More than 300 families expected to visit

Theatre professor Nick Shaw gives admitted students a taste of the college classroom during the classroom experience portion of admitted student day on Monday in the Doudna Fine Arts Center.

Jason Howell

Theatre professor Nick Shaw gives admitted students a taste of the college classroom during the classroom experience portion of admitted student day on Monday in the Doudna Fine Arts Center.

Stephanie Markham, News Editor

Eastern’s admissions office is expecting to see more than 300 families visit campus Saturday for its second Admitted Student Day of the semester.

Chris Dearth, the director of admissions, said 280 families made it to the last Admitted Student Day, which was Feb. 16, the Monday of Presidents Day.

Many families could not make the trip because of snowy weather, which mostly affected the southern-Illinois area.

Dearth said the office called and emailed families encouraging them to come Saturday, while some chose to come during other weekdays.

As of Thursday afternoon, about 305 families had registered, but Dearth expects 25 or 30 more to register before Saturday, he said.

He said the office decided to host one of the days on a Monday and one on a weekend to give families more options and allow them to pick whatever was more convenient.

Dearth said this Saturday would run mostly like the previous Admitted Student Day, with some additions to be more accommodating to families.

“There will be some changes behind the scenes to make sure everything flows better,” Dearth said.

This includes a session to answer the top five questions admitted students have because last time many ended up asking the same things about housing, orientation and financial aid.

“It wasn’t admissions focused,” he said. “This will allow us to directly address those questions.”

Another change will be that two welcoming sessions will take place instead of one because last time some parents had to stand, as the Dvorak Concert Hall did not have enough seats.

“Even with the weather, it was standing room only,” Dearth said. “It was not ideal; some drove for three hours, and then they had to stand 45 minutes through the welcome.”

Admitted students will also have the option to pay their $150 freshman enrollment deposits; last time 40 students paid, and Dearth said he is hoping for the same this time.

Dearth said Eastern has received close to 500 total enrollment deposits.

Like the last Admitted Student Day, this Saturday will also feature sessions for financial aid and scholarship information and courses for students to sit in to get a sense of the classroom experience.

Dearth said the “selfie station” will be present again as well, which was popular last time, especially among some parent alumni who took pictures with Billy the Panther.

“We are tracking slightly ahead (in deposits) and transfer reservations are up as well,” he said. “We are hoping Saturday gives us a boost.”

Stephanie Markham can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].