Some of those who came out for the event

More than 100 high school students and their families attended the Spend an Evening program at Penn State New Kensington earlier this month. This event was the third in a series of summer programs geared to the prospective freshmen class of 2004. The 115 people for the August evening program more than doubled the combined attendance of Spend a Day in June, which was thirty-four and Spend a Saturday in July, which was sixty-seven.

Patty Brady, director of enrollment services, attributed the increase to the convenient starting time (6:30 p.m.) and the fact that school starts in two to three weeks. "The August program is usually the best-attended session because the need to learn more about college is immediate since seniors need to begin the application process." Brady estimates that about 25 percents of the students who attend the three programs eventually enroll at PSNK. "For many students, this is their first college visit," Brady said.

The Spend An Evening program included a light dinner; a welcome by campus executive officer Larry Pollock; an ice breaker session by admissions counselor Shelly Cervo; a primer on student admissions and financial aid by Brady and student aid coordinator; a question and answer session by a panel of PSNK students and staff; and a tour of the campus by the Lion Ambassadors.

All students received a free PSNK t-shirt at the conclusion of the two-hour program.