In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, which caused record-setting damage to the Gulf Coast in late August, college students at universities in New Orleans and other Gulf cities were accepted into colleges around the country, including Marquette. Now, many of the 70 students who came to Marquette are preparing to return to New Orleans for the spring semester, according to Stephanie Quade, associate dean of Student Development .

After spending a semester at Marquette, these students are ready to return to their universities in New Orleans.

"I am so excited, it's hard to describe," said Erin Dempsey, a freshman enrolled in the College of Business Administration who will attend Loyola University New Orleans . "I'm excited to go back to my school and the opportunity I'll have to help the city."

Claire Hermes, a freshman enrolled in the College of Business Administration will also attend Loyola University when she returns to New Orleans. She said she looks forward to the opportunity to return to the school she had hoped to be at this semester.

"I'm almost more excited to go than I was the first time," Hermes said. "It will be a wonderful opportunity to bond with everyone. It's kind of like we had a trial session and now it's for real."

As the students return to New Orleans, Marquette must resolve the financial aspects of their semester at Marquette with the students and their universities. According to Quade, the financial technicalities have been complicated.

"Every student was dealt with on an individual basis. There's no blanket answer," she said. "Some students had already paid their home institutions, some had been given financial aid at their home schools. There's lots and lots of variation."

Some of the students attending schools in New Orleans said the financial aspect of the process has been difficult to sift through.

"It's such a mess," Dempsey said. "Marquette said 'Pay for the room and board and we'll figure the rest out later.'"

In addition to figuring out finances, students had to register for classes at their New Orleans schools during the past few weeks. For many students, the process went smoothly.

"Tulane has a high percentage of out-of-state students, so its online system is really good," said Rachel Wenzel, a freshman in the College of Business Administration who will attend Tulane University . "I had no problem getting classes. They had a number of Web sites and hotlines."

As many of the New Orleans students are returning to school there, some will stay at Marquette.

Matthew Kenney, a freshman in the College of Arts & Sciences was going to attend Tulane University, but now will remain at Marquette for a number of reasons.

"I'm a pretty flexible guy," he said. "My mom and brother went to get my stuff and they were worried about me going back to the city. I've met some really fun people here. I'm paying less here than at Tulane."

As these students prepare for the spring semester, here or in New Orleans, many involved in the process said overall it has been a positive experience overall.

For Marquette, the increase in students did not pose a problem.

"We were really lucky because we had vacant spaces in the residence halls so we were able to get them in here. That was really important to students," Quade said. "Because they all have different majors, they were dispersed out among different academic organizations."

Similarly, the students found this to be a different, but good experience.

"I've learned a lot, like how to live with less," Hermes said. "It's been hard because I haven't really let myself settle in yet because I know I'm leaving."

Even after undergoing a lot of change in short period of time, New Orleans students remain positive about the future.

"It kind of sucks to be kicked out of your school, but there's definitely a point to this. I just don't know it yet," Kenney said.

Loyola students can move in on Jan. 3 and Tulane students can move in on Jan. 12 .