<p>Are the dorm stays worthwhile? I tend to think they might be but my ds is adamantly opposed to the idea. He says it will be awkward. I think he can learn a lot about the college where he's been accepted. He thinks he can just do the preview day and that will be enough.<br>
What are your thoughts and experiences?</p>
<p>Yes. My daughter did an overnight stay at her first choice school before applying Early Decision. It was big fun and gave her a real sense of "college life" at the school which made her very comfortable with applying Early Decision and much better prepared to put together a good application.</p>
<p>She also did the preview days with overnights. We dropped her off at that airport as a high school student. She came home as a college student (mindset). I believe it was probably the most beneficial thing she could have done to prepare for the transition to college.</p>
<p>S refused. Did the day stuff but had not interest in the overnights</p>
<p>Daughter did one O/N, and Son has done two. </p>
<p>Daughter did it as an admitted student, and it gave her a flavor for dorm life and what to think about when choosing a dorm.</p>
<p>Son found out how "boring" student life was at one small remote school. Chose not to go to the second school too, but that was because it was too liberal (nothing to do with the O/N itself).</p>
<p>I think it is helpful to give the kid one more insight into what to expect. Useful: yes. Critical: no.</p>
<p>My daughter has done overnights at 3 schools. She is very shy so it was difficult for her to agree to do it. It helped that the first overnight was at her first choice school. By the 3rd one, she was very comfortable accepting that she would be in a situation where everything was unknown to her.</p>
<p>I think she really matured from the experience, and agree with the previous poster. She left as a high school student and returned as a college student (mindset). </p>
<p>Strongly encourage your child to try it.</p>
<p>D did 3 overnights and they were very helpful for her. It solidified her first choice and flipped her second and third choices. I think she enjoyed all of them, or at least they were tolerable!</p>
<p>S did 1 overnight at the school we thought he would choose. It was awful for him. He was put in with a senior as host who lived in the apartments on campus rather than the regular dorms. The host also had 3 other prospies too, with 2 of them already knowing each other, so it was pretty crowded. S had nothing in common with any of them and was so uncomfortable. So when it came time to do an overnight at the other school he was considering, he wanted no part of it. But THAT would have been the deal breaker for that school, I'm sure. He ended up choosing school B and leaving after one semester due to lack of internet speed in the dorm (couldn't even watch a Youtube video, couldn't upload his computer science homework and he was a CS major!), lack of things to do, and a lack of people around (as Opera Dad noted - S was bored at this small, remote school). All of those things he would have discovered on an overnight. He transferred to school A and is very happy.</p>
<p>kitty56, what schools were they? Would you share?</p>
<p>Good grief. The guys are such dweebs at that age. </p>
<p>No wonder so many kids freak out when they actually go away to college.</p>
<p>My two cents...DS did an overnight (arranged by the friend of a friend from h.s. ) and he retrospectively thought his stay gave that school an unfair advantage. We were unable to arrange overnights at all of his 'serious' schools (there were 3). --Some serious time constraints and it was difficult to arrange since we didn't know a student at the other two. All schools don't arrange overnights. There must be some serious liability if the school arranges it. </p>
<p>He chose the overnight school, was very happy there, but always believed he chose his school because of the great time he'd had at the overnight. He was admitted at that school, visited classes and stayed overnight in the same dorm to which he was eventually assigned. It might be easier to make the final choice if all schools are on a level playing field. I know that's easier said, than done. It's difficult to have a truly level field.</p>
<p>DD, OTH, wouldn't even consider an overnight and she is similarly happy at her school.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>You'll hear different things about overnight experiences on CC. My S didn't do an overnight, but over the years with nieces/nephews and friends I've seen them work and not work--mostly the latter. Some kids love places they eventually hate, and some reject schools based on the experience with their individual host or the other prospective freshmen. This second point is worth thinking about. If the host is your son's polar opposite, would he be able to look past that, or would he assume he'd never find anyone like him at that school? How would he handle drinking and/or drug use among kids he meets? What if he sits in on one class and it happens to be a "off" day for the professor (spouse of college professor here!). I'd follow your son's lead on this. It can be extremely awkward. Preview day may be all he needs to check out dorms, talk to students, etc. The bottom line is what mom22girls says: everything will be unknown no matter where you attend.</p>
<p>My D did overnights at all the school she applied to, except for two. Like other posters mentioned, the host can play a major role on how the kids see the school.
When my D visited a school (her #2 choice), the host talked so bad about the school she couldn't wait to leave.
She enjoyed the overnights, during the fall of her senior year. She attended classes, and got to experience a small slice of college life.
I think overnights, can be a good start, for juniors who are not thinking about college yet.</p>
<p>DD did NO overnights. Her point - what can I gain from sleeping overnight on the floor of someone's dorm room? She visited classes, went on tours, had meetings with professors etc. during the day, then hung out in the dorm of her host until she felt she had had enough and left. She would call and we would pick her up at a predesignated spot. Got all the information she needed to make an informed choice.</p>
<p>Since D had to fly in the evening before a junior preview day, the D of another CC'er was very gracious and allowed her to overnight in her apartment. I think she got as much if not more out of that experience than the organized overnight she did as a senior. The "real life" as opposed to "planned" experience definitely helped to put that school on the top of her list.</p>
<p>If your son doesn't want to do the overnight, I suggest that you don't push it.</p>
<p>For some personality types, this is a very uncomfortable experience. It could lead to an unwarranted negative view of the college in question.</p>
<p>If you do overnights at one school it probably wise to do overnights at several, so that the impressions of one overnight don't give a bias to the decision. Our kids did overnights after being accepted to help make final decisions. Especially if you are traveling a ways to visit schools, it makes sense to spend the evening in the dorms with college kids rather than in Motel6 with mom or dad.</p>
<p>My S was totally turned off by a college because his older cousin hated it on her overnight visit in 2003, when he was in 7th grade.</p>
<p>We INSISTED that DD do an overnight at her accepted colleges (only the top choices) because ALL were very far from home. Good that she did. One of the three schools dropped off of the list completely when she saw that campus AFTER classes had ended. It was DEAD. It didn't help that her host was a dud.</p>
<p>DD has been on the receiving end of these visitors as well. For the first two years of college, she hosted overnight guests in her room AND she made it her business to make the visitors feel at home and welcomed to their school community (unlike her bad host did at that other school).</p>
<p>Just as the tour guide influences your impression of a college I think the overnight host does the same but by an order of magnitude. When my children stayed with friends or felt that the host was like them, they fell for the school. When they were put up with a host with a very different idea of fun, they left the school first thing in the morning and went home. Couldn't get out fast enough.
I would try my hardest to find someone (a friend of a friend, a facebook friend, even a cc friend) with a connection for the overnight.</p>
<p>Agreed...my DD has (graciously) agreed to meet with CC members and their families who are visiting her university. She gives them the "personal" question and answer time. Since she loves the place, she sells it well.</p>
<p>Depends on your kid and depends on the schools. D went to school far away from home. She did campus visits (tours and sit in on classes) before applying. After acceptance she had narrowed it down to 3 schools and did overnights at all 3. The top choice did not change. Choices 2 and 3 flip-flopped based on the overnight. It was well worth the effort. If the schools were relatively close to home I don't know if it would have been as important.</p>