Here’s the numbers: 427 qualified. 199 interviewed. 30 prevailed.

Presidential Scholars Weekend, which occurred Feb. 22-24, narrowed down the field of 200 interviewees with an interview process. The participants also got a chance to meet with current student scholars, see the campus and sit in on classes.

“I thought it went really well on a lot of different levels,” said Admissions Director Scott Belobradjic. “I’ve already received a dozen or so thank-you notes. Everyone seemed really pleased with how well they were treated.”

Parents and students, totaling 498 for the weekend, were provided with free meals while on campus and transportation between the airport, hotels and campus. All interviewees were also given the option of reimbursement for travel expenses up to $250.

“We didn’t want money to be an issue that kept people away,” Belobradjic said.

Both Belobradjic and Presidential Scholars President Jim Hood said that having an additional 100 students come for the weekend required a lot more preparation.

“It’s always a good thing to bring more people to campus, but I think 200 was a bit much just for logistics,” Hood said. “We had to rent out the basement of the Scottish Rite just to have dinner for everyone.”

Belobradjic said that while the preparation work doubled, he thinks it’s a good idea to bring as many students as possible to campus.

“Whether you bring in 100 or 200, you can never be sure that you didn’t miss someone. Bringing in more can give us a better chance of finding the real leaders we’re looking for,” Belobradjic said.

Hood thought that by bringing in twice as many interviewees, the “bar was lowered.”

“I’ve gotten feedback from a couple different people who thought the people they interviewed would definitely not have been here last year,” Hood said.

Belobradjic, however, thought that was not the case. Before the weekend, he had worries about losing the feeling of community for the weekend, but he said that feedback has not reflected that at all.

“I think it’ll be especially interesting to see how many students who interviewed and were not given scholarships still attend the University,” Belobradjic said. “Last year we ran at about 50 percent.”

After the interviews, a committee reviewed all the feedback and chose the top students to recommend for scholarships. The top 30 and the top 30 runners-up have one-page biography sheets made and that group is given to University President Lawrence Biondi, S.J., to review. Biondi reviews each of them and gives a final approval before any offers are made.

As of now, all the scholarships have been offered and recipients have until May 1 to accept them.