Chip Timmons - After all of the mailings, e-mails, and phone calls hyping Honor Scholarship Weekend to prospective students, we're left to wonder, 'how did we do?'  After all of the planning, airport runs, housing arrangements, and prep work, we must ask, 'was it worth it?' 

The answers to those questions are 'very well' and 'absolutely.' While the "final" results from Honor Scholarship Weekend won't be tabulated until May 1, we all feel pretty good about the weekend. Close to 350 students came to campus this past weekend and the feedback we have received from our guests and members of the Wabash community has been overwhelmingly positive.  

My last entry highlighted the contributions of our students, but I have more to say on that subject. When a campus of 870 students is asked to house 350 guests overnight, you have to work in concert with current students. Our students don't host out of obligation. They host because they're proud of their school and want to share their experiences with prospective students.
 
Our students' willingness made to host life a bit easier for my colleague Rudy Cope. Rudy was in charge of housing all of our Honor Scholarship visitors. Basically, he played the part of "hotel manager" for 4 days and did a remarkable job. Rudy partnered with the Resident Advisors, Rush Chairmen, and Bon Appetit (our food service provider) to ensure all of our guests were well taken care of during their time on campus.  

Before any students could take advantage of our hospitality, they first had to get to campus. Most of our guests drove to campus, but close to 50 students arrived by bus, plane, or train. Nick Collins served as our "travel agent" during the weekend by monitoring flight statuses and arranging trips to and from Indianapolis International airport and local train and bus stations in order to bring students to campus. 

Again, our students played a big part in the success of Nick's travel operations. Student drivers made most of the trips and worked with their fellow Wabash men dropping off guests with their hosts regardless of the arrival time. Every night was a late night for Nick during the weekend and I hope he's getting caught up on his sleep.

Now we have a chance to catch our breath ... ah, that was nice ... before Lilly Weekend arrives. This is the busiest and perhaps most critical time of the year for our office. Students are narrowing the list of schools down to just a few and it's our job to help each student make an informed decision.  

For some students, Honor Scholarship Weekend provided the final pieces of information they needed to make their decision, but for others, a few questions remain.  Regardless of how many students fall into these categories, the Admissions Staff has a lot of work to do between now and May 1.