The campus will open itself up for all accepted students this Saturday, as it prepares for Candidates’ Day. A full schedule of events is planned for the newly admitted group.

The prospective students and their guests will start off the day with breakfast and registration, while being entertained by the Department of Music Activities.

Dr. Terry Nance, assistant vice president of Multicultural Affairs; University President Rev. Peter Donohue, O.S.A.; and Michael Gaynor, director of University Admission, will address the prospective students.

Current VSB freshman Joseacute Avellana said that these opening speeches were among his favorite aspects of last year’s Candidates’ Day.

“It was welcoming to hear them speak,” Avellana said. “I felt like I could go here after that.”

After the greetings, accepted students will divide up by their respective colleges to view academic presentations before lunch.

The College of Engineering will have departmental lab tours. The College of Nursing will feature a student panel to answer questions from prospective students and their families.

Both the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the School of Business will have departmental open houses.

These presentations feature speeches by professors and students, offering prospective students both perspectives.

Ivana Lee, a freshman in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, said that hearing the students’ point of view was the most informative last year.

Prospective students will then be allotted time to go on campus tours and view special presentations by on-campus groups.

Learning Communities, International Studies, Campus Ministry, health professions and financial services will each present information to the accepted students.

The Offices of Admission, Residence Life, Learning Support Services and Financial Assistance will be open on Saturday to the prospective students and their guests.

There will also be a student activities forum and a multicultural reception to give prospective students an opportunity to learn about University life.

The day will end with a Mass in the St. Thomas of Villanova Church.

This Mass last year, freshman chemistry major Kent Maghacut said, was unlike most masses in that it was directed at the prospective students.

“I felt like he was talking to the students,” Maghacut said. “It wasn’t like the sermons I was used to back home.”

The students coming to campus are some of the most qualified the University has seen so far, boasting an average SAT score of 1300-1420 and an average GPA of 3.73-4.12. It is also one of the most selective classes yet, with only 38 percent of applications accepted.

About 10 percent of students who came from schools that have class ranks were first in their class, and 20 percent ranked either first, second or third.

The class also had 13 students who had achieved a perfect 1600 on the SAT Math and Critical Reading exams, and 318 students scored a perfect 800 in either Math or Critical Reading.

The tuition for the class of 2012 will be $36,950.00.

Acceptance has been offered to students from 48 different states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.

Additionally, admission has been offered to 194 international students who currently reside in 67 countries around the globe, including Kenya, Ghana, Morocco, Panama, Costa Rica, Oman and China.

The states from which the most students were accepted are New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Connecticut.