<p>Hello! I recently received an invite to apply (not sure why/how…haha.) and I’m not sure how to approach the writing portion of the application. Is it supposed to be like a personal story (like how many admissions essays are written) or just a straightforward -why I want to attend DivOH- essay? For those of you who’ve already went, how was it?
Thanks! :)</p>
<p>im so confused. why are you just now getting this? Did you go to the one earlier in April?</p>
<p>I believe jpei is referring to DIVOH, which is for High School seniors. The two sessions are generally in Sept. and Oct., with about 90 students/per session. You must be thinking of the admitted students open house keek<em>a</em>leek.</p>
<p>has anybody attended? anyone have a clue on the average scores/gpa/etc that are accepted for the event? is it a pretty good sign you will be admitted to the school if you are admitted to the weekend?</p>
<p>natew6338: I went last fall. I have no idea as to the average scores/GPA/etc of DIVOH students, though having kept in touch with a lot of them after the weekend and watching their college plans fall into place, it’s obvious that a lot of these students are very highly sought after scholars. I’m not sure how many people apply for the program, but I 3/4 of DIVOH kids end up applying to Amherst. Of that 3/4, around 2/3 are admitted. It’s not a “pretty good” sign. I’ve heard of people who haven’t been accepted by the college but attended a DIVOH. However, the entire experience cannot help but give you a boost. You meet the entire admissions staff, all the readers, the people who will decide to admit you or not. You live in the dorms, eat food at Val, attend some classes, and get a good feel for the place.</p>
<p>jpei: The same thing happened to me last year—a letter showed up inviting me to apply and I was dubious, so I talked to my college counselor who really encouraged me to go for it. The essay isn’t a huge deal. I believe they have a word limit, so obviously it will have to be brief. During the weekend, excerpts were read from various accepted students’ essays. There were serious ones, ridiculous ones, sad ones…write something that means something, that you think accurately represents you. The weekend itself was amazing. I loved it. I heard some people weren’t as impressed with it as Swarthmore or Williams previews, but I thought it was great. It was the single deciding factor in my applying early to Amherst rather than an Ivy League school which I had been set on. If you’re accepted, go. Simple as that. All transportation fees are covered, all meals. You’ll meet a lot of amazing people. Even if you don’t end up liking Amherst, you will enjoy yourself at DIVOH.</p>
<p>just curious, is areagris attending Amherst this fall? (I am)
@Natew6338 and jpei, I attended a similar program for Trinity College last fall. You will really get a feel of the campus (I got enough of Trinity to know I didn’t belong there). Focus on your essay. Make it personal. The fact is that the other applicants must be bright students as well so it’s not about your grades. And yes, if you get accepted to this program, I think it may be a pretty good sign that you might get accepted for class of '14. And make sure, if you are accepted to this program, that you really find out if you belong in Amherst. This will help your decision next spring if you get accepted for class of '14. Good luck.</p>
<p>Strange. I attended DivOH for admitted students and was never asked to write an additional essay for it.</p>
<p>ACKid, the OP and others are referring to the Divoh that is held in September and October for prospective students, not the one in spring for admitted students. It does require a short essay.</p>
<p>Does anyone know if it’s possible for me to call the admissions office and change the date that I selected? Something came up right after I mailed my application.</p>
<p>In my experience the administration has been very helpful and reasonably flexible, so calling couldn’t hurt.</p>