<p>Hello</p>
<p>My younger brother is very intent on MIT. One thing he would like to know is whether campus visits are taken into account for admissions purposes. I know some universities do give students extra consideration for having visited campus and sat in on classes, and others don't. Does anyone know about this?</p>
<p>Campus visits aren't a factor in MIT admissions decisions, but we do encourage applicants to visit whenever possible! Visiting a school and immersing oneself in the culture for a day or two is the single best way to make an informed college choice (well, in my opinion). :-)</p>
<p>Thanks for this information. He said he looked through the website and found a page detailing an overnight visit program in which prospective high schoolers stay with current students, but that this covers only one night and day at the university. Would it be worth it to fly in for just one day? Would he really learn anything from so short a visit?</p>
<p>Thanks for your thoughts.</p>
<p>depends on where you're flying in from. i visited campus and took a tour, and learned nearly nothing from it. if i'd stayed overnight, i probably would've had a much better idea of whether this is the sort of place that suits me, and the prospective students i've hosted, i think, would agree. but i couldn't afford to spend overnights here or at the other schools i was considering. so you may want to consider it after he's applied and been admitted, if mit is one of his top choices. cpw, especially, is a grand time to visit.</p>
<p>Hehe, CPW was fun</p>
<p>Yes, it all depends on where you're coming from. If it's an easy drive, definitely come stay for a whole day/night - you (he) would learn a lot about the school and its culture. Otherwise CPW is a great time. I'd do both if it's feasible.</p>
<p>And, if you're diplomatic about asking, the student who's hosting a prefrosh is often willing to let the prefrosh stay an extra night/day if asked. I hosted a (non-CPW) prefrosh freshman year who stayed 2 nights and 2 days.</p>
<p>I hosted plenty of prefrosh this past year (like 6 or 7) and loved having them come stay. I would not be surprised if hosts would love to have the students stay longer than one night or if they were busy or it were too much, they would probably have someone else you could stay with.</p>
<p>Yeah, going along with that -- if a prefrosh is independent and willing to wander around campus by him/herself, he/she can pretty much stay as long as desired. It's the dependent prefrosh who turn into a host's shadow who should be limited to a one-day visit.</p>
<p>Does this mean I have to fly all the way from California to Mass for just one day?</p>
<p>Anything for MIT. :)</p>
<p>Haha. I almost did an overnight, but never got around to it because I was travelling so damn much before CPW.</p>
<p>I'd still recommend it even though I haven't done it, because it may give you an even BETTER idea of what MIT is like, because CPW is, after all, a recruiting session as well as them showing you what MIT is like :p. That's not to say CPW isn't awesome, definitely go.</p>