We are from MA and are debating whether to attend the open house…the dates really don’t work for us. We have never visited, but we plan on heading down over Feb vacation. Is there anything different that we would see/learn if we do the open house as opposed to the regular info session and tour? We also want to stay a couple of days to get a feel for the area/campus and the open house dates wouldn’t allow that.
@tedysmom - The focus of the info session and tour is on applying to UMD. and the focus of the Admitted Student Open Houses is on attending.UMD. Other than seeing the campus and a dorm, you may not get much from the info session and tour. But, if that is all that works for you, then go with that.
The following is from a post by @maryversity It shows what is covered at the Admitted Student Open House. There is a lot of useful info presented.
Here is a sample itinerary from last year so you can see how the day is run.
http://www.admissions.umd.edu/page_documents/ASOH_Program_3.8.13.pdf
Good Luck
@Tedysmom, My son and I did the info session and tour last year, when he was a junior, and it’s pretty much as SoofDad says–a tour of the campus and a dorm. There is a movie before the tour starts, but it’s really just marketing UMD. The tour guide answered a lot of my questions, but otherwise not much info was dispensed, per se. The tentative agenda for Admitted Students Day seems to offer much, much more, so we’re going and son is doing an overnight with a student. Of course we’re local, so easy to do. Having said that, if the Admitted Students dates don’t work for your family, I think you’d be fine doing as you propose–spending a couple days on campus.That should give you a very good feel for the school, especially if you’re willing to chat up strangers on campus wherever you go. You might also try contacting Residence Life to arrange an overnight stay on campus for your student, if that appeals. Good luck!
Thanks for the feedback. We have decided to do the admitted students open house…after reading last year’s itinerary (thanks, Soofdad) there seems to be plenty more info offered. So looking forward to it 
tedysmom - we are from MA too - had the same dilemma. Signed up for open house but considering visiting over feb break to get a feel for the campus.
We did not get the original acceptance packet in snail mail but received the Honors college mail. I guess the snow took the original one… can anyone share what was in the original acceptance packet?
takanuva- we never received a packet either, I’m guessing it may have something to do with the snow. As of today, we’ve only received the acceptance email, about 2 weeks ago. Would also love to know what’s in the packet. :-"
@tedysmom and @takanuva - I would recommend calling admissions tomorrow. Maybe they can resend the packets.
@takanuva and @tedysmom, While it’s kind of thrilling to get the hard copy packet, there’s actually not much that’s informative inside. In fact, the online acceptance letter was more informative; my son’s online acceptance indicated acceptance to Smith (i.e, Smith is the advising college), but the packet letter said nothing about Smith. The packet does have cool magnet and I think it had a card that invited the student to admitted students days, but admitted student days info is available online and sounds like you’ve already figured it out. BTW, my son received his packet within a few days (we’re in-state) of the online decision, but friends who live one mile away from us received their packets more than a week later! So the timing of the packet mailing seems quite inconsistent.
Thanks for the replies SoofDad, Putterer.
tedysmom - may I ask what your child’s major is? My son is in Computer Science and wants to do ACES.
@takanuva, and @tedysmom
It is unfortunate that the admitted students days are not convenient for you. As mentioned, they are definitely geared toward a different audience than the regular information sessions. Those are intended tor admissions - a general sales pitch on the school, an overview tour, and “what we are looking for in applicants” kind of thing. It won’t be useless, especially if you have never seen the campus, but it won’t be the nuts and bolts you need.
At this stage, you are trying to compare schools to make a decision, so you want to look at curriculum, the facilities in your specific department (yes, the general overview tour is nice, but you (takanuva, for example) really want to see the CompSci, Math, and Science buildings more specifically since that’s where your child will spend the majority of his time, right?) and hear about special opportunities that set Maryland apart from schools.
So, what you will both want to do is contact the appropriate department for each of your child’s respective majors (probably an email inquiry will work best so they can forward to correct person to respond). They are really terrific about making arrangements to meet with people/get questions answered/tour the department. Explain your situation of not being able to attend the admitted student program dates but that you still want to visit campus and tour the department to help in your decision-making process.
@maryversity
Thanks a lot for your detailed reply. We are definitely going to the March Admitted Student day. We were wondering if visiting over Feb break additionally would be a good idea. That ACES program and Cybersecurity major is a big draw for our son and we would love to find out all there is to know about these unique programs.
Oh, if you are going to an admitted students day, then an additional visit is not necessary. They really do a thorough job at that program and I believe ACES should be a breakout session scheduled…? If you want to extend your visit while already there, that is another story…March is far more pleasant weather to enjoy a side trip to DC 
(a quick 10-15 minute ride on the metro)
We’ve arranged it so the we are able to attend the March open house. Our daughter is very excited to see UMD and we also want to explore the campus area. She applied undecided, so she was accepted into Letters and Sciences. Hopefully, this will give her the opportunity to explore different school/majors and maybe show an interest in one.
Oh wow! That is awesome that you are both going to the admitted student day program! 
You will definitely get a lot out of it. I know I did…and I’m an alum! Go figure. @tedysmom, I’m not sure what they cover and don’t cover in the L & S program sessions, but FYI, you might want to know about this if your d has a lot of different interests…http://www.ivsp.umd.edu/.