So, now that the applications are wrapping up, kind of thinking more about Accepted Student Days and hoping with Covid they can still happen in person. Wondering do the schools generally hold multiple sessions or just once or twice, or does it depend on the school? When do accepted student days generally start in “normal” years? I feel like my daughter is definitely going to need these times in person to make a decision. Thanks!
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That was something that hit me about a month ago.
It was what made my D18’s final decision. She was tossed between 2 schools and going to both accepted students days sealed the deal.
Seems like it may be another thing taken away from these kids. Still need to visit a few schools S21 was already accepted to. Hoping they provide something.
My son (‘21) was accepted to his first choice school and his admitted students day is virtual in December. We’ve visited previously, but didn’t do an “official tour”. It’s not ideal but at least he’s not going in completely blind.
Back in 2018 my son attended one accepted students day in February at UVM and then another one in April at Colby College. He ended up going to Colby and I am not sure he would have without making sure he liked the kids as it is only 2000 people. But I am sure even if they can’t hold accepted students days the schools will do a ton of outreach virtually and put accepted students in touch with current students which I think will help. My daughter is currently applying to schools and didn’t get a chance to see many schools either.
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Hey @massmom2018 Sounds like our kids were at Colby’s Admitted Students day.
D18 attended a few of the NESCAC’s Admitted Student’s days and they all seem to be well coordinated in the month of April.
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My D only attended one. It was a weekend rather than a day, and held in April after all the RD decisions were out.
S19 was accepted in an early batch of RD apps for Grinnell and they had a special admitted student day for those kids in Feb so he went to that. All others were in April and it was a mad dash to try to get to some of them since they were all a flight away. We made him prioritize since there was no way to get to all of them and some were on the same weekend. I will say that Bowdoin’s admitted student day turned into him staying there for three nights instead of one and was the reason he enrolled. Met so many great kids who asked him if he wanted to stay another night, invited him to a practice, took him into town, etc. I think admitted student days are important and it stinks that I think our 2021s will not get them in the same way. Maybe they’ll be able to visit some schools but no way they’ll be going to class or staying overnight.
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From what I remember, some schools only had one, some had a couple. And many overlapped. It was difficult if spring break was booked up for travel, because that took away two eligible weekends (not an issue this year!!!) In my experience they were almost all March and April weekends.
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If I’m remembering correctly, most of the schools my ds20 was accepted to had at least 2 options for accepted students days. UMass Amherst (where he ended up) scheduled them by school/major, and his was fortunately held about a week before the lockdown. The others he was considering each had more than one date to choose from, but they were all cancelled in the end.
While my son is happy with his choice, there was one school that he was very interested in that we never toured. They gave him a nice merit scholarship and honors college offer, so we made plans to fly there in April, but we had to cancel because of covid. DS was just more comfortable choosing from places he’d had the opportunity to visit in person. Fingers crossed that things are in a good place and that your daughter will be able to visit. I think it makes a huge difference.
Thanks everyone for your responses!
@CTCape We live in Mass and UMass Amherst is definitely on my daughter’s list. Glad to hear your son has been happy, although I am sure so challenging to start college with Covid. Was he remote this semester? Fortunately we did visit Umass before the pandemic hit.
Yes, he was remote. It had its ups and downs as you can imagine. But most importantly, he really liked most of his professors, and feels like the quality of the instruction was strong in general. He had an acceptance to U of Maryland for spring, and he decided to decline and stay at UMass, so all in all it worked out.
Thanks @CTCape. Good to hear your son was happy with the classes and certainly hoping he gets to be on campus soon. What a crazy year. Good luck!
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