April 24, 2008

By Nikhil Joshi

Over 1,200 prospective freshmen — “ProFros” in Stanford-speak — will descend on campus today to get a glimpse of life on the Farm and decide their fate for the next four years.

Admits will have the chance to eat a picnic lunch on the Oval, play pick-up basketball at the Ford Center, tour the Cantor Art Center’s Rodin collection and attend the ever popular a capella concert in Frost Auditorium, among numerous other scheduled activities.

“It’s very comprehensive,” said Dean of Admission Richard Shaw about the weekend. “It’s almost a year in the planning. We are working very hard over a two-day period to give students a significant exposure to the campus. It’s probably one of the most comprehensive programs in the country.”

A packed schedule that includes 96 scheduled events over three days surely does not lack comprehensiveness, but could leave some admits feeling overwhelmed.

“These are pretty smart kids, and this is a matter of them making choices of what their interests are,” Shaw said. “Will there be a student out there that gets overwhelmed? I suppose so, but I gather that it will be in the significant minority.”

It is Shaw’s hope that the weekend’s wide range of choices will give ProFros a sense of how many choices they will have if they decide to come to Stanford in the fall.

“We want to put our best foot forward,” he said. “We don’t want [to have] five choices and force everybody into them — we want to give them lots of opportunities. The key here is to say that there are a lot of choices at Stanford.”

For some admits, getting a general feel for the campus is more important than attending prescheduled events.

“I’d like to show up and get that gut feeling that this is it,” said ProFro Raillan Brooks, who said he is on the verge of committing to Stanford. “There’s not much they can do in the way of programming that would affect that.”

Dean of Freshmen Julie Lythcott-Haims ‘89 agreed that one of the most important parts of Admit Weekend is just getting a sense of the Stanford vibe.

“Admit Weekend gives ProFros an intense immersion into the place, its offerings, its character, its personality, its people — and our foibles and quirks as well,” she said. “Attending Admit Weekend helps a ProFro form that gut feeling about the place.”

But getting a gut feeling about a place as large and complicated as Stanford is not an easy task.

“We are trying to give students a taste — that’s all you can do in three days — of an 8,000 acre campus as they go about making their decision,” Shaw said. “It’s just a taste. They are with their parents and are here for two days at a maximum.”

Having parents present is not the only element of Admit Weekend that differs from regular campus life. The campus will be dry for the duration of the weekend, unlike the pre-frosh weekends of several of Stanford’s peer institutions.

“These are students that are 17, are not enrolled at Stanford,” said Shaw, who said he did not want Admit Weekend to be a “drunken brawl.”

“They are going to go home on Sunday, and they are here with their parents,” the Admission Dean continued. “We are sorry for the inconvenience to other undergraduates. This is the responsible thing to do.”

Admit Weekend will highlight a topic that has undoubtedly caused admission staff to lose some sleep — yield.

With a campus-wide housing crunch, new financial aid policies and Harvard and Yale’s decision to drop early admission, accurately predicting the number of admitted students is more critical than ever.

“It’s tricky and not easily predictable, and you’ll find that across the nation,” Shaw said. “Nobody is exactly sure what impact other decisions will have on the institutions that share common applicants and common admission. If I were to tell you my estimate, it would be a bit lower [than last year], but it’s really hard to know.”

For the ProFros who are arriving on campus this weekend, however, issues like yield, over-packed schedules and a moratorium on alcohol are of little concern. Most admits are just excited to be on the campus of a university that many of them have hoped to attend for years.

“At a reception last week all people could talk about was Admit Weekend,” said ProFro Estela Marie Go. “When we said hello, it was ‘are you going to Admit Weekend?’ and when we said goodbye, it was ‘See you at Admit Weekend!”’

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=803697&forum_id=1#9676887)

April 25, 2008

By Salone Kapur

The tables have turned in the college admission process as schools work to woo accepted students through various on-campus events.

Prospective freshmen (ProFros) descended on Stanford’s campus Thursday to the rhythm of the Stanford Band as part of the University’s Admit Weekend.

For some, Stanford is one of many suitors. And according to several ProFros, each school’s admit weekend often has its own flavor that shapes the way prospective students view the host institution.

“Admit Weekend is pretty powerful, in my opinion,” said Roxanne Parker ‘10, host recruitment and publicity coordinator of this year’s Admit Weekend. “I know that I came to Admit Weekend personally set against going to Stanford, and it totally changed my mind.”

Several students said Stanford’s program was laid back compared to those of other schools.

“These weekends are definitely a great idea,” said ProFro Mohammad Abid. “I am deciding between Stanford and Princeton and I think Princeton’s pre-freshman program was pretty uptight and business-like. Stanford’s Admit Weekend has been a lot more fun. It has just been a better exposure to the school.”

ProFro Lee Nguyen, who is deciding between Stanford and Yale, had a similar experience at Yale’s pre-frosh program, Bulldog Days, which was held earlier this week.

“Yale’s program definitely had an air of sophistication,” Nguyen said. “It was more controlled and business-like with formal mingling events. Stanford’s Admit Weekend is looser and crazier. [Stanford] is definitely my first choice — it feels more like home to me.”

Harvard’s annual pre-frosh visiting program will be held this weekend as well, forcing students like Joseph Seering, who were admitted to both Stanford and Harvard, to decide to attend only one of the two pre-frosh programs.

“I really would have wanted to attend both schools’ programs,” Steering said. “I ended up deciding to attend Stanford’s program based on distance since I’m from Cambridge. These weekends are helpful because they give me a chance to meet people and give me a feel of what the school is all about. I’m still conflicted, but I think this weekend will help.”

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=803697&forum_id=1#9684888)