Accepted Students Days Question

Parents Forum
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<p>One of my kids revisited three top choices on Admitted Students Days. One was the very first school he had visited as a Junior in H.S. He absolutely loved it on that visit and overnight. By the time we had spent two hours there on the Accepted Students Day, he knew it was not for him. </p>

<p>He revisited another larger school on an Accepted Students Day which was sponsored by a department/school within the university. Ironically, we had the same tour guide as the first time we visited. She was lovely, telling him that it was great that he had come full circle. After sitting with and talking to the accepted students in that program and spending the day there, he realized that he did not want this school either. Up until that morning he was seriously considering an acceptance.</p>

<p>When he visited the last school, he knew it was right after an hour on campus. Needless to say, that's where he ended up.</p>

<p>As an aside, if you need to talk to a financial aid officer, it's helpful if you can do so in person.</p>

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<p>D went to the accepted students day at the school she knew she'd be attending. This really helped her make decisions about dorms to request, meal plans, etc. She stayed with a student who lived in a dorm with coed bathrooms (everyone used the sinks and stalls, but the showers were segregated). First thing in the morning she's brushing her teeth and "a big man" walked in and started shaving next to her. She quickly decided she wanted to be on a women-only floor.</p>

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<p>I was reluctant to go to the accepted students weekend for the same reason, as I thought it would duplicate our prior visit. However, I am glad we went, as my S had a totally different take on the visit from the perspective of one who has been accepted and is seriously considering attending the school. I'm glad we went as April will be a very busy month and now he has a really good feel of at least one school. I would only go, though, if it were on his very short list, which this one was.</p>

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<p>At this point, even tho my son has applied to ten schools, it appears that two have emerged as top choices, one of which he has already been admitted to and received a partial merit scholarship offer. I think if he is admitted to his other choice, it would be wise to do the visits for both. Unfortunately, both are substantially expensive visits requiring airfare for one and a 5 hour car trip for another. </p>

<p>As one person posted before, I think that if you are treated well on one of these visits, and see a well run program, it would be one indication of what you could expect the following four years. I am sure that during an overnight visit you'd be able to find some unscripted moments in which to make a judgement about the fit.</p>

<p>Luckily, for one of his choices, a former schoolmate now attends there and has offered to host him. They share the same interests and major, so that would be a good introduction for him.</p>

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<p>My accepted students day made my decision about where to go. I hadn't had the chance to go on a regular tour at my school, so this was my first time visiting. At the accepted students day, I got to hear from the dean of the business school about special programs, etc. and speak with students (on regular tours you don't even visit the business school since it's on the edge of campus). I also got to go to an information session about the honors program. Both of these sessions made me know that I was in the right place. At first I hadn't even considered this school because it is "the state school" and I had gotten accepted to more selective places, but my visit here completely changed my mind.</p>

<p>I disagree with dt123 on that colleges make a grade A effort on these days (compared to a grade B usually). Maybe at smaller schools this is the case, but it's just not possible at a big university to only let the veteran tour guides or admissions counselors participate-- you need everyone on hand because there are a good amount of admitted students. Also, free food and free stuff isn't quite an option you can give to thousands of high school students and their families (unless you consider a breakfast brunch of mini bagels and muffins a great incentive--we do that).</p>

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<p>Scholarship weekends and/or accepted student days can be quite important for honors students accepted into the honors college or program at large state universities because the honors population can be substantially different from the general student body.This is especially important for schools without separate honors housing and for those honors programs which allow honors students to take only one or two honors courses a term.These students often are deciding among an honors program at a large state school and Ivy League and other elite schools. There may well be a different culture among the honors students than as for the school in general.</p>

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<p>We did an open house during junior year for my D. She will be doing an overnight next weekend and attending classes on Monday. I called Admissions to find out what's offered differently on Accepted Students Day and was told that there are a few info sessions that are just for accepted students that were not part of the regular open house. Since we don't have to worry about flying, we'll go and my D to can meet some other kids who have been accepted.</p>

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<p>If there is an overnight component to the visit, I'd say do it. I've hosted students overnight before, and once that even meant that a friend and I gained another buddy to stay up with us until 4am while we finished our work. That kid got a completely different, and much more real, experience than he would have going to a fall open house.</p>

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<p>A real plus I think is getting to talk with alumni. It sounds trite, it sounds simple, but it's really <em>very</em> insightful. Meeting some very awesome alumni who are very excited about the school will probably help shape your opinions, one way or the other. In addition to whatever standard publicity the school has (i.e, prepared videos and stuff), which are probably less helpful. I remember attending one for UMich and then thinking, "Oh man! I want to go to Michigan now," even though I knew I couldn't for other reasons.</p>

<p>(edit) (Whoops, the above was relating to an experience with an off-campus accepted student day. On campus visits, overnight stays with current students, etc, are definitely far more useful.)</p>

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<p>Two major reasons to attend: it's very different looking things over when you know you can attend as opposed to the visits before acceptance when students are still in the 'dream' stage AND students get to meet potential classmates. I attended one of these with my oldest and I picked up a lot of stuff talking to other parents - much more than I learned in the info. sessions before acceptance letters went out. I do think it's generally better for the student to attend this things on their own and rely on their own instincts.</p>

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<p>I am still very upset with Princeton in that they explicitly DO NOT ALLOW students accepted ED to attend their Accepted Student's Week. I had not gotten a chance to really visit the campus much (aside from a brief trip much earlier in my life, before I was even considering colleges), and it is a shame that they would not even attempt to accommodate ED students. Instead, I had to arrange all of my own travel plans, and ask the daughter of an acquaintance of my parents if I could stay in her room for the weekend. Additionally, the only way I could participate in the events, even though I was carrying an official letter of admission, was to sneak past Public Safety, like I was Aladdin or something. The school should be ashamed in how it treats its future students.</p>

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<p>My D and my H are going to an accepted students weekend in a couple of weeks</p>

<p>D could do it alone, no problem, but my H has never been to NYC, and I was always the one doing the college tours, so this is giving them a chance to hang out, she can show him around and he will see what we may be spending a small fortune on</p>

<p>He is more excited than she is if that is even possible!!!</p>

<p>What they will get out of the weekend will be added to so because they will have that time together</p>

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<p>Tokyo, if it makes you feel better, Dartmouth does not invite its ED admits to admitted students days either. You can make your own arrangements for transport and a room, then call admitting and they will add your name to a list and get you a packet - no sneaking around S&S - but you aren't invited.</p>

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<p>I had a question about these Accepted Students Day. I'm 99% sure that I will be attending this one college (because of full tuition offer) and they have invited me for a day for their "Scholars Day". A month later, they have their Accepted Students Day. Which would be better to attend? Both events are optional and since I live in Las Vegas, flying all the way to the east coast is going to be a bit of a hassle financially. Is it really worth it?</p>

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<p>medicreme - Of course it's optional, but I would go if you can handle it and stay a couple of days. Call one of the reps at the school and find out what's on the agenda for each session - and then make a choice.
My son went to an Accepted Students Day for his State U honors college. They put on a very impressive program. Students were friendly and welcoming and they really showed the love. He was able to judge whether or not the "feel" was right. The tours and programs were educational but the real value was in meeting and talking to the current students.</p>

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<p>I am a parent of a child last year who got accepted at 12 out of 12 coleges and got offered scholarships at 8 out of those 12 (she didn't not get any scholarships to Duke, UNC chapel Hill, UCB or UCLA) -- she ended up going to Baylor where she has a full tuition scholarship. </p>

<p>My vote is to go to the scholars day in lieu of the accepted students day. At scholar's day, all the students invited are accepted AND they have been offered scholarships --either partial or full. </p>

<p>At Accepted Students day, they have been admitted but not necessarily given scholarships. Thus at scholars day, you will be given more info on their honors program, honors dorm, etc. </p>

<p>In my opinion, probably more wooing is done at scholar's day too. . .</p>

<p>If you go to scholar's day, ask pointed questions like what GPA do I have to maintain to keep my scholarship, etc.</p>

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<p>My son went to 3 or 4 accepted student days, two of which were for scholarship recipients. He came back from each one, saying "that's where I want to go".</p>

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<p>We just got back from a scholarship competition weekend, where all admitted students there (100+) had been awarded substantial merit scholarships, and after the weekend of meetings, interviews, overnights, etc. 5 will be offered full scholarships. The information, parent program, etc. was all very well run and my S came away more impressed than he expected to be. HOWEVER - they gave each student a certificate naming their scholarship, and on all 100+ there was a misspelled word. My S just can't fathom going to a university that would let that slip.....</p>

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<p>I'd like to take this chance to urge everyone to attend an Admitted Students program, especially if it contains an overnight program.</p>

<p>I can only speak for Columbia, but having seen several different sides of that process, it is valuable in many, many ways. For example:</p>

<p>1) The prefrosh who bother to show up to such things are much more likely to be attending, based on their (obvious) interest levels, so their opinions will matter more to you and they're a good cross-section to meet.</p>

<p>2) The people you meet at Days On Campus form the start of your freshman-year friend network. Maybe a quarter of the people I met when I arrived for orientation had attended Days On Campus, and had several friends, which made much easier to meet more people faster. A bunch also attended an Outdoor Orientation Program where a group of incoming first-years would bike, swim or hike together for a week, ending up in NYC together. These connections they made gave them a leg up in filling the hectic social vacuum that exists during orientation - not that there's a lack of social life, but people start out lonely and there's a feeding frenzy to make friends.</p>

<p>3) When you stay overnight, the students hosting you will give you the real deal. They'll be actively interested in answering the real questions you have, with real answers. You'll meet enough of them to get a sense of the atmosphere and attitudes on campus (unless you're unlucky and get some whackjobs).</p>

<p>My freshman year, everyone who hosted someone on my floor got together and we hung out, met the prefrosh, some of us went around campus or even the city with them. My senior year, admissions was hard-up on space for all the interested kids to attend Days on Campus, so when I offered my 5-bedroom dorm apartment they dumped 8 kids on me, and 6 more on the girls down the hall. So we threw a party. Got at least two of them laid. These things can go all over the spectrum, but basically everyone who stays overnight, and escapes the scripted propaganda-based sessions drummed up by admissions, gets a close-up peek at what life is really like. At least, that's true for my school, and I imagine it's true for others as well.</p>

<p>If it's a stay-overnight deal, it's well worth the cost of transportation. You'll learn a ton, and probably have a lot of fun. Don't pass it up if you can make it.</p>

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<p>It's all about the shift in power. Once admitted, you are now in the driver's seat. Ask all the dumb questions you want. No need to feel badly about it. Take up all the time of whomever you choose. You're in control. Total role reversal. </p>

<p>Now, that's not to say that you should do it for the ego-trip. But without the pressure and anxiety of yearning to be there, you can see the place with new eyes. If some part of the program is redundent to you, skip it. What are they going to do? </p>

<p>Make this the trip where you really make your final, final decision. I'd say go for it.</p>