Amaizin' Blue Preview, worth attending?

<p>My D just got the invitation to the "Amaizin' Blue Preview" by e-mail. It is from 4/10 (Thu) afternoon to 4/11 (Fri) right before the Spring Welcome Day on 4/12. It is within the Spring Break of my D's HS, however, we are wondering if it is really worth to spend 2.5 days there. We have attended the TechDay in Fall and we will go to the Campus Day this month. I guess we may attend the Spring Welcome Day as well. As it is 1 week before the Q3 final exam and 1 month before AP exam, my D is hesitate to go to the ABP.</p>

<p>Can anyone that has been there share the experience?</p>

<p>Thanks in advance.</p>

<p>Bump.</p>

<p>Anyone went to it in the past?</p>

<p>On Friday, she will stay with a current UM student in a residence hall. She will also meet a lot of prospective students. Seems like a good opportunity, espicially since Michigan doesnt offer this kind of experience to everyone</p>

<p>The ABP is closed for registration as the quota has been filled. The Spring Welcome Day part starts on Friday including overnight stay with student at a dorm is still open for registration until this Friday or when the quota is filled. So now it is too late to have the Thursday night hotel stay and activities if one has not registered already.</p>

<p>Please keep in mind that Spring Welcome Day and Campus Day are essentially the same program but SWD is by invitation ONLY! Don’t go to both!</p>

<p>@SoccerWolfP
Did you go to both?
We went to the Campus Day last week and it has some information similar to the TechDay but also new information such as residential program and the new meal plan.
For the SWD, it is free and has an overnight stay with student. It mentions on the website that it will have information on student organizations and orientation in addition to the housing and financial sessions that are probably common for SWD and campus day.</p>

<p>Spring welcome day (saturday) sounds exactly like the campus tour I took back in the spring of last year.</p>

<p>@flintstone
Did you go to a campus tour or the Campus Day for admitted students last year?</p>

<p>Campus tour.</p>

<p>We went to the TechDay instead of campus tour. Campus tour is for prospect students while the Campus Day is for admitted students. There are certain overlapping information. During the Campus Day, we are actually able to see a dorm room with students running around and have a taste for dorm food at lunch. SWD would be even more specific for targeted admitted students and on a later day when the orientation information is ready.</p>

<p>We went to the Spring Welcome Day yesterday. It turns out to be a much better version of Campus Day. During Campus Day, there was just one additional session on Financial Aid in addition to the main program. There were a few booths from a few clubs and residential programs. The tour guide took us to the bus stop and wait for the regular blue bus to go to the North Campus where we had a short lecture and a program specific information session after dorm tour and lunch. Also, there was a charge ($15 for the student, $15 for the first parent, and $5 for the second one, sibling not allowed).
For the Spring Welcome Day, there is a goody bag at check-in (some got a back pack if attending the Amaizing Blue Preview) with T-shirt and travel mug. The whole program is free and is by invitation. After breakfast (included), the president of the university gave a short speech. Then we went downstairs with a student tour guide to board the bus that is waiting for us right there. We had a short lecture at the North Campus like in the Campus Day, but then we had a very informative Campus Tour among different engineering buildings with descriptions of each programs. We also met with some students who are working on their project or competition right there. Then we had lunch at the dorm and looked at the dorm room like in the campus day. Afterward, we returned to the union with the charter bus and went to 2 workshop sessions with around 8 topics to choose from (including the financial aid) and a club fair style presentations from dozens of residential programs and student organizations. There is also a lucky draw for a bookstore gift certificate. They also set up a station there one can pay the deposit at the spot.
In general, the SWD is like a deluxe version of campus day but with more information and is better planned. The invitation is sent much later that most have already registered for a campus day tour, so one cannot really choose between SWD and Campus Day unless you want to waste the money you’ve paid for the Campus Day. Even if you did go to Campus Day (like us), it is still encouraged to go to the SWD if you are invited as it is free and you feel the school really wants you to come. We were skeptical about SWD and was expecting the same kind of information as Campus Day but it turned out to be more useful and informative than we thought. In both events, only the engineering featured lecture and dorm tour (with lunch) are common. The Financial Aid and Housing information sessions are also common, however, there are many more options at SWD to choose from that you don’t need to listen to the same sessions again.</p>