St. Thomas students can expect to see 165 high school seniors roaming around campus Friday as part of the largest Tommie Overnight ever.

With the deadline looming, the admissions department is falling slightly behind in enrollment for the class of 2017, which is why St. Thomas will host more prospective students during Friday’s overnight visit.

Associate Vice President for Admissions and Financial Aid Marla Friederichs said she thinks the class of 2017 will eventually meet its enrollment goals.

“Confirming deposits at this time of year are very fluid,” Friederichs said. “We are running behind last year, but that does not mean we will not make our enrollment goal.”

Friederichs attributes the falling behind to the number of enrollment cancellations that have occurred this year.

“We have more cancellations this time of year,” Friederichs said. “We are already down to 136.”

Director of Admissions and Financial Aid Kris Roach said most incoming freshmen make their decisions right at the deadline, which is why this overnight is necessary.

“They want that one last experience to really be sure that this is the right school,” Roach said. “We see these last couple (overnights) being extremely popular as people are coming down to make that decision by May 1. So we just let (the overnight) get a little bigger, so we can try to help as many students as possible make a decision.”

Tommie Ambassador sophomore Keeley Norton said it’s “crunch time” for high school seniors who have yet to pick a college.

“Doing an overnight event is a way for them to see the campus one more time and learn about what it’s really like to be a St. Thomas student,” Norton said.

Sophomore Ben Stuttgen said his Tommie Overnight experience helped reinforce his decision to attend St. Thomas.

“It was that visit that made me realize that this is where I wanted to study,” Stuttgen said. “It was a fun experience that was unique to St. Thomas.”

Roach said students find the overnights effective, and that they give prospective students a good survey of what it’s like to attend St. Thomas.

“They (the students) spend a lot of time with our Tommie ambassadors. They get out and about on campus. They get the residence hall experience. They get some social time with other perspective Tommies, so they can really give them (prospective students) a college experience,” Roach said. “They’re popular and very successful.”

However, sophomore Ingrid Ilg said that the overnight was not the reason she went to St. Thomas.

“I didn’t like the overnight because there was nothing to do, and the lame activities that were going on I knew that ‘real’ students of St. Thomas didn’t attend, they all go out,” Ilg said. “I felt babysat, and the day was very long.”

Ilg said she came to St. Thomas because she knew college wouldn’t actually be like the overnight.

“I knew that St. Thomas was trying to perceive their students as event attendees, but I knew they weren’t,” llg said. “I enjoyed the information and activities throughout the day, but after that was all over, I just wanted to leave.”

While all students may not enjoy the campus visit, Roach said Friday is important for potential members of the class of 2017. Roach also said that the deadline used to be far earlier in the year.

“When I first started in this business, students made their decisions in January, February. It’s very different now,” Roach said. “People really go right up against that May 1 deadline to make a decision, so that makes this overnight really important.”

Kayla Bengtson can be reached at beng2004@stthomas.edu.