<p>northeastmom, sounds like your son is making good decisions. I found GPA requirements can vary a lot. My son is leaning one way (today) but tomorrow he could lean another. Money will be a nudge one way or another, so waiting is difficult. I am glad we did a few EA schools, I will try to have my younger girls consider more when it's their turn. Helps a lot, if I had to wait for them all, I'd be a complete basketcase (instead of half) : )</p>
<p>Oh EK, I see your point. It is so hard and unfair to students that do not have funds to do all of these events. I remember my orientation (in the dark ages) was a week before classes started. It gave all the freshman time to move in, set up their rooms, socialize, and learn their way around campus before the upper-classmen arrived. My H and I were saying that we did not go through all of this when we applied to college. It just seemed more simple. Both of us took the sat once (I had 5-8 group session tutoring, H had none). I visited schools with the YWCA in a group. My H visited 2 schools with his father, and flew to one on his own (required an interview). He was told where he would attend by his parents in the end, and was happy. I applied to perhaps 3-4 schools and that was it. It just does not seem as easy, and it does seem much more costly today (esp. COA). We both got out of undergrad without loans. My H worked while in school, and I did not.</p>
<p>Debruns, I see it the way you do. Rolling and EA is wonderful!!</p>
<p>My dd just got back from one, late last night. It was a bit different as it was to the Naval Academy--they call them Candidate View Weekends. It was money well spent. There was one presentation for the entire group, but the rest of the time was spent just being "dragged" by a Plebe to classes, sports etc. It really helped her make her choice between CGA, USAFA and USNA. I think she may still do the one to the AFA in April, but I think her choice has been made. This was a totally different view of the academies than she got in her week-long seminars at each one last summer.</p>
<p>It worked for us, because at D's frist choice, I was able to sit down with FA officer and try to appeal the award. We saw how they handled students they wanted, which was poorly, and they denied the appeal, so she looked at other choices. I am not sorry that I spent the $ and they even charged her to attend in advance for her meals. But, another trip made up her mind when she went to accepted student's weekend and the school paid for her trip, picked her up at the airport, and put her up with a student. She fell in love with the school and is there as a freshman now, with a much better FA package. I did not attend. It worked for us, but she was undecided. That is the key.</p>
<p>DS attended one where he had bveen accepted EA with merit aid, but had not visited the school beforehand, had only been to a presentation in our local area. The school really turned out not to be for him, we both felt the same way. Really glad we went, he couldn'thave made that judgement otherwise.</p>
<p>spikemom, we were fortunate enough to visit all of the schools my son applied to, and some of them he has visited twice.</p>
<p>evitajr1, Your experience with financial aid at that school at least set your D on the right course elsewhere. It was worth the effort, or you would never have known if they would work with you or not. I guess some schools will and others won't (depending on the individual situations). I would have done the same thing that you did by voting with my feet, if I felt for some reason that it was not a workable situation.</p>
<p>D really liked all of her schoolsas she applied to schools with the mind set of if it were the only school that she was accepted to would she be happy. </p>
<p>The admissions visits is what helped her make her final decision about attending. Since all of the RD admissions went out in april the admitted student days coincided with their spring break so she only missed 2 days of school (school gave up to 4 excused absences in the spring for final admitted student visits ). </p>
<p>I only attended one of the admitted students days because they specifically invited me as a parent and put us up (parents in a hotel, kids dormed with the students).</p>
<p>What we also found, many of the schools did have transportation. Living in NYC, most of the schools had buses that would take the students to the admitted student days so we purchased tickets for a really nominal fee and she rode up to the schools with other prospective freshmen. </p>
<p>It was fun for her becasue there was some overlap as she and some other students were accepted to a number of the same schools. They would get off the bus and say see you at _____ on tuesday. In addition to the friends she made on the trip that she is still in contact with, she met students who are still some of her best friends at admitted students days (2 were from Ca., 1 from NJ and one was from L.I.) they all commited together to attend.</p>