It’s almost that time of the year where some of us will choose where we want to go and what we want to do with our lives. Open houses are going to pop up on school websites everywhere. Well, this year is different from all the previous years, because students cannot actually visit the physical school itself. Instead, we have to bring it to them, via photos, write-ups and videos of the schools.

I just want to say that whatever I write here is independent of the respect I have for those behind the scenes, setting up and preparing for the open house. What I will discuss here are solely my opinions on open houses, based on the ones I’ve visited and the ones I’ve prepared for.

It is an understatement to liken open houses to an insurance agent trying to sell you a plan. This is is a whole organization trying to win you over, to make sure you at least put their name when choosing you preferred school. I mean there’s nothing wrong here, just a friendly competition and each school has their own tactics.

The point I want to bring out is, everything is so scripted. Everything.

Each detail is meticulously planned, and every aspect is ironed out to ensure

everything runs smoothly and create a good image for the school. On one hand, the effort put in year after year is commendable to say the very least. The participants (teachers, staff, student volunteers, etc) have put in so much effort to promote their school to the best of their ability. On the other hand, one can view this as a form of advertisement targeted at a very specific group of people (students).

To add on, this year is different. Everything is online now. As someone who has experienced both sides, it is very difficult (physically) to capture the attention of a teen, much less trying to convince them to join your school (virtually).

Our attention span sucks. Let’s admit it. We scroll TikToks like there’s no tomorrow. We cave into YouTube’s algorithm. We can’t even sit still and watch through a lecture at 1x speed. This just shows how short our attention span is. And it further proves my point that now, more than ever, the things you see during open house, has to be more targeted and customized to what teens want to see. And sometimes, doing just that, we tend not to show the complete picture to them.

Between me and you who is reading this, I should be more accustomed to the phrase “A picture speaks a thousand words”. Well, if that is true, then a video (at 24fps) will be conveying 24,000 words per second.

Coincidentally, most schools are creating videos for their open house. Most have already done so, and others are in the process of making it. I myself have helped my own CCA create our own video. I have also created other videos for my hobby. As someone who creates video, I want to bring across the point that people like me (who create videos) tend to only bring out only what they want to the audience to see. As ironic as this may seem, we story tell, but not tell you the complete story. Why you may ask. Perhaps there’s not enough screen time, or there’s a limit to the duration of the video which can be published.

What has this got to do with open houses? Well, if you still can’t see it, then I am afraid you take things at face value. The cold hard fact is one should never completely trust information published online. Everything is curated specifically for an audience, and for a reason. Writers, video creators, etc all have biases. And sometimes it is difficult to see that, leading us to believe only one side of the story when in fact there’s much more to it than meets the eye.

Yes, I am saying open houses in general are advertisement for schools, and like every advertisement, there is a target audience, and we should be wary of the content we are served. That, coupled with the fact that open houses this year are held online, should make those applying to a new school take what they see with a pinch of salt.

Some will say it simply is not a complete picture, of what the school wants you to see and experience, within that small computer screen of yours. I'll play the devil’s advocate and say it is just what the school want you to see.

To sum up all that, I just want to say, open houses do not paint a complete picture of a school. I feel that the things portrayed during an open house are nothing in compared to the memories which will be made after joining the school.

Of course, one may get ‘insights’ to a school by asking people who've joined already, but to that I question, how reliable is your source? How sure are you that your source(s) isn’t biased? Different people in the school will have varying opinions, and depending on who you're asking, you sometimes will get very polar feedback.

My advice? Stick with the constants. Things which do not change so often. That includes but are not limited to the school environment (classrooms, canteens, toilets, etc) and the teachers. Through the photos and videos online, if you find that you like the environment of a school then go for it. People and advertised messages in videos can be misleading sometimes.

I would like to re-emphasize; this is just a little advice for those finding a new school to go to. I love my past and current schools very much, and I am not trying to criticize any school here.