About 400 prospective students and their families crowded the Evanston Campus on April 12 for the first of three Wildcat Days this month.
More prospective students will be on campus today for the event’s second session.
The Wildcat Days program is organized by the Office of Undergraduate Admission. The largest of any yield program at Northwestern, it consists of three Mondays in April that give regular decision admitted students a chance to visit campus and learn more about NU.
“Wildcat Days are essentially an admitted student program for those students who have not yet made their final decision,” said Anne Kremer, assistant director for admissions. “Or for those who have made their decision but want to come one last time before orientation.”
The morning session addresses academics, Kremer said.
“The introductory session was very, very helpful,” said Jeff Tepler, who was on campus last week with his daughter, Lizzy. “Listening to the professors on the panel was very informative.”
In the afternoon, students learn about activities on campus at the activities fair, where they can interact with current students, Kremer said. Optional panels are also offered on various topics including housing, the Kaplan Humanities Scholars Program and the Integrated Science Program.
Students are encouraged to stay around campus for as long as possible, to sit in on classes and to explore Evanston and Chicago, Kremer said. More activities are organized for Tuesdays this month, including tours of the media facilities and the Henry Crown Sports Pavilion and an open house at the Multicultural Center.
The program is intended to include both accepted students and their families, but the focus is on the students, said Susan Lester Perelman (BA ’85), who visited campus with her daughter Allison Perelman.
“As a parent, I feel very welcomed, but it’s been directed toward the students, which is how it should be,” she said.
Prospective students also have the option to sit in on classes and to hear about co-curricular activities offered at NU.
Allison Perelman said she sat in on an African studies class and a calculus class.
“The teachers were happy to talk to me about the different departments,” she said.
But the best thing about the day was being on campus and talking to current students, Perelman said. She visited campus last fall but had a different experience this time around.
“This has been like a thousand times better,” she said. “I can picture myself doing all the things people talk about now that I know I could be here.”
The program also presented an opportunity to meet other potential classmates, said Caroline Darin, who was hanging out outside Norris University Center with two other prospective students.
Darin also said walking through residential areas was a helpful way to get to know the area.
“I loved seeing students walking around,” she said. “It got me really excited for next year.”
The admissions office expects about 525 prospective students on campus today, Kremer said.
“We hope that it’s a program that shows them that Northwestern is a great fit for them and that they want to be a Wildcat,” she said. “It’s fun to see them as admitted students that are excited to be here.”[email protected]
