<p>My son and I attended the same roadshow acouple of years ago when he was a junior in HS. We found it to be very informative and a worthwhile experience. It was our first exposure to the college admissions process.</p>
<p>I believe the initial invitation was based on PSAT scores even though anyone could attend. At the time, my son was interested in Duke but added both Harvard and Penn to his list after the session.</p>
<p>Cur:</p>
<p>The process is quite similar in most of the more selective colleges. Since you have visited a number of colleges already and gone to their info session, I doubt that you will learn a lot that is different from what you have already gleaned. And if your D is not interested in applying, I doubt it's really worth the time and trouble. Now, if you're thinking of writing your own guide to Confidentalia College, it might be worth YOUR attending....</p>
<p>It comes to our town on Sunday (Mother's Day). I signed up online on Georgetown's site, after learning of the date from Harvard's site. It's definitely self-invitation-friendly. I'll report more after I attend in my town here.</p>
<p>I've been twice, once with each kid. The slideshows are fun. And after the talks, there is an opportunity to meet the adcom(s) at whichever school(s) your kid is interested in. My favorite part was the shtick the Harvard adcom had, pretending that all the other adcoms hated him, that he was forced to meet with students out in the hallway because they all treated him so badly, etc. You won't really learn anything concrete, but it's worth going. Thanks to cc, you will notice that you are far more informed and less anxious than the other parents in the audience, who will bore you with their foolish questions. ;)</p>
<p>Yes. You and Mudgie might just enjoy a moment of understandable smugness. Sit in the audience and think - hmmm, we know more than anyone here...</p>
<p>Or, Mudgie might decide she is OK with a suburban, mid-sized school. Of course, in the Alu family, we hope she decides Princeton is worth researching:)not those other places...</p>
<p>Went with son. I think it made him decide not to apply to any of them ;). I don't know if it is all PSAT scores, I think it is also recruited athletes and such (son could have fit in either of those categories but it seemed to be coming particularly from Gtown where he was being recruited--I somehow seem to remember the invitation or a supplemental invitation came from there). Quite a big crowd at the one we went to in Santa Clara/San Jose, filling much of a big hotel conference room/ballroom type place. Kind of a dog-and-pony show as I recall.</p>
<p>It may be by invitation only, but the date, time and place of the Bay Area presentations was posted in our high-school-wide weekly email newsletter today! Not sure if that was a mistake (to post the information there), or if they are opening it up completely, or what...</p>
<p>Patient -- Did you change your e-mail? Tried to message you.</p>
<p>My husband and son went to one locally, about a year and a half ago. They enjoyed it. It was one of the first type of those things that S attended. Husband came home saying the F word--Forty as in it's no longer thirty thousand dollars to attend these places, but FORTY!!--sticker schock. Of course, in about a year it will be fifty.</p>
<p>Just went to this the other night. No invite, no RSVP, just went. There was no problem. </p>
<p>I thought it was worthy of time, since they did 8 minute slide show overviews of each college, then took "general topic" questions/answers (most helpful) and then went to 4 corners of the room to answer individual questions.</p>
<p>I'm back from the roadshow. I was impressed that Duke featured its Putnam Math Team in its slide show, and told the Duke representative so. I'm not sure I believe the statement that applying early to Harvard doesn't confer an admissions advantage. I'd like to see more research on that.</p>
<p>I'm surprised that the CC crowd did not demystify the roadshow with all of the collective knowledge here. I absolutely do not believe that applying early to Harvard doesn't confer an admissions advantage. The stats belie that one completely.</p>
<p>We attended the roadshow last night. I found the Harvard rep to be very disappointing- poor grammar, uninformed..... The Duke rep was the best, with Penn a close second. After my time on CC, I didn't learn much. The ballroom was packed! Someone asked the question "How did you get the names of people to invite?" The rep said that anyone who was on any of the mailing lists for the 4 colleges got an invite, and also they bought the names from the testing services. An honest answer! I was glad we went (without S who is at boarding school). It didn't change our list, but confirmed that Penn is still high on the list.</p>
<p>My daughter and I attended this presentation last Fall. Her school along with a handful of others in community were heavily represented. She did receive a very nice invitation in the mail directly from the one of the schools several weeks in advance. She had been corresponding with Duke so we assumed that is why she received the invite.</p>
<p>The presentation was very good. They did a great job of giving you a visual overview of the Universities and their programs. They really highlighted the differences between the schools. After the presentations there were individual question and answer sessions with your school of interest. You basically had to choose one because of the format and she had two of interest but overall it was great.</p>
<p>Well, D and I ended up going and it was a long drive on a school night, but it may have been worth it. D is certain she is going to med school and I believe she is one of the rare ones who will stick to it. I see her more as a Phd. researcher myself , but .....Anyway, D had mentioned the other day that she had been thinking about schools with a tie-in to a hospital (Rhodes and St. Judes to be precise). </p>
<p>As the program went on last night she became intrigued by Penn for four reasons- 1) she identified with the ad com big-time 2) 3 hospitals on/near campus 3) a very interesting degree plan in their School of Engineering and Applied Science leading to a BAS degree which sounded very good to a heavy math/science kid who was pre-med. 4) the campus appeared to be very self contained. Maybe even like a Rhodes College on "Giambi juice".</p>
<p>I have no idea whether D will be interested enough to visit but her eyes and ears were wide open. And that pleases me.</p>
<p>I'm going to this one tomorrow! hmm the general concensus seems to be that it didn't help too much...but would it be good PR(?) to go and show your interest for these colleges?
* im a junior in hs if that makes a difference lol</p>
<p>also is it formal? like we don't have to get dressed up or anything do we?</p>
<p>No dress code. Pretty much anything goes. I think some students show up in gym clothes straight from a practice and some are in a coat and tie. I wouldn't wear anything revealing... or anything Yale, UNC or Cal, etc...</p>
<p>If you had RSVP'd an invitation, they had a folder for you with viewbooks from all the schools waiting for you. Not sure what happened if you didn't have an invite. When S and I went last year, the only thing I heard that wasn't already on their website or in the viewbook was that Georgetown had a nationally ranked hip hop dance team. This did not particularly impress my S. He ended up applying to one of the schools, and getting in. But previous to the session he had already visited that school and knew it was his first choice. </p>
<p>I thought all of the speakers were excellent and enjoyed the presentations. My S thought it was a waste of time since there is tons more info on the websites. The session took place in the middle of AP exam time, and that's what his mind was focused on.</p>
<p>I think the most helpful part of Exploring College Options is going off to one corner (or out in the hall, or wherever) with the admission officer of the college you would most like to know more about. Sit and listen and take notes while others ask questions and you can learn a lot.</p>