New space provides welcome to prospective students

New admissions office

Inger Lofgren, a Princeton admission officer, talks with prospective students in the Admission Office reception area in Clio Hall. The new space, which opened Oct. 3, is a valuable resource for students and families visiting campus.

The new Admission Information viewbook offers a comprehensive look at undergraduate life at Princeton for students interested in applying to the University.

Photo: Denise Applewhite

Prospective students and their families now can begin their introduction to the Princeton campus in one of the University's most distinctive buildings.

The Admission Office has established a reception area for prospective students on the second floor of Clio Hall, which is one of the two marble buildings south of Cannon Green that are modeled after Greek temples. The new space, which opened Monday, Oct. 3, can accommodate more than 90 people, compared to the former reception area in West College that held approximately 30 visitors. It is part of a larger renovation of Clio, which includes the relocation of the Graduate School's offices from Nassau Hall.

The reception area is open from 8:45 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. It includes computer kiosks for prospective students to add their names to the Admission Office's mailing lists and to browse Princeton Web sites. The Admission Information viewbook, campus maps and schedules for classes and athletic events also are available.

Visiting high school students can learn more about Princeton at regularly scheduled admission information sessions, during which a University admission officer covers topics such as academic, residential and extracurricular life and the admission and financial aid processes. In addition, Orange Key campus tours depart from the Frist Campus Center several times a day.

Prospective students and their families also can get a comprehensive look at undergraduate life through the online version of the Admission Information viewbook.  

Highlighting the community of learning at Princeton established more than 250 years ago, the book focuses on academic and campus life as well as the many resources and services available to students. It includes important details about the University's need-blind admission process and its groundbreaking financial aid program, which enables students who qualify for aid to meet their financial commitments through grants and work-study -- not student loans.

"Our residential college experience allows students to live in an academic community and reap the benefits of living with other motivated students, being advised by dedicated faculty members and learning from upperclass students," Dean of Admission Janet Rapelye writes in her greeting. "There are many ways to be successful at Princeton. We hope you will gain an appreciation for the fine teaching and research to which students are exposed as well as the intellectual limits that they can challenge during their four years here."

Deadlines for admission to the class of 2010 are Nov. 1 for early decision and Jan. 1, 2006, for regular decision.

For more information on campus visits and other issues for students interested in attending Princeton, visit the Prospective Students section of the University Web site.