Each year, admissions officers know that a small percentage of admitted applicants who sent deposits will not show up. The phenomenon, known as "summer melt," has many causes. Students might change their plans because they suddenly get off their first-choice college's waiting list--or because they opt to spend a year caring for penguins in Antarctica. Sometimes the arrival of the tuition bill convinces a family that it cannot afford a particular college after all. Too many no-shows can have costly consequences for colleges, especially small, tuition-dependent institutions. This year the unstable economy prompted many admissions officers to brace for more attrition than usual. To minimize summer melt--and to ease the transition to campus--some colleges are developing new ways to engage admitted students during the dog days. This article takes a look at the strategies employed by some colleges to deal with enrollment "melt."