<p>I'm interested to get your feedback on how often and/or how well the various schools are communicating with admitted students now that most acceptances have been received.</p>
<p>Ours are all over the map, with some having sent nothing since the initial acceptance packet and others really standing out.</p>
<p>The two extremes here are Syracuse and Emerson, which sent pretty decent introductory packages and then nothing further, and Northwestern, which has sent a couple of things via snail mail, email to both my son and myself (inviting me to join the parents' listserv, something I REALLY like), a phone call from a student in the Theatre Department, and yesterday, a packet stuffed full of info which included a personal invitation from the Dean of the School of Communication to "drop by and introduce yourself" during one of the orientation days for new students.</p>
<p>To be fair, I suppose when a college isn't spending money on anything silly like merit scholarships, they have the resources to devote to extra communication <g>, but , not having been through this process before, I'm wondering if these early signs are an indication of the ongoing engagement from different schools. Any thoughts?</g></p>
<p>Looking back to last year, I think ‘all over the map’ is a good way to describe it! Some schools made sure to personally invite my D to come to campus and to meet with the head of their programs (Penn State comes to mind … wonderful people and Cary Libkin sat down with her for an hour and she spent a day in classes with the MTs) and others just sent the usual stuff via snail mail about housing, etc. I just put it down to different schools having different styles. And to be honest, I figured that once my kid was in college, the only real communications that I need to be having with them is how much money to send and when, and other “to do” things about housing, parent weekends, etc. </p>
<p>My D attends a very large university (NYU- Tisch) and even though it’s big, they do communicate regularly by email to let us know what we need to know. Communication about parents weekend (in October) was clear and inviting and I felt welcome at the university and my daughter’s studio, in particular, that weekend. So it’s all good, as they say!</p>
<p>perischack, our experience 3 yrs ago was that Northwestern did very little communication with applicants until after they were accepted, then they went all out, in comparison. I think like someone said on another board, once they decide who to accept, they really want those people to attend. NYU Tisch was very welcoming before and after, but especially after (the Saturday in the Square invitation, for those who get them, is an exciting way to find out they’re “in” before the official notices go out). </p>
<p>I don’t feel a lack of communication should carry too much weight in the decision… some schools might prefer to put all of that communications budget into extras for their MT program, or to keep top-notch faculty. As far as lack of merit scholarships at NU, I hear you. We were hoping for that, believe me. They do claim to meet 100% of “need” and I know several kids who are receiving money, but NU’s idea of need and ours was a little different. ;-)</p>
<p>Once my daughter made the decision to attend Syracuse, we received frequent information and messages from the school, which continued all throughout freshman year, particularly during the summer months before she began school. Lots of things in the mail, and e-mail as well. They sent a lot of helpful information about how to pack, what to bring, – in general – and also specifically for the theater program.</p>