<p>Hi,
My junior D's first choice school is holding an info night at a city 2 hours from us - sponsored by alumni and led by an admissions rep from the school. She thinks she should go, even though we've already spent a day at the school (when she was in 10th grade). I think they won't be telling us in 90 min what we don't already know. And that it's not worth the trip. </p>
<p>who is right? :-)</p>
<p>thanks,
Chris</p>
<p>Some schools track interest, but I seriously doubt that impacts the final decisisons. I would not drive 2 hrs. away for an info session by school you have already visited. What you might do is RSVP and let them know that you have already visited and you plan to apply or not apply. It still shows interest and it may make them wonder why they sent you an invitation. </p>
<p>My s gets many duplicates. I really would not worry it.</p>
<p>Since it's her first choice I would go. It will give you more info
even if it's only to see what type of kids are thinking of applying.
Make sure you have specific questions to ask .</p>
<p>My evening programs are a bit different from my information sessions. I assume that if students are coming, they already know UVA, so I focus on their applications. I'd say it's a little like a workshop.</p>
<p>We also bring in young alumni, who share their experiences...that's probably my favorite part.</p>
<p>Anyway, two hours is a bit much, but if your daughter's very interested, maybe she can make the trip with a friend who is applying to the same school.</p>
<p>As a parent I'm inclined to suggest Nancy Reagan's famous admonition "Just say no." But I have daughters who would find that response, umm, insensitive. How about trying some middle ground? Find out who the regional admissions representative is and email them to say you really REALLY want to attend but four hours in the car .... Chances are s/he will remember your daughter a WHOLE lot better than if she attended the info session. JMHO.</p>
<p>Unless the school is one that very clearly tracks interest and/or would have reason to think your daughter is not likely to attend - such as a small LAC or a school way out of your region that doesn't get very many applicants from your area, then I agree with NewHope, your D will make more of an impression with an E-mail of her predicament than attending. I think the trip with the friend is not a bad idea, except my guess would be that this junket would be on a school night.</p>
<p>My daughter and I have only managed to go to one evening program, and it was for a college she had already visited. Nevertheless, I think it was worthwhile because of the presence of young alumni. Their perspective on a college is quite different from that of an admissions officer. I wish it were possible to attend more such programs, but everything seems to conflict with extracurricular activities.</p>
<p>I think it might be worthwhile to contact them and ask how many people they expect to show up and what the format of the evening is. My D and I have gone to a road show put on by four colleges together held in the ballroom of a hotel. There were hundreds of people and the crowds around the tables to talk to the representatives and alums at the end of the presentation/slide show were too much to deal with. Nothing was learned that wasn't already known by us.</p>
<p>We went to two evening sessions. The first one was for informational purposes. The second one was to introduce himself to the regional rep and chat her up, which he did very successfully. Of course It was just a matter of driving to Tysons Corner one year and Old Town Alexandria the next year from Annandale. So it was no big thing travel-wise. But it was very useful.</p>
<p>Chris, My S went to one of these after he visited a school. Very few people showed up, and the school spent a lot of money on this affair. There was an elaborate dessert bar that went to waste, and all kinds of the school's "giveaways" went to just a few students. My son met with the director of admissions and his state rep at this function. They had plenty of time to donate to each perspective applicant 1:1. He has a friend, who had a slightly higher gpa, who chose not to attend (and I would have gladly driven him). Both students visited the school, although my S visited that school twice. The other student was not admitted and he is an URM. My son was admitted with a merit scholarship. Both students were interviewed. My son did have a higher sat score. They both had some nice ecs and both could make a good impression on an interview. I would go for the info night just b/c of this experience. We found the info session at the school and this event to be very similar. We did learn much more about the school by visiting and speaking with current students.</p>
<p>Unlike northeastmom the ones we went to were very well attended, over 100 students and parents each year, I think that it was a reflection of the growing poularity of USC in the DC area.</p>
<p>Dean J- as long as you are on board- I have a question to ask. My d is now a junior at Cornell, so my contact with UVA admissions goes back a few years- but I still wonder.</p>
<p>We attended UVA admissions session in NYC a few years back. Yes there were recent alum at the session and Tiki Barber was there too. But there was absolutely no slide/film presentation etc. or any of the other things that usually go hand in hand with an out of state presentation. Though we had visited the grounds, there were people at the presentation who were never at UVA. And people did travel an hour or two to get to the Yale/UVA club for this presentation. Alot of Long Island and new Jersey people came into NYC for the admissions session. Trust me-- there was talk among the parents after the session that a film of the campus was sorely missing from the presentation.
Personally- i thought it was a bit disrespectful to the audience not to have a "film/slide" presentation available.<br>
I just thought it kind of unusual for a school doing an OOS presentation not to give kids a better idea of what the campus looks like. As I said, it was about 3 years ago, so you may have already changed your format for OOS admission sessions.</p>
<p>I've attended two info sessions and found them both helpful but I don't think we would have attended if we had already visited the school. In fact, the one we saw Elon was very similar to the presentation done at the school minus the student talks. Both presentations were compelling enough to make us want to visit.</p>
<p>we didnt go to any evening sessions
reps did come to her school during the day, but she didn't want to miss class.
I can't get younger D to sign up for any either.
I wouldn't drive two hours to sit in a room and listen to other people ask questions if I already visited.
However, I would have daughter rsvp and ask if she can contact them by email if she has additional questions</p>
<p>
[QUOTE]
But there was absolutely no slide/film presentation etc. or any of the other things that usually go hand in hand with an out of state presentation.
[/QUOTE]
In our networked files, I can see power point presentations going back for years. They're standard at our evening programs. Perhaps there was a technical problem that prevented the show from being shown. </p>
<p>I ran into this in Knoxville last year. We were in a historic building and the only outlets were on one wall, far from where we were setting up. Without at least a 20 foot extension cord, there was no way to put the whole show on. The alumna who sponsored the program (our alumni set these programs up) put together a beautiful spread and I wound up putting the show on a loop next to the tables with the food.</p>
<p>My S wants to attend a session for his first choice school, which is a reach for everyone. His ACT is 35 and SAT 2320, but no national honors or awards. Solid passionate interests and a very interesting kid. He has always heard it's important to ask good questions to get noticed. He is obsessed with the school, he dosn't want to ask a question that can be found easily in catalog. What is a good question? If he has a moment alone with the rep is it ok to ask what else you can do to make yourself a good canidate?</p>
<p>Chris, I would say go. You just never know whom you can meet at one of these information sessions. </p>
<p>The admissions rep could be the very person who is going to shepherd your daughter’s application through the process. After the session is over your daughter should crowd around the adcom with the others (I know, kids HATE to do this) and get his/her name card. Introduce herself and say a few words – and I do mean a few, three minutes maximum. Then when she’s back home she can drop an e-mail thanking him/her and maybe ask a question, therefore starting a relationship.</p>
<p>A four hour drive certainly wouldn’t be high on my want to do list either, but you don’t want to be haunted forever by the thought that your daughter didn’t do enough to demonstrate interest. Hey it’s her first choice school . . .</p>
<p>tintinmom, I wouldn't worry about asking significant questions during the information session as there are usually too many people in attendance to make an impact.</p>
<p>As I wrote above I would suggest that your son take the opportunity to introduce himself to the person (or people) who conducted the session and to get name cards for future communication. This contact should be short and direct, again, not the time or place for long winded personal questions. You don’t want to be a bore and monopolize the speaker.</p>
<p>I think that interviews, however, offer the best venue to ask questions that show that the student has done his/her homework. I’d suggest preparing few academically oriented questions or questions about campus culture or teaching style. It’s okay to ask about comparisons between other schools. You really have to gauge your interviewer, but at selective schools that seek intellectual curiosity abstract and philosophical questions are appealing.</p>
<p>I don’t know that I’d recommend asking what else you could do to get in to the school, but I think asking what the school values most is appropriate – and then redirecting the answer to yourself.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the great ideas and views. I'm still thinking about it - </p>
<p>Chris</p>
<p>I am of the mindset that if school is really D's first choice and accepts a small number of students, she should definitely attend.</p>
<p>I know we went to a number of evening information sessions at the schools that D was interested in attending including one given by the school she currently attends. It was funny because although she did visit all the schools she applied to when she went to their evening sessions many of the regional representatives did remember her and for her it was another opportunity to put together a name to a face. </p>
<p>Even at schools that she went to the information sessions before going to visit on campus, she was able to reintroduce herself to the regional admissions session and strike up a conversation about the evening program.</p>
<p>Remember admissions people are still people.</p>