University admissions officers resume travel

The University Admission officers will resume regional information sessions Sunday, after suspending travel on Sept. 14 because of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C.

Associate Dean and Director of Admission Stephen LeMenager, who has worked in admissions for the last 18 years, said that this was the first time he remembers the suspension of regional information sessions.

The office posted a message on its website stating that "all admission-related travel" would be cancelled between Sept. 14 and Sept. 28.

The website said that all of the University's attention was "focused on doing whatever we can to aid in the the ongoing rescue efforts, to alleviate the suffering and grief of those affected by this unspeakable disaster, and, as an academic community, to discuss and explore the events themselves."

"There has never been a time like this," LeMenager said.

In addition to the logistical problems of finding new flights to many destinations, he said that the office was "mostly concerned with the safety of our staff."

The rescheduling of information sessions was successful, LeMenager said. He said that the host schools and organizations that were anticipating the University's presence have been "very understanding and amenable and accommodating. It was tricky in spots, but everyone seemed to understand why we did what we did."

A revised schedule was posted earlier this week. It includes sessions at about 55 locations. Admission officers "back-track[ed] and fill[ed] in the remaining weeks of travel," according to LeMenager. They were able to "reschedule the vast majority of programs," he said. Only a few individual school visits might not be rescheduled.

As the admission office, along with the rest of the country, gets back to work, it may face challenges from applicants directly affected by the attacks of Sept. 11.

LeMenager said that the office is "going to try to keep [the 2001 admissions process] as normal as possible."

However, he said that "as we are informed of individual situations, we'll try to be as sympathetic to those as much as we can."

In the fall months of each year, admissions officers travel throughout North America to introduce potential applicants to Princeton. They visit individual schools and attend college fairs. But the major events include the two-hour information sessions hosted at sites in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.

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At these sessions, admission representatives put on slide shows and answer potential applicants' questions. For students who cannot visit campus easily, these information sessions can be vital components of the college selection process.