Prospective first-year Jacon Lee visited Stanford for the first time during Admit Weekend. Though the weather was slightly chillier than expected, he still enjoyed meeting new faces. His favorite event of the weekend, he said, was the Activities Fair.

Lee, who attended Admit Weekend with around 1,500 other prospective first-year students — affectionately called “ProFros” — is torn about whether to attend Stanford or the University of Pennsylvania next fall. After concluding that the academic programs are very similar, he turned to more “superficial” factors such as each school’s social scene and their distance from his home. 

“[The Activities Fair] gave me a lot of insights into the different communities at Stanford and… an opportunity to find out my niche that I would carve out for myself,” he said. “Obviously, with a big student body it’s important to have a smaller community that I could turn to, so I think the student life fair was an eye-opening experience.”

For Lee, Stanford took the cake in aspects like its campus, weather and more opportunities to explore academically. “I’ve heard that this [weather] is the worst it gets, which is an exciting prospect,” he said.

Stanford welcomed approximately 3,000 people for Admit Weekend from April 24 to 26, including students admitted to the Class of 2029 and their guests, according to University spokesperson Mara Vandlik. 

The annual tradition is an opportunity for ProFros to learn more about the undergraduate experience, meet their potential classmates and explore campus. “Admit Weekend staff say it’s been exciting to see the students and their families participate in this campus tradition,” Vandlik said.

Members of the Admit Weekend coordination team did not respond to requests for comment. 

The weekend consisted of campus tours, information sessions, Master Classes taught by faculty, student showcases, open houses, an activities fair and a picnic for admitted students. 

Many ProFros also stayed overnight in student dorms hosted by Room Hosts (RoHos) and House Hosts (HoHos). Due to an initial shortage of RoHos, HoHos were challenged with the pressure to recruit enough RoHos in time. 

Preston Seay ’28, a HoHo for Crothers Hall, described the experience of being a Hoho as fun, but also disorganized and defined by last-minute planning. 

His responsibilities as a HoHo consisted of recruiting RoHos, picking up ProFros to bring them to the dorm and hosting a Thursday night on-call at the dorm, a casual hangout for admitted students to meet each other. 

“It felt a bit [like] going full circle for me, as someone who went to Admit Weekend and then being that person helping people at Admit Weekend,” Seay said. “I suppose the sentimental reward is the main one.”

“There’s a lot of things to do around here, and I can always find somewhere or someplace… where I can either have fun or really connect with the Stanford community. Overall, it’s been a really great experience,” said Richard Navarro ’29, a student from Georgia who committed to Stanford.

Navarro said Stanford was very different from schools closer to home. 

“It feels so much more integrated, the community’s more bound and the atmosphere itself — the nature and the environment — it just feels really welcoming, and I really like that about this place… That’s the best part,” he said. 

Navarro added that he felt a little isolated at times being on a large campus full of strangers in an unfamiliar state. However, he expected that meeting people and forming relationships will make the transition much easier. 

“[I’ve realized] all these students are just living life too… so I don’t have to feel super alienated here,” Navarro said.

Umasri Pujyam ’29, a Tennessee student who committed to Stanford, came to a similar realization. 

“You have this view like, ‘Oh, everyone in Stanford is super smart or something,’ but everyone I’ve met is just like me and you,” she said. “We all have similar troubles.”

Navarro stayed in Casa Zapata for the weekend and said he wants to live in the dorm at some point during his four years at Stanford, as he appreciates its traditions and community.

Lee added that he wished Admit Weekend had more structured programming, which he believes would have given him more chances to meet people. “But there’s also a beauty in that, so no complaints here,” he said.

Augustine Freijo ’29, a student from Southern California who committed to the men’s rowing team, said he enjoyed meeting other admits in dining halls and has already joined a few group chats.

“Everyone seems to be holding themselves to a high standard… everyone is just super, super happy to be here, and it shows in a lot of things,” he said. 

Horacio Freijo, Augustine’s father, called Admit Weekend a “mythical” experience. Meredith Freijo, Augustine’s mother, also had a great time during the weekend. 

“I’m just impressed by how methodical and thoughtful they’ve all been in putting it all together,” she said. “The leaders are highly intelligent but have a lot of fun. I’ve been blown away.”

Horacio shared that he was impressed with the liberal arts education that Stanford provides. “For us, having a quote-unquote liberal arts education 25 or 30 years ago is very different than the liberal arts education here,” he said. “It is very international. The emphasis is on liberal arts here, whereas where we went to college, it was called liberal arts, but this place puts it to shame.”