Every year hundreds of perspective students visit the Harding University campus in hopes of experiencing the life of a university student. This past weekend more than 150 high school juniors and seniors visited the campus during Bison Days.
“We have six visit times during the school year and four of them are Bison Days,” said Glenn Dillard, assistant vice president for enrollment management. “Bison Days is a weekend where students arrive Thursday night and leave Sunday afternoon. They’re in the dorm for three nights, attend classes on Friday, eat in the cafeteria and go to chapel; so Bison Days is a good mix of a day in the life of a college student.”
This past weekend not only did visiting students get to live the life of a college student during a normal class day, but they also had the chance to participate in a busy Harding weekend.
According to Dillard, the visitors attended the Harding University football pep rally on Thursday night, attended a magician/illusionist show, soccer game, campus movie on Friday night and then the first home football game and tailgating on Saturday.
David Taylor, a visiting high school senior from Columbia, Tenn., was in attendance this weekend for Bison Days and said this was his first time to visit the Harding University campus.
“It’s my first time to visit, but I’m not really looking at any other schools,” said Taylor. “I know that I want to go to a Christian school. … It’s larger than what I’m used to. It’s pretty big and spread out. I also went to chapel and really enjoyed it.”
Taylor, who is interested in possibly majoring in electronic media production, said he is planning on visiting the school again in January with his church group during one of the spring Bison Days.
Dillard said that over the years Harding has found that a majority of students who come and visit the school often enroll at Harding.
“It’s not because of anything that we do on the admissions staff, it’s because they’re visiting the students and they’re getting to stay in the dorms and sit in on classes,” said Dillard. “They know what’s here and appreciate the beautiful campus and the friendly students. The guests say, ‘Well, I want to experience that myself. I want to be here.'”
This weekend the school not only hosted Bison Days guests, but also hosted families here for Family Weekend and the beginning of lectureship.
Freshman Lauryn Tobias said her family visited her during Family Weekend and it was their first time to really have the Harding experience.
“We took our family photos, went to the football game on Saturday and then my two sisters got to stay with me in the dorm and they loved it,” Tobias said. “They had been here before, but this time they actually got to see Harding and experience what I get to do every day instead of just touring the campus and walking from building to building. They all seemed to really enjoy it and my oldest sister has already made up her mind she wants to come to Harding.”
The next and last fall Bison Days will be later this month during Homecoming weekend.
