Red Folders in Hand, Pre-Frosh Invade

The 1,100 pre-frosh who flocked to Cambridge for this year’s visiting weekend said they were more impressed by Harvard’s often-lamented nightlife than the famous faculty shelling out advice in panels and speeches.

“It was so crowded. It was so fun,” Long Island-native Gayle J. Denman said of the Black Men’s Forum’s “Get Yo’ Jollies: Part Trois” party Saturday night.

For the visiting students overwhelmed by a vast array of Office of Undergraduate Admissions-sponsored activities, parties like the Leverett ’80s dance, the Chinese Students Association’s Fusion dance and “Get Yo’ Jollies: Part Trois” were a chance to check Harvard’s life beyond the stacks of Widener.

“It was the most fun thing all weekend,” said pre-frosh Panpan Fan of a Kirkland House party Saturday night.

But Denman, sitting with Fan on the steps of the Malkin Athletic Center Quad during Springfest yesterday afternoon, said her experience with Kirkland upperclassmen was less welcoming.

“The hosts asked for the name of my host so they could get her in trouble,” Denman said. “So we left and went back to our room.”

Sporting complimentary “Class of 2008” t-shirts from the admissions office and eagerly flashing their siren red folders to attract fellow pre-frosh, the prospective students swarmed the newly-green Yard for the annual weekend festivities aimed at keeping Harvard’s yield rate at the top of the Ivy League.

Megan P. Basil ’98, an admissions officer and the director of the April Visiting Program, said that the 1,100 students who flocked to Cambridge this weekend marked a slight increase from the admitted students who shacked up on the floors and futons of first-years during last year’s program.

Twenty pages of the Visiting Program Guide teemed with invitations to open houses, fairs, classes and other campus events, providing students with endless opportunities to help decide whether they’ll be checking the “Enrolling” box on forms due back to Harvard on May 1.

“We have faculty panels, an ice cream bash, open houses, the a cappella jam, social and academic meetings and more,” Basil said.

To some, the choice of events was overwhelming.

“There is a lot on the schedule,” noted Chelsea Y. Grate, a high school senior from Houston, Texas, who says she’ll most likely be moving to Cambridge in the Fall. “I just got here an hour ago, I have no idea what I want to do.”

“There are a lot of meetings and panels,” said Rebecca A. Kaden, eating lunch at Annenberg on Saturday. “It’s a great way to meet people.”

As Denman, Fan and five other pre-frosh took in Springfest yesterday, they recounted how glad they were to have met so many other pre-frosh. Members of the group said they all became friends when each of them noticed the others carrying their flashy red folders.

“I saw they had red folders so I went over and introduced myself, and we’ve been hanging ever since,” said Mark D. Patrican of Massachussetts.

“The red folders are so key,” chimed in Fan.

In between introductions and ice cream, the question of where to enroll in September dominated most conversations, with Stanford and Yale as the most widely mentioned alternatives to Harvard, Fan said.

Both Stanford and Yale changed their early admissions policies this year from early decision to early action, allowing early applicants to turn down the colleges even if accepted.

Despite finding themselves unable to swipe into their hosts’ dorms and disappointed they didn’t get to interact more with current students, most pre-frosh interviewed by The Crimson said they were likely to join the 78 percent of students who accepted Harvard’s admissions offer last year.

“We had a ton of fun!” gushed Denman, who along with Fan, Patrican, Abi O. Orisamolu and Elizabeth J. McVoy navigated, red folders tucked under their arms, through the crowds of students and faculty enjoying the music, cotton candy and Earth Day fair at Springfest.

The secret to their success? “Meet tons of people,” said McVoy. “And don’t be afraid to ask directions.”

—Staff writer Bari M. Schwartz can be reached at bschwart@fas.harvard.edu.