Admitted Student Day- Anything on tap for parents?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Maryland - College Park
1

Hello-

My son was accepted in the Honors program, and he is going to UMD on an overnight Thursday and to Accepted Students Day on Friday. We live nearby, but my husband is going to be recovering from surgery, so my time is fairly limited.

I’d like to go if there are things for parents that are worth attending, but I don’t know if that is the case. After being on hold with admissions for quite a long time today, I gave up to try here.

Anyone have any feedback from their child’s Accepted Students Day they can share?

2

So I found a schedule online for the day. Looks to be for registered students only (as my son is) so I guess I won’t attempt to go and check it out on Friday. I didn’t see anything having to do with parents. I hope he tells me all about it when he comes home!

3

When we registered my D, it asked how many people were coming. I don’t think there are specific activities for parents, but they are welcome to go around with their child.

4

To be fair, it’s been 5 years since I attended, but I did attend with my son. So, while there is no separate programming on the schedule for admitted students day, I do recall seeing facts and figures about admission, program rankings, unique program details that I wouldn’t have otherwise known. I learned things about the school that impressed me in a big way (even though I am an alum, a lot about the school has def changed since my day).

I came away with information that helped in the school comparison process (as an OOS, the big question is always whether or not “it’s worth OOS tuition”). I scribbled down so many things (terms, program names, etc) that I looked up later online for more details that def gave a better understanding of what Maryland had to offer compared to other schools.

In contrast, my son was looking at things from his perspective as a potential student, and was getting a sense of “fit” - so he was completely oblivious to details I saw and heard. Honestly, that is the way it should be.

Will your son be able to come back and tell you “all about it”…? If he’s like my son, you may be disappointed in what he has to report because my son typically reduces things to a simplistic summary of good or bad, and really doesn’t report the kind of details that I would like. Of course, he’s gotten much better as he’s gotten older, but at that age, well, yeah, I was glad I went.

If you are local and it is not a hardship to attend, I would highly recommend doing so. You don’t need to arrive at 8 am for breakfast - closer to 9 is really fine, especially since your son will already be there for the overnight. Just arrive in time to check in/get schedule packet – the day is done early at 1:00…you can also download an app they now have https://admissions.umd.edu/page_documents/ASOH_March10_Infograpgraphic.png

Depending on where your husband is in recovery stage, maybe you can have a friend or other family member check in on him half way during your absence, and you can set things up for him by putting necessities easily within his reach. Obviously, if your husband needs more extensive care, you shouldn’t feel guilty about not being able to attend with your son. Hope his surgery goes well and he has an easy recovery.

5

Thank you for the input. I would like to go, but I’ll just have to see how he is faring. Traffic heading to UMD (toward DC) is a nightmare during the morning hours so I would have to allow a pretty large chunk of time to get there and then of course the time to drive back also. It is just bad luck that my husband’s surgery has conflicted bc I do know that I would be listening for and hearing different things than my son will!

6

We went to the admitted students day last week. A lot of boasting of stats, how great the school is, how selective they were, etc. Getting info about the honors colleges was useful–there was a panel where students from each honors college took questions. Meeting with the history department (his planned major) was very helpful and swayed us towards UMD. Many of the departments had breakout sessions around 10 or 11 am --I felt that was really useful and productive over anything else. We had concerns that is was such a big school, but between the honors college talk, and meeting with the history dept we left with positive feelings as we contemplate a final decision. I’m glad I went, and we were done by 1:30 pm–if that helps. The afternoon is mostly campus and dorm tours, which we skipped.

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My son has also been admitted to honors and is doing the overnight tonight. We are coming down from Philadelphia. I am looking forward to the breakout sessions and hearing more about the honors program. I have no idea where they sleep tonight. Do you think it’s in the honors dorm? I will join him tomorrow (and I can share my notes on here!).

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@vandygrad87 I’m sorry my wording may have been misleading…u are not going to hear different things in the sense of separate programming as much as 2 people hearing the same lecture will focus/remember different aspects of what was discussed…of course, u could divide and conquer by going to different breakout sessions but likely will go to same sessions together

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@loveagoodmovie There is no one set dorm for the students to stay in. Classes are still in session - spring break is week after next - so, the “hosts” are all student volunteers. They do their best to pair students up with students in same major, but obviously, they really don’t have any control over which students volunteer to have guests stay over in their rooms, so it is more likely that they will be staying with someone that is not in the same major.

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Thank you @mdmom6 - that was really helpful. I am watching and waiting to see how DH is doing. I would love to go but just don’t know quite yet.

@loveagoodmovie - if you are able to share any notes or anything, I would be most grateful!
What honors program did your child sign up for? What is his planned major?

Thank you @maryversity for your info!

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Would I sound like I work for Chick-Fil-A if I said, “It’s my pleasure!”

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@maryversity - MMM! Chickfila!! :slight_smile:

Getting texts from DS and he is LOVING UMD so far. Having a great time and very impressed with what he is seeing and hearing.

I can’t get there so I am glad to hear from him and totally welcome anything @loveagoodmovie can share!

13

Reporting in-
DS loved his visit to UMD, both the Accepted Student day/activities and the overnight visit.
He is meeting his girlfriend for lunch, so I won’t have any details for quite a while, but I am glad he has such a great opinion of UMD.

I’d love to hear what anyone else has to say about the day.

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We’ll be there in two weeks, @vandygrad87! H and I are going to split up for part of the day to cover more topics/tours.

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@vandygrad87 - so glad your son is sending positive reports on Maryland, but, of course, that is no surprise to me (not like I’m biased or anything, lol). As for Chick-Fil-A…well, that was on my son’s list of non-negotiables for making a school selection…

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@NerdMom88 - can’t wait to hear what your child thinks! What is the date of that one? The weekend of the 24th?
@maryversity - can’t say I blame your son- Chickfila is THE BOMB!

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@vandygrad87 It’s the 31st. It will be the last college we visit before she makes her decision. (Yay!)

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I hope she loves it. My son spent about an hour talking to me about what he had learned and seen and heard, and he is so very excited about the opportunities he will have at Maryland. :slight_smile: I am thrilled that he is so happy.

He still has a couple of schools to hear from but I think only one could steal his heart away.

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@vandygrad87 My son had a great time at the overnight. He is a business major so we attended the business sessions the next day. Students were the presenters and I found it very helpful. I like to understand the type of support that’s given. I also like my son to hear that it’s not just about your classes, but all the extra curricular these kids manage to fit in. The extra curricular gives them exposure to other areas of interest and also helps them to make additional connections and add to their resume. Many kids at the event were not decided yet (including my son).

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My son is signed up for 31-March open house. I see several mentions of an overnight in this thread, but we didn’t see that as an option. Is the overnight for Honors students only?