The 1,190 prospective freshmen (ProFros) that attended Stanford’s Admit Weekend this past weekend have until 5 p.m. today to decide whether they will join Stanford’s Class of 2015.
Admit Weekend was held later in April than in years past. ProFros had nine days from the start of Admit Weekend to commit in 2010 and eight days in 2009. This year, they have four days.
“Because of religious holidays, we had fewer weekends in April to choose from,” Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Richard Shaw wrote in an email to The Daily.
According to Shaw, roughly half of the ProFros had already committed to Stanford when they arrived for Admit Weekend. However, this number only includes those who have officially accepted their offer and put down their deposit, leaving out those who come to the Farm with their minds unofficially made up.
Among the undecided admits is Catherine Tadina, a ProFro from Daly City, Calif., who is deliberating mainly between MIT and Stanford.
“I feel like Admit Weekend is too close to the decision deadline,” Tadina said. “Now that I have some idea of what life is like here, I wish I had more time to talk to people and ask them about their experiences at Stanford.”
Adam Goldberg, who came to Admit Weekend from Danville, Calif., disagreed.
“Having more time wouldn’t help,” he said. “It’s the same choice I have to make by Monday as I would have to make later.”
Connor Kelley, a ProFro from Duvall, Wash., committed in December after getting an offer through the restrictive early action process, but still decided to come to Admit Weekend.
“Admit Weekend was really more of positive reinforcement for me,” he wrote in an email to The Daily. “I can tell that I made the right choice.”
According to Admit Weekend coordinator Stewart Macgregor-Dennis ’13, a sizeable number of admits visited outside of the regular Admit Weekend. A total of 1,279 room hosts (RoHos) signed up by the start of Admit Weekend, well over the number that was needed to host every ProFro. Prior to the weekend, there were some concerns that not enough students had signed up to host admitted students.
For the 2011-12 academic year, the University offered admission to 2,427 students and expects 1,725 of these students to matriculate in the fall.
“We do believe they will have the information they need to make a decision that is right for them,” Shaw said.