Our DD has applied to six schools. Two of them are within a two hour drive. This weekend, both of these “close by” schools are having arts events in an area where our DD has demonstrated interest. She and I are thinking about making the drive to attend one or both of these events. Would that be strange? What if we bump into our AO on campus? Does that matter? Should I let the AOs know we are going to be on campus? I am thinking not. Am I overthinking this? DD has a good friend at one of these schools, so we would probably try to connect with her as well.
I think attending events like this on campus is a great idea as it will give you a better sense of the school community than the regular tour does. We live close enough to each school DS applied to be able to spend an extra Saturday on each campus prior to admissions decisions and he found them invaluable in making his final decision. I would say no need to contact the AO and bumping into them at this point should not be strange or matter this late in the admissions process. Use the trips like a mini-revisit days, just in case you are lucky enough to be accepted, and start to to get the feel for each school.
If you think attending an event would make a rejection harder on your daughter, I would skip it. I could see how a young teen would get pumped up and imagine themselves there the more time they spend on campus.
I would not mention it to the admissions office if you do go.
Personally, if it was me, I would not go and would just wait until 3/10.
We did attend events when we were at some of the schools during interviews/tours but not after the application was complete. I would say pass for all the reasons mentioned above.
I think this kind of visit is super helpful in terms of seeing something of the school on an unscripted basis. You can see how students support each other, whether faculty attends events, quality of the event, etc. The call for you to make is whether your daughter can manage her expectations accordingly. You need to imagine all the scenarios - doesn’t like one but gets into only that one, rejected at both, accepted at both.
FWIW, we did attend such an event, but it was at the school’s invitation and were happy to have had this extra data point when we were in decision mode in March. In your case, if I decided to go, I would do it without telling AO.
If the event is clearly intended to be “Public is Welcome”, like a theater production – then it is fine to attend. If it is on the school calendar and meant for the school community, then, no…
If you literally run into your AO, say hello, but otherwise it’s best to fly under the radar.