The Admissions Department will be implementing new approaches to their spring 2011 visitation programs to help perspective students make decisions about attending NIU.

Admitted Student Days is one of the new programs and it will allow perspectives a closer look at their college of choice, find out the next steps for enrollment, orientation, financial aid, and learn about opportunities provided by Housing and Dining.

“On Feb. 21 and March 7, we will host Admitted Student Days,” said Katherine McCarthy, associate vice president for Enrollment Management. “Admitted students and their families are invited to participate in academic programming and learn about the next steps to becoming a Huskie.”

McCarthy said NIU wants students who have been admitted to the university to spend as much time as possible with other students, faculty and staff who interact with new freshman.

The department will also host a diversity reception on March 19.

“This program, like the Admitted Student Days, is designed to encourage students to accept their offer of admission and enroll at NIU,” McCarthy said.

Current NIU students feel these programs will help bring in more students.

“It’s important for people thinking about [attending] NIU to get the full experience of what it has to offer,” said Edgar Ramirez, senior journalism media studies major. “Hopefully these programs will do so and increase enrollment.”

In addition to targeting graduating seniors, the admissions department will host a Junior Preview Day, which will allow them to see the campus and facilities and hear about the range of academic opportunities available to them.

“On April 22, the admissions office will host our first-ever ‘Junior Preview Day’ open house,” McCarthy said. “Creating a program for high school juniors allows us to tailor programming for this particular population of prospective students and their families.”

Tamika Jackson, sophomore history teacher certification major, said she feels that these programs will help perspective students make the decision to become a Huskie.

“I think these new programs are great,” Jackson said. “I have younger siblings and these programs would definitely help them decide if they want to attend NIU.”