<p>That makes sense pjp. I'm not sure that any of the colleges that made it to my kids short list were within 100 miles so we had to plan our visits pretty carefully and didn't see any school more then twice.</p>
<p>We were extremely happy that the proximity was one of his filters in starting his search. I'll let you know in two years time whether we all think that that was too close or not. May be in direct proportion to the number of times he brings a carload of smelly laundry back to the house. Ha HA</p>
<p>I'll echo what a lot of folks have said in this thread about our ASRs (Admitted Student Receptions). We have several over the course of the spring, and we usually cater them to specific programs or academic interests; it allows students to come on their terms and speak with the people who are going to more directly affect their academic futures: the faculty and their fellow incoming students.</p>
<p>It's definitely about the students being in the driver's seat at ASRs, because we want you to enroll. You've applied, you've admitted, now we want you to get whatever it is that you want so that you'll go home and say "Yeah! I really liked Stony Brook!"</p>
<p>We like to have a Parents' Table, so parents can get their questions answered too. We invite parents of some of our current students to help us out, so they can speak from their perspective.</p>
<p>We do the same thing on the road; we know that a lot of folks have visited us, and we also know that it's not always easy to travel. So we host ASRs around the northeast, as well as in California and Florida. We bring current students, parents, alumni... all so that our prospective first-year students can get as complete a picture as possible.</p>
<p>The great thing about the second visit -- official ASR or not -- is that you've seen the basics and heard the spiel, and now you can ask the questions you want to ask.</p>
<p>Chris D'Orso
Assistant Director of Admissions
Stony Brook University</p>
<p>In our family, those Admitted Students' events had value for one kid and not for another. One son was deciding between two colleges and visiting in April is what helped him make up his mind. After spending 24 hours with other kids his age (high school seniors), visiting classes together and staying in the dorms together, he had a very clear idea of which school was the better fit. </p>
<p>The other son was admitted to 8 schools. He went to the Admitted Students' event at his top 3 choices and came home as confused as ever. (This is a kid who did not apply early decision because he couldn't make up his mind.) He saw the pros and cons at each school. No place seemed like the perfect fit. No place seemed without merit. In retrospect, competition being what it is these days, we probably tried too hard to get him to be open-minded about all the schools on his list and not pin his hopes on any one place. </p>
<p>In any event, he finally picked a school and is extremely happy there. I think he was simply ready for college and would have done well at any of his schools. </p>
<p>I'll also add that both kids visited these various campuses on their own - which included traveling to unfamiliar airports in new cities and getting themselves to the right place at the right time. I booked the plane flights and the rest was on them. The programs were very well-organized; there was a lot of supervision and the days were scheduled. In one case, the school even had vans picking the kids up at the airport.</p>
<p>Personally, I don't think parents should attend these events. If you don't like a school, don't put it on the list in the first place. Once the kid is admitted, he or she is entitled to figure it out. If they ask for your advice, that's one thing but visiting on their own means they're using their own criteria, not yours -and after all, they're the ones living at that school for four years. Also, if the school is a far distance, it helps them reconcile how they feel about spending the time and money to travel back and forth.</p>
<p>If you can afford it, I vote yes on attending Accepted Student events.</p>
<p>Hazelb
I hear you--kids should go on their own, ideally.However, some really good exceptions in no way diminish a child's independence. </p>
<p>My S never saw the colleges he applied to, and I promised him he would go after accepted. No way could I get direct flights, nor could I even arrange for him to be at more than one official acceptance weekend. For less than $300, we were able to fly NE then CA, but with change in planes and less than ideal hours. I have no regrets going along to coordinate flights, cabs & meals. I was happy to tour cities that I had never seen (which I did with other parents) and attend meetings while S spoke with the kids. I cannot begin to tell you how lost we got driving in CA, and how nice it was to relax in the evenings. </p>
<p>My point is, some people spend time planning and touring colleges before applying. Others don't have that option. Personally, I'm glad I visited S's possibilities before sending in the first checks.</p>
<p>Considering that most posters did not mention the schools then I will not-The best decision we made was to attend all accepted student days- One college's acepted students day was eye opening- they did a wonderful job and dealt with tough questions regarding the lack of diversity in the applicant pool. Also a few years back another college applicant day was eye opening in that they chose to make a political /social statement out of the day with various displays. With that my son suddenly crossed the college off the list despite our pleadings that he give the college a chance. He felt that it was inappropriate for the school to feature a certain social issue on applicant day and wondered about the true politics of the school.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone who responded to my original post. Just came off our Winter Break and we ended up choosing not to go to one Admitted Student Day but did go to the other. I called both schools to find out what was planned, and the one that we didn't go to seemed to just be a repeat of the fall open house. Been there, done that (and also did a tour last summer). So, we opted out of that one. I was very glad we went to the other. We took advantage of the fact that we had been there twice before and were able to skip some of the planned sessions/tours and really spent time talking to the students and faculty members. D spent almost an hour with two students from her planned major who were great - very welcoming, positive and upbeat, and most importantly - honest. They actually encouraged and invited her to come back and do a Shadow Day with them, which I think will be a great idea. On the drive home, she said that she really feels good about the school and can envision herself there in the fall. This has always been one of her top 2, so now we all feel better about whatever the final decision will be. Financial aid letters are being mailed out this week from both schools (just to add another "wrinkle" - LOL). Her other top choice doesn't have their admitted students day until April, but we are going to see if we can arrange a shadow day visit before then. So, thanks again for all of your input!</p>
<p>We just went to an Admitted Students day as well. While we realize that it's not a "real day" in the life of the students, it did give us an idea about the school (this was one we had not previously visited). We were able to meet with the heads of the departments in which d was interested, arranged for a meeting with the dance team coach, spoke with kids in the honors college, met with the dean of the honors college, etc. These are all things that could be arranged individually, but they're not things that my d would be likely to want to do without knowing that the professors & students were going to be there anyway. She's not the type to wander around campus and strike up conversations.</p>
<p>Despite the "dog & pony show" aspect, I think it was definitely worthwhile.</p>