Some high school seniors will experience University life the next few days as they participate in Minority Achievers Weekend -- a program aimed at increasing minority enrollment.

In a program coordinated by the Student Minority Advisory and Recruitment Team, about 100 high school seniors who have been accepted at the University will spend today through Saturday with a University student host. During that time, they will attend special programs and social events, and have free time to explore the University on their own or attend regular classes.

Although the University was already his top choice when he participated in last year's program, Gary Paul (freshman-architecture) said his experiences that weekend solidified his decision to come to the University.

"Visitation put an end to . . . any thoughts of not being sure or anything like that," he said, adding the unity he saw between minority students here was an important factor in his decision.

"I felt like I had people to turn to," said Paul, now a SMART member.

Among other activities, visiting students will attend a financial aid workshop, visit their respective colleges and participate in a student panel discussion about the University, said SMART President Stephen Mitchell.

The panel discussion, which will allow the visiting students a chance to ask questions of student leaders, is possibly the weekend's most important event, Mitchell said.

"We are going to be open and honest," he said, adding the students can ask about anything from the University's racial climate to academic concerns.

University students were up front with him last year about racial problems they had encountered at the University, but they also offered advice on how to deal with those problems, Paul said.

"I thought to myself, 'Well that's alarming . . . How will I feel? How will I function?' " he said. "I knew I could count on the small percentage of blacks to stick together."

The visiting students are from areas including Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C., and come from a number of different ethnic and racial backgrounds, Mitchell said.