 AdvoCats! This has been a wonderful year with great campus tour guides. This was the Office of Admissions first year in our new location and it definitely made a difference! We saw much more traffic from scheduled visitors and just walk on visitors who could actually find our office! Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication to recruiting new students and sharing your experiences as a student here with our visitors. Many times throughout the year we heard from visitors that our tour guides were some of the most knowledgeable and prepared guides they have gone on a tour with!


I am sad to see some of you leaving, but thankfully many of you will be returning next year! We had our End of the Year party at Colombos after our final to celebrate the ending of the semester. Over 25 AdvoCats attended and enjoyed free pizza and a fantastic cake! Have a great summer break and I hope to see you all around on campus next year!

Steam Tunnel Tours Next Week

Hey Advos!

Remember next week is the class you all have been waiting for...MSU's underground steam tunnel system tour! We will meet outside of the heating plant (across from EPS) at 4:10 on Wednesday.



We will also be voting on AdvoCat of the Year. Start thinking about which AdvoCats have stood out as a leader in our group and who has volunteered the most this year! The AdvoCat of the Year does have to be a student who returns to AdvoCats next year and they are eligible for a recruiting trip with an Admissions Representative in the fall!




Also, mark your calendars for the AdvoCat end of the Year Party on Wednesday April 29th after the final. Details for the party are still being arranged, but keep the evening open for a night of fun with fellow Advos and a slideshow of pictures from the year including the retreat. (trust me, you will want to see those!) Have a great weekend!

2009-2010 AdvoCat Applications Deadline Approaching

Hi Advos,
If you know of any fellow MSU students who would be good ambassadors for Montana State University encourage them to apply. Applications for next year are due Friday, April 17th at 5pm to the Office of Admissions (SUB 201). We are looking forward to a great pool of applicants!

Museum of the Rockies Tour

Today we had an awesome class! We went on a tour with Jack Horner of the Museum of the Rockies. Jack Horner's newest book, How to Build a Dinosaur: Extinction Doesn't Have to Be Forever was just released. He was showing us around the Museum and giving us a little insider information. Now you can tell visiting families that MSU's Mueseum of the Rockies is home to the largest T-Rex skull.

Almost Here!!!

It's getting to be that time of year again. Spring is in the air at Montana State University and that means one thing....AdvoCat Recruitment for 2009-2010 academic year! At the begining of April the Office of Admissions will launch our campus wide recruitment effort looking for the best and brightest student ambassadors...the ADVOCATS. Here is a preview of my favorite poster.

If you are interested you can download an application and apply by April 17th at 5pm.

AdvoCat Class 3/11

AdvoCat class last week was busy as usual! We had presentations from the University Honors Program and Residence Life. Both programs are really important to highlight while on tours with prospective students. In the spring we recevie tons of questions about living on campus. Remember that the students and familes visiting campus always want to know more about your experiences living in the halls!

Also, we spent some time at the end of class taking photos for our next publication, the AdvoCat Newsletter. This newsletter will be sent around campus promoting our program to Deans, Directors and Department Heads.

Derrick and Sadie also recruited current AdvoCats to return to the program next year. So far 13 students have signed up for returner interviews. That is awesome! If any current AdvoCats are interested in returning who have not signed up, contact Ren for scheduling an interview March 25th or 26th.

Finally, there were a few reminders for our next class. We will be meeting outside of Admissions in the SUB. You can leave your bags in Ren's office before we walk over to the Museum of the Rockies with Jack Horner for our tour. Should be really exciting!

Enjoy your spring break!

Retreat Photos

Here are a few photos from our retreat. This is just a quick preview before our end of the year party!

MSU AdvoCats - New Blog Site

Welcome to the MSU AdvoCat Blog!

You can check this site for up-to-date information about class and tours or just to check out photos of yourself from the retreat. We will see where it goes! Feel free to share your photos and post your own blogs to this site!