<p>Hello. I'm a senior from central California and I have just recently been admitted to UofO. It wasn't a top choice. Heck, I still don't know why I applied. Kind of a whim I guess. </p>
<p>Anyhow, I got in, and I've really been looking at it. I honestly think it's one of my top choices. But I need to go visit. I plan on going by the end of March. What I want to know, is about Duck Days. </p>
<p>I went to a similar program at Occidental and I hated it. I felt like listening to a "panel" talk about the college is counterproductive. Anyways, can someone tell me if Duck Days is worth attending? Or should I just take a standard tour and talk to some students?</p>
<p>The nice thing about an organized event like Duck Days is that you’ll have other students to do stuff with that are there for the same reason you are. It’s a lot more fun than just going up and taking the tour and then wandering around without any points of contact.</p>
<p>On the other hand, I really hear what you’re saying about the passivity of sitting through organized presentations and that sort of thing. Maybe the best thing is to go to a Duck Days, but give yourself permission to not do everything on the schedule – or if you’re involved in something that’s not very interesting, slip out at a discreet moment and go exploring on your own.</p>
<p>Ahead of time, look at particular things going on that day that might be of interest to you – concerts, games, plays or whatever appeals to you – and go even if it’s not part of the organized Duck Days activities.</p>
<p>I’m currently visiting Eugene for the first time. Anyways, here’s an update. Today was a Duck Day and I did not attend. I was going to, but it was full. And I wasn’t able to come at a later date due to the distance and my father’s work schedule. </p>
<p>Anyhow, I attended a one and a half hour tour and a one hour info session that was more geared towards high school underclassman about admissions and aid. </p>
<p>The tour was great. The school sold itself. That’s how it should be. However, the one hour information session made me glad that I did not attend Duck Days. Helicopter parents asking questions about how their student can receive the most merit aid is not my idea of informative. Every question asked was ignorant and could have easily been found on collegeboard, Princeton review, or the school’s website. Which I know was definitely a possibility since not one person had the decency to get off of their smartphone during the info meeting. </p>
<p>Finally, I was able to speak with a student from Portland and a student from my area who both worked at the Duck Store. The absolute best thing that could have happened. The guy from my area was able to assist me so much. He talked about the transition and the differences between Eugene and my home in Central California. It was great to talk to real students who had been here for 3 and a half years and knew what it was like to LIVE it. </p>
<p>Anyways, I have learned a lot after a couple college visits. And it’s the the school and town should be able to sell itself. People talking about the next building over is worthless when you can walk into it yourself. </p>
<p>I’m glad you had a productive visit. For what it’s worth, when I was visiting colleges with my kids I never found the information sessions very useful, for us anyway. Like you said, they mostly covered information already available on the website, and we did that sort of research before we ever visited a college. I suppose they can be useful for visiting students or parents that haven’t familiarized themselves with basic information before coming.</p>
<p>I’m from Oregon and I’ve always been interested in UO, but I only went to visit for the first time during a Duck Day in the beginning of my junior year. It wasn’t particularly memorable, but the tour was great. Really, the UO campus is amazing, and it’s one of the biggest things I love about UO. It’s an arboretum and it is surrounded by great places to eat and hang out. Honestly, the dorms suck, but it’s an awesome atmosphere. You know how there are colleges where people don’t even own any spirit gear? You have to visit UO to fully get this, but everyone there is walking around in duck gear. Anyway, definitely take a tour. Duck days probably aren’t worth it, especially at this point, but try e-mailing an admissions counselor to see if you can set up a lunch date with a student to talk about the college. You’ll love it.</p>
<p>As a matter of fact, the Duck Days visit program is now full for 2011. There’s no reason students cannot visit on their own, of course, and here are some resources to help make that a reality: [Campus</a> Visits | Office of Admissions](<a href=“http://admissions.uoregon.edu/visit]Campus”>Visit | Campus Visits)</p>
<p>Well that is good to know re being filled already. I am up late this evening printing out various travel scenarios so my daughter can visit her So Cal choices and then head up to visit her two OOS options: UO, and U of Puget Sound (totally different, we know). Trouble is, she never sent in her HS transcript. She had her HS send it but it’s still not showing up on her app status. I thought she was an auto-admit, but maybe that’s not for OOS. So hopefully will speak with admissions later today. If all is well and she is accepted I think we’d spend the night in Eugene so she could give both Eugene and the campus a good visit.
Glad to hear Duck days aren’t essential for getting a good feel for the school.</p>