Stanford University Admit Weekend:
On-Site Badge Printing Helps Simplify Operations
and Improve Attendee Experience

Each spring, as college admissions decisions wrap up, Stanford University holds its annual Admit Weekend for all admitted students. This in-person event is designed to help incoming undergraduates and their families explore academic life, connect with the Stanford community, and envision themselves on campus.

We caught up with Mary Chung-Szilagyi, Assistant Director of Events in the Office of Undergraduate Admission, to discuss the logistical complexity of the event, why Stanford chose Expo Pass, and how on-site badge printing benefits both the University team and the attendees.

 

The Challenge

Admit Weekend hosts roughly 3,000 attendees — a mix of newly admitted students and their guests — calling for personalized guest and host information, different access and registration levels, and verification requirements. Prior to using Expo Pass for check-in and badging, Chung-Szilagyi says they struggled through different approaches:

“We were doing things the old school way… and struggling every year.

My predecessor would order Avery name badge sheets and then we would have inkjet printers printing in our conference room downstairs.”

And when they tried to upgrade to more professional, pre-printed event name badges, they ran into more issues:

“The first year they came to us the day before our event. They weren’t printed in the order that we had asked. So we’re all sitting there having to separate parent guests and admitted students… We literally had to get the entire office of almost 60 people.”

But it wasn’t just the sorting and staffing headaches that caused problems. Because of the timelines with admissions decisions and quick turnaround window for registration, pre-printing badges meant a lack of flexibility for info corrections, guestlist changes, and late registrations. Plus, on such a tight deadline, they ran into every planners worst nightmare:

“The next year, we got them a day or two earlier — but they had misaligned the front and back printing…  Our vendor offered to send us reprints as soon as possible…

 

…Of course, they didn’t come in time.”

Chung-Szilagyi set out to find a reliable, flexible on-site badge printing solution. That’s when she found Expo Pass.

 

The Solution

Making the switch from pre-printed event badges to on-site badge printing, Chung-Szilagyi described it as “a real game changer for us,” making an immediate impact both for her and her team, as well as their attendees.

“It has made things significantly easier both the day before and the day of.”

With Expo Pass on-site badge printing, you get a solution designed for high-volume events that’s optimized for tight timelines and constantly changing data.

For Admit Weekend, Stanford implemented:

✅ On-site check-in at iPad kiosks for real-time verification

✅ On-demand badge printing with personalized data for each attendee, allowing them to include custom information like room hosts and dorm assignments

✅ Three color-coded badge designs for students, guests, and staff for easy visual distinction of registration types

✅ Flexible edits allowing changes such as guest registration on-site, and updates to badge information such as preferred names or pronouns (via separate print station and solutions desk for added security)

The Results

Since Expo Pass’ pre-configured on-site badge printing kits are designed for easy plug-and-play setup, the system integrated smoothly into the team’s process.

“The delivery and set up — everything was really easy. And my partner that helps manage the check in process found it very easy as well.”

After making the switch to on-site badge printing, it was clear that the elevated check-in experience made a huge difference.

“It just made the whole process so much smoother. In fact, in the middle of the program our Director of Admissions came up to me and said how excited he was about the platform and how well it seemed to be working.”

Expo Pass is proud to support Stanford University and help them deliver a high-caliber event in line with the institution’s reputation for excellence.