http://web.mit.edu/covid19/ says “if you are planning any in-person MIT event with more than 150 attendees that will take place between now and Friday, May 15, on campus or off campus, you must postpone, cancel or virtualize it … it does apply to Campus Preview Weekend.”
Correct…no CPW this year. It’s been a bad news week for DS. First Regeneron STS week canceled and now CPW. We’re trying to decide whether it’s worth a separate overnight visit but the MIT admitted parents board is saying many cases of CVD in Boston so not sure how we’ll proceed.
I know it’s disappointing for both sides, the kids on campus and the kids who planned to come. This was the big fun my kid enjoyed while a student and when a prefrosh. With STS canceled, how does it look for ISEF? Florida State Science & Eng Fair was canceled so surely other states will follow. How devastating to the kids who have devoted their last year to their projects. 
^^Agreed. It’s hard to imagine a cohort of prefrosh who won’t experience CPW. I’m sure this is a huge disappointment to all who have worked so hard. A very tough life lesson for sure.
STS is supposed to be rescheduled but it will be difficult to arrange logistics for the summer. I imagine ISEF will be similarly affected. At least they will have more time to plan for ISEF. STS week was canceled two days before DS was set to leave.
CPW will now go on the 2024 brass rat in some form or another I’m sure. Very sad for all.
What that’s awful. I always saw CPW as something so special to MIT and I can’t imagine it skipping a generation. I understand why they made the decision, but it still sucks for everyone who was excited to visit campus.
MIT is not unique. Today, Harvard, Penn, and Columbia cancelled revisits. Others are sure to follow
which board?
which parent board?
I just cancelled my plans to go to ISEF as part of this. Not sure what their overall situation will be.
It’s going to be sad but we’re going to work with admits and current students to do the coolest stuff we can
@MITChris it was on the admitted parents FB page. One of the parents reported multiple cases linked to ppl traveling through Logan.
On a (very) positive note, one of the parent ambassadors, whose son is a senior in the same course my son is interested in, reached out to me last night. She usually goes to CPW to talk to new parents. After chatting for a bit, she helped put me at ease about the questions we had regarding academics and culture. Turns out her son sounds extremely similar to mine and he has thrived at MIT. So virtual connections CAN be very helpful. Bravo to MIT for putting parents in touch.
The Bay Area regional science fair (Synopsys) went virtual for this season. I’d imagine ISEF would too, if the situation stays as it is.
Certainly not the end of the school year anyone expected. Our son was really looking forward to the CPW and PFE experiences, as well as returning to ISEF, among other cancelled academic activities.
At this point I think it is obvious to everyone that the situation is not likely to dramatically improve in the coming weeks, and possibility of this being a months (if not years, depending on how successful we are at flattening the curve) long slug is increasing, with huge impact on the world at large.
Current seniors will have to make their college choices without the benefit not only the college visits, but also without a clear understanding when or whether they will even be able to actually come to the school of their choice during their freshman year or even beyond.
@MITChris, first of all, thank you so much for being the face of MIT for years before, and during this challenging time.
Is there anything you can tell us about what MIT is doing to prepare for the possibility of severe disruptions extending into the next school year?
For families like ours who aren’t rich but whose EFC over four years exceeds the cost of our house, and who are now facing the same economic unease as the rest of the middle class, choosing to finance the dream MIT over other available options (like full tuition merit at Vandy, in our case) is a huge commitment. If MIT goes fully online, under all this uncertainty, it is hard not to ponder if this changes the equation - though we know it would be heart wrenching to have to make any other choice.
Would MIT consider changing their price structure if they were forced to switch to 100% online for a prolonged period of time?
I know expecting any kind of certainty in these unprecedented times is naive, but is there anything you can tell us, admitted students and their parents, to help us feel reassured that no matter what lies ahead, MIT will remain the best place for our children to continue their journey to realizing their fullest potential that is worth every penny it charges?
@TheVulcan All schools, including MIT, face many of the same difficult choices parents have to make, and more, in the midst of this crisis. They’re busy dealing with many issues that need to be resolved in the next few weeks, rather than the ones that will come up in the next few months, as the situation with the coronavirus is constantly changing and highly uncertain.
With no ability to visit/revisit campuses, parents should take a very close look at each college with respect to how it handles this crisis thus far. Every college has this information on its website. How it deals with COVID-19 will tell you a lot about the college and its commitment to its students.
@INJParent - can you tell us more about what you’ve learned about MIT (or other places) in terms of those responses? Today DS and I spent a long time looking at the videos about the MIT dorms which was nice 
I agree with @TheVulcan. The pandemic is not going away quickly. Just today, Dr. Fauci predicted another outbreak in the fall. The coronavirus does not grow well in chicken eggs, which means any traditional vaccine manufacturing method will likely have low yields at the start, and non-egg methods have never been scaled to the amounts required for a pandemic We are just seeing the start of the economic damage. The impact on college and college admissions will be profound, and I haven’t heard anything from the schools regarding fall plans. Maybe that is OK for returning students, but it is a very different situation for the newly admitted. The circumstances have already impacted our daughter’s plans. We’ve decided to stay in-state and accept a full-tuition scholarship program versus a more expensive albeit arguably more prestigious out-of-state option in order to provide an element of physical and economic security.
Hi, @RoboticsDad, good seeing you around again.
For those that were following son’s story in other threads I will say that we decided to put our faith with MIT and stick with the plan.
There are very few (if any) other schools for which we would have made the choice to forego Vandy’s generous offer under the current circumstances.
@TheVulcan There were other factors in our final choice as well - size of classes, caliber of certain extracurricular activities, paid research opportunities, and some unanticipated family issues. The coronavirus situation was just icing on the cake. Daughter has already said she will go out-of-state for grad school. You’ll have to update us on how your son is thriving at MIT when you start this process all over again for #2.
@fretfulmother What I found by looking at some of the COVID-19 responses from a number of colleges (I did this for a few friends who asked for advice, as well as my own son’s school) is that those responses vary more than I thought they would. The main differences are a few areas: 1) how generous the college is in compensating for the extra expenses that students incur due to an unexpected order to vacate their dorms; 2) how the college handles items left in the dorms after students depart; 3) how the college deal with students on financial aid; and 4) how accommodating the college is to students who request extensions to move out of their dorms.
@RoboticsDad Well-endowed elite colleges are likely to accommodate changes in a family’s financial situation, even in the middle of a school year. I remember one year (it was a long time ago) I needed a car and the college lent me the money at zero interest rate (when rates were above 10%, I recall) until I graduate.
@1NJParent Well-endowed schools can always make exceptions for a small number of students, but when the vast majority of students receive significant financial aid and you have a black swan event like we are having now, the schools are not likely to respond in the same manner. They still have to pay for the faculty and staff and maintain the infrastructure. Let’s just hope it remains a hypothetical argument.
@RoboticsDad I’ve seen some schools being more than generous so far in this crisis. They’ve put aside financial considerations for themselves, at least so far. Whether they can keep it up if this situation continues for an extended period of time is anyone’s guess.
Hello, I understand this reply might be a little late, but I am a current MIT freshman! I would just like to add a bit of info to the conversation (which you already may know!). CPW may be cancelled, but us MIT students are working on offering virtual “events” where admitted students can learn more about different clubs and organizations and opportunities on campus. We’ve also been working on pairing current MIT students with admitted students so they have someone to talk to and can ask questions.
Also, yes it was difficult when we were asked to leave campus, but I realized once more how blessed I am to be surrounded by fellow students and faculty who truly support one another. One thing I absolutely love about MIT is the willingness of professors to help students and the number of resources available to us here. And I would love to help answer questions for students or parents who are thinking about choosing MIT!