INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Indiana Private College Week is underway, with 31 private and nonprofit colleges holding open campus events this week. The week is designed to introduce prospective students to the schools in a less formal setting.

Those visiting will get to experience firsthand the unique personality of each campus through tours, informational sessions, and conversations with students and staff.

For a complete list of participating campuses, as well as their event schedules, go to www.indianacollegechoices.org. Advance registration is encouraged but not required, other than for those campuses offering individually-scheduled tours.

Although ICI campuses encourage and welcome visitors throughout the year, this concentrated week offers the opportunity to experience one or more campuses in a less formal way during the summer. It also allows students who may not have ever considered attending one of Indiana’s independent colleges to begin to explore that option.

According to research conducted by Eduventures, 71 percent of high-school students identify the campus visit as the most trusted source of information about a college. There’s certainly no better way for students to experience the “feel” of a campus and to discover their “best fit” for college.

“We want every family to find out why earning a degree at an Indiana private, non-profit college is smart academically and smart financially,” says Richard L. Ludwick, ICI president & CEO. “Unlike at other types of Indiana colleges and universities, the majority of our students graduate in four years rather than six- or two-thirds the time it takes elsewhere.”

Visitors between the ages of 16 and 20 touring one or more ICI campuses during Private College Week will have the chance to enter a drawing for an Apple iPad. Entry forms and rules will be available at each campus.

Source: Independent Colleges of Indiana Inc.