Dining halls and frosh dorms got a little busier Thursday when prospective frosh (ProFros) visited The Farm for Admit Weekend. ProFros roomed with current freshmen across campus to get an intimate glimpse into life at Stanford.
“I think the most memorable part of the Admit Weekend was feeling that I belong [at Stanford],” said ProFro Sophie Kim. “That might sound cheesy, but before I got there, I had major imposter syndrome.”
The Admit Weekend schedule was jam-packed with master classes, department open houses and an activities fair to show off what a future Stanford education has to offer. ProFros got a jump start on Stanford traditions by fountain-hopping and met some of their future classmates for the first time.
“There are sometimes moments within the year — especially winter — where [Stanford] gets so busy that things start to feel a little disconnected,” wrote Aydin Ross ’29. “Over the weekend, it was great to see everyone just so excited and alive.” Ross was one of many room hosts (RoHos) for the weekend — frosh who opened their doors Profos.
House hosts (HoHos) acted as additional Resident Assistants (RAs). They organized events for the dorms, helped coordinate logistics with the room hosts and served as a point of contact for ProFros.
“I vividly remember the intimidation I felt about going to such a prestigious institution like Stanford… but Admit Weekend gave me a real glimpse as to what life really is like on this campus,” wrote Ozzy Valenzuela ’29, a HoHo in Branner Hall. “At my Admit Weekend, I realized that Stanford students are extremely caring, strongly believe in building community and it ultimately showed me that Stanford students were people just like me.”
Valenzuela added that by serving as a HoHo for the weekend, he gained more respect for the work his RAs do year-round.
“The experience [as a HoHo] was really fun, probably as fun as experiencing Admit Weekend for the first time,” wrote Theo Kratter ’29, another HoHo for Branner Hall.
ProFros also had the chance to meet their designated admissions officers and other admits from their area to start establishing a community on campus.
“I think that Admit Weekend was a wonderful opportunity to see the entire Stanford community come together behind our shared identity as Stanford students,” wrote Ross.
Admit Weekend also gave families a chance to reunite.
“It was such a fulfilling experience having [my sister] here and getting the opportunity to show her a piece of my world,” wrote Greta Bollyky ’29, whose sister is a ProFro. “Stanford is truly such a bubble, and it was so fun to expand that bubble for the weekend.”
For some admits, many of the highlights were not scheduled events, but the bonds they made over the weekend.
“Just talking to everyone about their backgrounds, dreams, anything while playing ping pong at 12 a.m. after dorm crawling/fountain hopping, was what made my 8-hour drive worth it,” wrote ProFro David Wong.
Admitted students have until May 1 to commit to Stanford.