More than 350 prospective students from all over the country are slated to attend the 115th Annual Honor Scholarship Weekend this Friday and Saturday.
With the program quickly approaching, the Wabash community has come together to ensure the weekend progresses as smoothly as possible.
Honor Scholar attendees will begin arriving Thursday and Friday and will live in either independent or fraternity housing. According to Assistant Director of Admission Marc Welch, nearly fifty housing arrangements remained to be assigned as of Tuesday, but he was pleased with the willingness of students to share their living space.
“My goal for housing,” said Welch, “is for everyone to have a place to put their head at night and for them to be happy with where they are and to understand that just because they were assigned to a place doesn’t mean they have to live there for four years. Everyone I’ve worked with has been great. I really think that’s what Wabash is all about. It takes the whole community. It’s not just a fraternity event. It’s not just an admissions event. It’s everyone in the community.”
The Wabash College Honor Scholarship Weekend is a tradition that began more than 100 years ago as a way to assist prospective and incoming students shoulder the cost of attending the College. The students compete for scholarships by taking tests in various subject areas. This year, the maximum award per student is $20,000 per year. Last year, students were awarded nearly $3.5 million in scholarships.
Honor Scholar Weekend is one of the largest scholarship events in the country, and the students in attendance will be among the brightest seniors in the country as well. According to Senior Assistant Director of Admissions Jamie Watson, the majority of the students are from Indiana, but the states of California, Nevada, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Washington, Virginia, Mississippi, Tennessee, Arizona, Kentucky, Ohio, Oklahoma, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin will be represented as well.
Students will register in the Allen Center lobby Friday morning and welcomed by President Patrick White, Student Body President Juan Carlos Venis ‘09, Independent Men’s Association President Mitch Rivers ‘09, and Interfraternity Council President Jim Leuck ’09.
On Friday afternoon, the students will take an English exam and an additional test in history, French, German, Latin, Greek, or Spanish. After the examination, they will attend academic sessions, followed by a banquet and tours of fraternities and residence halls.
The student will be tested in a math and science of their choosing Saturday morning. They will have the afternoon and evening to themselves to visit more residence facilities, watch sporting events, or attend other functions sponsored by various groups on campus.
To simplify the fraternity aspect of the weekend, the Interfraternity Council (IFC) has organized brochures, tours, and a short explanation session during the welcome.
“The Wabash College Inter-Fraternity Council has published a brochure entitled ‘Greek Life at Wabash College - A Guide for Students and Parents’ that we sent out, with a welcoming letter from myself, to all the parents of students attending HSW,” said IFC President Jim Leuck of Theta Delta Chi.
“We also published a booklet that has a promotional entry on each of the 10 national fraternities at Wabash and explanations for terms, like with the bidding process,” Leuck said. “Both of those are going to be available at the IFC table during registration on Friday starting at 9:00 am. The main goal of IFC is to have a successful and well-organized beginning to the rush process that will end when classes start in the fall. In order to do that, we are supporting Wabash College first and fraternities second this weekend.”
Current freshman are excited about this weekend as well, having their own Honor Scholar Weekend experience fresh in their minds. Some of them have even decided to host prospective themselves.
“Honor Scholars was very important in my decision to come to Wabash,” said Adam Current, Martindale. “I had been on a few visits, but never anything that offered quite the interaction with the students or just the amount of time spent on campus. I still remember buying my Wabash hat at the bookstore that Saturday-the instant I wanted to buy it I knew I had made my final decision.”
Independent Thomas Warn knew he would attend Wabash, but he still appreciated his Honor Scholar experience.
“I resided at the TKE House during Honor Scholar Weekend,” he said. “They were all very hospitable and just made me feel welcomed to the campus. This is why I am hosting a student this year. I want to make him feel just as welcomed and comfortable on the campus as I was, when I was in his place, last year. Most of all I want to help him see how he can contribute to the Wabash community, should he join us next fall.”