This year, the crowds of eager prospective freshmen (ProFros) have begun to trickle in a little earlier than usual. That’s because Admit Weekend ends April 30, the day before the Student Intent to Register (SIR) deadline, when prospective students must commit to a college.
The closeness of the deadline likely prompted some ProFros and their parents to visit before Admit Weekend, leading to a spike in early arrivals compared to previous years.
Admits who visit early are paired with room hosts (RoHos) who indicated a willingness to host a ProFro earlier in the quarter. Though the team has been able to find enough hosts for the early-arrivals, it has faced certain challenges.
“I think fewer people expect to have to be RoHos outside of Admit Weekend, so not as many people have listed that as an option, but I think it’s been definitely manageable on our end,” Macgregor-Dennis said.
ProFros who arrive ahead of Admit Weekend will not be able to partake in the same events, panels and showcases that have been planned for the end of the month. Nevertheless, Macgregor-Denis said the Admit Weekend team works to connect those ProFros with faculty and administrators who they might be interested in meeting.
“They get more of that individual attention, instead of the larger array of events,” he said.
Though many ProFros have been able to visit in advance, others are waiting until September to come to the Farm, as this year’s Admit Weekend also coincides with several national competitions and proms.
“I had my plane tickets booked for Admit Weekend when I found out that I had qualified for the DECA [a business club] competition,” said John Murray of Lake Oswego, Or. “I would love to go to Admit Weekend, but I think that my position as a chapter officer for my DECA team is a higher priority, especially because I’ve already committed to Stanford.”
Others, such as Aaron Gettinger of Sullivan, Indiana, were also concerned about the date’s proximity to Advanced Placement exams, which are held the first and second weeks of May.
“I’m more worried about that than I would have been given its closeness to the SIR deadline,” Gettinger said.
However, many ProFros said that Admit Weekend would not play a large role in which school they ultimately choose. Many have already committed to attending Stanford in the fall.
“To be honest, it probably won’t [make a difference],” wrote Viraj Bindra, a ProFro from Singapore, in an email to the Daily. “Stanford has been my first choice since the beginning of the application process and does not need to convince me any more about how great of a fit it would be.”
“Stanford was always my first choice, especially after I got in early in December,” Gettinger said.
Like many of his peers, Murray visited Stanford prior to applying.
“I did all of travel in the spring of my junior year and the fall of this year,” he said. “After I did all of my visiting, Stanford was my No. 1 choice so the decision was easy for me when I found out that I had been accepted in December.”
For the many ProFros arriving Apr. 28, Admit Weekend will be less of a factor in their decision-making and more of a preview of what’s to come.
“I want to experience what my class might be like over the next four years,” Gettinger said. “And honestly, I want to take a little vacation to California.”
“It’s more of an opportunity to meet some potential classmates, to get a glimpse into what I’ll be learning and doing these next four years and to satisfy my hunger to time travel all the way forward to September 26,” Bindra said. “I want to launch my Stanford experience as soon as possible.”