<p>Hi!</p>
<p>I've recently been admitted to MIT Class of 2013, and I was considering attending CPW. While I realize it would be a lot of fun to meet other students, skip school, spend the weekend in Boston, I can't really afford to fly there just for that. I was wondering if CPW really helped anyone make their decision of whether or not to attend, and if the experience there was representative of everyday life at MIT.</p>
<p>Thanks :)</p>
<p>I'd wager that most people find CPW incredibly useful in making their final decisions, and I'd really really recommend going if it's possible. But finances of the flight can't be ignored, so...</p>
<p>I think the real question is, do you have an idea of where you want to go? How do you feel about all this?</p>
<p>try and see if you can get reinbursed for the flights from the mit admission office..i've seen some people who have done that. talk to the admission office.</p>
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I was wondering if CPW really helped anyone make their decision of whether or not to attend...
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<p>It did. I went to CPW specifically for the purpose of making my final decision. I was choosing between being full-pay at MIT and going to Vanderbilt on a ~27K/year merit scholarship. I had decided that if I really liked CPW, I would go to MIT, and if not, I would take the money and go to Vandy.</p>
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...and if the experience there was representative of everyday life at MIT.
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<p>It's like everyday life at MIT, but on steroids. And obviously, because you're a prefrosh, you're not actually struggling through a pset that's due in two days or worrying about an upcoming midterm or whatever.</p>
<p>I agree with shawn9061</p>
<p>They paid for my plane ticket..
That made me happy :D</p>
<p>i really am glad that mit has a whole 4 day preview instead of a day preview. it will really give a great representation and may serve has my final decision maker like jessiehl</p>
<p>I know that my friend (who last year was deciding between Caltech and MIT) used CPW and PFW (Caltech's equivalent) to help make her decision. By her second day at MIT she knew she belonged at Caltech.</p>
<p>I didn't attend CPW, but my overnight visit was absolutely instrumental in my decision to attend MIT.</p>
<p>^ My mind. It is blown.</p>
<p>That's like finding out the President never went to law school.</p>
<p>I was in winter color guard, and our state finals were that weekend. :)</p>
<p>Another issue is that Columbia’s visit days are the same weekend, and at the moment they’re my top 2 schools. I feel that whichever one I decide to go to (assuming I can persuade my parents to let me go) will be the one, since I’ll get to experience it…CPW sounds like fun though</p>
<p>Is there a way you can visit both? IIRC, New York was about 4hrs away from Boston on Amtrak. I don’t know how you’d get from the station to Columbia since I’m not familiar with that area, but it might be something worth looking into.</p>
<p>or set your flights up so that it stops in new york and have at least 3+ hours before the next flight home/boson.</p>
<p>Heh, you’d need a lot more than 3 hours … the airports are very far from Columbia U. Though Logan Airport is not too far from MIT.</p>
<p>Traveling between the two colleges over the course of a weekend is doable, since you can take the 1 train between Columbia and Penn Station, or take the Red line between South Station and MIT.</p>
<p>Anyway, depending on your fin aid MIT might pay for your trip. Back in 2006 they paid for my train ride there and back. So may as well ask them.</p>
<p>Getting from Columbia to JFK is long but not hard perse. Take an A train south from Columbia to 50th then take an E train all the way to Jamaica Center and then the Air Tram to JFK. My guess is an hr enroute to JFK?</p>