<p>Exploring</a> College Options
Has anyone attended one of these events? If so, was it helpful? Is there an advantage to seeing them all at once?</p>
<p>i attended that 4 years ago. They basically had reps from the schools show a slideshow/video (can't remember) about their school, and gave a speech about the strengths of the school. They passed out cards that you could fill out to get an application, and you could talk to the reps after. You don't really get any benefit from it besides being able to talk to a school representative, and because they show all of the schools during the night, you might become interested in a school that you weren't really interested in before. That's how i ended up at Georgetown ;)</p>
<p>When I was a high school senior my father dragged me to those college nights as well. If I hadn't been a dumbass, I would have realized that these are valuable opportunities to ask the kind of questions that can't be answered by a website. For instance, what are the odds of getting the courses that I want my first semester? or how frequently do students go home for a weekend? Alternatively, these presentations may turn you on to new programs that you haven't heard of, like internships, senior theses, research etc.</p>
<p>Thanks. I'm curious why they do this event together, and what the motivations of the schools are. Is there a lot of overlap among applicants? If I'm looking at Stanford, should I also be looking at Duke or Penn?</p>
<p>How do these five schools compare? What do they have in common? What are their strengths and weaknesses?</p>
<p>I've attended three Exploring College Options joint presentations, all in the spring in my metropolitan area of residence. Stanford didn't used to be part of this joint information session group. The panels say, typically to LARGE audiences of students, that they travel together because that way they are more likely to convince busy students to take an evening (or afternoon) to visit the program, if the students can learn about five colleges in one place. I find the programs very helpful. </p>
<p>Different applicants develop different application lists. I can't imagine any of my children applying to all five of the Exploring College Options Colleges, for example, but they are worth a look just to learn about what more selective colleges are looking for. The five colleges do have some notable differences in campus culture, available programs, and selectivity. </p>
<p>Exploring</a> College Options </p>
<p>See also </p>
<p>Exploring</a> Educational Excellence </p>
<p>for another group of colleges that travel together.</p>