<p>We attended a couple of these things; one of them included Rice and Cornell, so it might have been the one you’re talking about. Like vp says, they’re just dog and pony shows by traveling admissions reps. Signing in demonstrates interest and marks you for junk mail. The information they give in their presentations is about 90% infomercial and 10% admissions advice – not much different from what you can find by spending the same amount of time on their Web site. If you have specific questions about one or more of the participating colleges and prefer to ask them face to face, that opportunity exists at the end. If your daughter is ready for an interview, sometimes they schedule interviews within the same day or couple of days.</p>
<p>IMHO these things are mostly useful for students who know very little about the colleges that have invited them… and, of course, for the colleges that participate. Not a bad thing, but certainly no reason to stress over showing up late.</p>