Yesterday D received an invitation to “apply” to participate in Amherst’s Diversity Open House Weekend in the fall. The application is a simple 2 page form asking for ACT/SAT, GPA, rank, EC summary, and a 200 word answer to why do you want to attend the Diversity Weekend. Oh and of course the “optional” Ethnicity section. Sort of a mini-application I guess you could say. She sent back her application today because I insisted she jump on it. Amherst is on her list as a “realistic reach” and my rule is any outreach from schools on the list will be jumped upon promptly.
Two questions:
So if she is “accepted” to attend the weekend with travel expenses paid (as the the invitation says is “typically” done), is this an indication of likely acceptance to Amherst? For example could we move Amherst from a “realistic reach” to a “safety”?
Are there other schools that have this type of pre-application URM recruiting event? If so, which ones?
<p>I read an article that said that as of 2003, 70% of students that attend Amherst's diversity weekend are accepted to Amherst. Still, considering that Amherst is one of the most difficult LACs to gain acceptance to, I'd still consider it a reach school and make sure that your D has definite safety and match schools.</p>
<p>S got an invitation for an all expense paid trip to Wash U. It didn't require any application. Presumably it is based on S's being a URM who scored in the top 50,000 for his junior year PSAT (His index score will put him as NM commended, National Achievement semi finalist).</p>
<p>He also sent Wash U his SAT scores, and got a 1540 (V, m). That kind fo demonstrated interest may have caused them to put him automatically on their invitation list.</p>
<p>S hasn't heard yet from Amherst (though several years ago, older S got and declined the invitation to apply for their weekend). I hope this S gets the invitation and gets selected because I think he'd love Amherst.</p>
<p>Several years ago, older S also got a similar fall invitation to apply for a diversity weekend at Macalester. He filled out the info, but was not selected for the trip.</p>
<p>Places that fly in or help pay travel for URMs in the spring, after the URMs apply, include Rice and, I think Vandy. Those invitations usually come before the students get their acceptance letters, but those invitations are as good as getting likely letters.</p>
<p>The Amherst program is sort of a mini application and if accepted they will pay for her transportation, feed her, house her, she will attend class and they will even waive the application fee if she applies to Amherst. Daughter went in fall 2003 had a wonderful time , applied and got accepted. </p>
<p>I would not say that it would be a safety because you must remember that there will be a population of minority students that will apply and willnot have attended the diversity weekend and we all know that admissions can be fickle.</p>
<p>I sent you a PM</p>
<p>NSM,</p>
<p>If son is interested, contact the admissions office and speak to Demisha Lee, Associate Dean of Admissions</p>
<p>Maybe it is obvious, but if you are accepted for the diversity weekend, it is imperative that you attend if you do plan to apply to the school later. It is important to show interest in the college since they like to accept people who they feel are going to attend if accepted.</p>
<p>There is obviously no guarantee of acceptance if you qualify for the weekend, but they are recruiting. If your S or D were an athlete, it is the same thing as having the coach call.</p>
<p>The purpose of schools inviting HS seniors to a fall weekend (diversity or not) is to introduce them to what the school has to offer. They wouldn't invest the time and money if they weren't seriously interested in recruiting these particular students. </p>
<p>These opportunities can be super competitive though. I still have a 2002 message in my mailbox from an admission counselor at Smith College that states 1,100+ applications were received for 70 available slots to its fall fly-in program. She was willing to share with me that 10 of those 70 were coming from California, and to request my assistance in identifying quality students for consideration.</p>
<p>I agree that most of these fall weekends from what I have seen (and how it played out in my house) are pretty close to a admissions process where the student does, submit their transcripts, scores, essays and are indeed chosen (less than 100). </p>
<p>I know that when D applied to Dartmouth's program there were thousands of applications for 100 spots and there were evven students who were admitted to the fly-in program were not admitted during the ED/RD rounds. </p>
<p>I have also seen that these fall weekends are not limited to urms, but other "special populations" ex: low income students, studnets from places where the schools are seeking geographic diversity are also invited to apply</p>
<p>Based on what is being posted here about the selectivity of the fly in programs, I'm surprised that S did not have to apply to Wash U's diversity weekend. He got a postcard saying to look for an invitation. A few days later, he got an invitation offering him airfare to St. Louis for the weekend. A couple of days later, I got a letter encouraging me to have S apply.</p>
<p>S had attended a Wash U session at his h.s. last fall, and S had sent Wash U has his SATs, which are 99th percentile for v, m. Still, I am surprised that they would give him a ticket without even finding out more about him. When S called accepting the offer, the person whom he talked to didn't ask any questions about his qualifications, but basically warmly told S that he'd receive his itinerary shortly.</p>
<p>Has anyone else gotten this kind of invitation from Wash U?</p>
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Maybe it is obvious, but if you are accepted for the diversity weekend, it is imperative that you attend if you do plan to apply to the school later.
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<p>Not necessarily true. I have a friend who's Amherst '09 and attended their Diversity Weekend, and she was accepted to schools where she turned down their visit offer becauses she simply couldn't make it at the time. Colleges understand people don't always have the most flexible schedules.</p>
<p>While you should definitely try to go, it's not required anywhere in order to be admitted. Frankly, just the fact that you're an underrepresented student can help you out enough at many schools if you need the assistance that badly.</p>
<p>Jimmypop3305, were those programs you applied for, or did colleges find you on their own? I would very much like to visit some of the schools that are a bit far from home for me, but I can't afford at all to travel unless it's by car.</p>
<p>I don't think there is really a lot on CC about applying as an URM. The main topics on the extremely competitive schools are about the "lottery" or the "crap shoot", and how there are four/five applicants at the final cut for every slot.</p>
<p>"Maybe it is obvious, but if you are accepted for the diversity weekend, it is imperative that you attend if you do plan to apply to the school later. "</p>
<p>Not true. THe diversity weekends are done by colleges that have a hard time attracting URMs. If a URM is stellar enough to be accepted for a diversity weekend, in most cases, they are high on the college's list for admits. </p>
<p>Now, if the student accepts a free plane ticket but doesn't bother to use it for no good reason, of course that student probably would have ticked off adcoms enough that they won't be admitted. However, if a student is accepted for a pay-your-own transportation weekend and then has to back out for legitimate reasons, the college more than likely would be understanding, and still interested.</p>
<p>Amherst does make a point of letting students know when they are accepted that the airline ticket the school is purchasing is non-refundable so they do want to know if you are a definite attendee as they don't want to 'waste' the money. So once you recieve the acceptance letter you still have to contact the school to work out the logistics of your travel.</p>
<p>Since we live in NYC, Amherst felt that D was in commuting distance and would be willing to reimburse for gas, a bus or a train ticket (especially since hte bus and the train stoped down the street from the school). So we paid transportation , D turned in proof of purchase and then school mailed a check.</p>
<p>People do realize how many people on CC would love to get an invitation and free all expense paid trip to come visit Amherst or an Ivy, even before they applied? The comments about how flexible and understanding the adcoms are if your can't make it must be adding salt to the wounds.</p>
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The comments about how flexible and understanding the adcoms are if your can't make it must be adding salt to the wounds.
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<p>I totally understand where you are coming from with this and just with all other things in life good manners should prevail and no should try to abuse the generosity of others. But by the same token if a school is not willing to be flexible before you get there it could be a red flag to how the administration works with you (or doesn't work with you) once you become a student.</p>
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If you jump off a twenty story building, what road surface is the softest to land on?
<p>My son got one from Amherst a while back, Notre Dame and I think Haverford said he was on a list for one. The latter is the only one he was interested in. I think it's a nice way to see the school and facilities, but I never thought it meant that much of a better shot. You're just competing among each other for the best grades, hook, etc., but it's a wonderful opportunity if you can take it.</p>
<p>Beginning- I got those offers early in the Spring. Yale offered right after april acceptances went out (but i was EA), and Pomona right before (it was a nice way to find out i was in). </p>
<p>Overall, Pomona's weekend was amazing... they paid for EVERYTHING, and we did a lot of stuff (Universal Studios, Food, etc.). Just wasn't quite the school for me.</p>
<p>I'm sorry, but there is something wrong with this. It is starting to sound like a star football player being courted with a Corvette and cheerleaders. :)</p>
<p>The only actually useful information I have is from "The Gatekeepers" and "Admissions Confidential". Both books cautioned that diversity weekends can present an unrealistic picture of the college. After the weekend is over and you actually start attending, the diversity goes away and the freshman student can feel isolated.</p>
<p>Dufus,
We can see the statistical diversity (or lack thereof) in the population stats. A "diversity" event is probably always a skewed representation of the normal population. However, an institution that funds visits for students who have not even applied yet, shows a committment to enticing those individuals and boosting their URM population. Now we could argue (and you probably will) about whether their motivation is sincere (to increase ethnic, cultural and socioeconomic diversity and therefore provide a more enlightened and conscious learning environment) or that they are ranking whor#s. Whatever, I suspect that a pre-application event such as Amherst's may "pick off" some highly qualified URMs.</p>