Saturday will be a busy day for UD. Blue and Golden, the open house for the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, will bring roughly 4,000 prospective students and parents to campus, as it did for a similar event in September. But unlike the open house in September, this weekend’s event will coincide with both Parents and Family Weekend and a Blue Hen football game, in which UD will play William & Mary at Delaware Stadium.

To ensure that guests can negotiate the traffic with limited delays, Admissions will dispatch dozens of Blue Hen Ambassadors, UD tour guides, to the streets around campus to both welcome newcomers and direct traffic to the appropriate parking areas.

“Although we do expect traffic,” said Kelly Ball, associate director of admissions, “we have been working with our campus partners to make sure that the event runs smoothly, that our guests have a great visit, learn about UD and have a good time.”

For the second and final Blue and Golden, students and parents, curious about the programs and services offered at the University of Delaware, will visit campus for a day of information sessions and tours. Every college at UD will offer presentations on admission requirements for their majors as well as an overview of the courses and programs they offer. In addition to the seven colleges, officials from the Honors Program and World Scholars will be on hand to give information detailing those particular requirements and benefits.

The day begins with the Office of Undergraduate Admissions offering advice and guidance on UD’s application process. Located in various buildings around campus, these presentations will run immediately before information sessions given by the colleges on many of UD’s majors. Prospective students will have time to ask questions of professors and, in some cases, take tours of the buildings and classrooms associated with their chosen major.

After the information sessions, there will be other opportunities for students and parents to get a sense of what it’s like to be a Blue Hen. Chief among them, Fest-O-Fall, a marketplace of programs at UD. In the Trabant multipurpose rooms, Fest-O-Fall will feature booths staffed by Career Services, Study Abroad, Student Financial Services, Residence Life and Housing, Institute for Global Studies and the Center for Health Professionals, among others. Parents and students can speak with representatives there to answer questions on everything from housing to health to the various student organizations on campus.

While Fest-O-Fall is in full swing, visitors can head to presentations given by admissions staff specific to transfer students and Delaware residents. Guests could also step across campus for tours of the resident halls or an open house at one of the Lerner College of Business & Economics programs. At Vita Nova, visitors can get a look at a student-operated, fine-dining restaurant, while at the Geltzeiler Trading Center they will be shown around UD’s operational Wall Street trading floor.

Tours of the general campus will also be offered, leaving from Gore Hall and led by the Blue Hen Ambassadors.

Early check-in for Blue and Golden begins at 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 13, at the University Visitors Center. On Saturday, check-in will take place in Trabant at 8:30 a.m.