For some current first-years, the fun of their pre-frosh weekend began months before they came to campus.

Last April, dozens of prospective students sat in a circle, introducing themselves by name--and e-mail address.

"Hi. I'm Aron. AC5681," Aron R. Croft '03 remembers saying.

The students had met in an online discussion group after being accepted to Harvard. For them, pre-frosh weekend was a chance to put names to faces and cement friendships.

Today, hundreds of high school seniors will arrive in the Yard for pre-frosh weekend--or the April Visiting Program, as it's called in Byerly Hall.

Current students remember their pre-frosh weekends as a whirlwind of events and personalities. Many say they met best friends during their first encounter with Harvard; others can't remember a soul.

And more than a few say the weekend was the deciding factor in their college choice.

"Pre-frosh weekend was the reason I came to Harvard," Aaliyah Q. Shafiq '00 says.

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Some students say they remember exchanging "warm fuzzies" at the traditional ice cream social as a highlight of their experience.