Do students stay at dorms? What’s the experience like and any advice for what to do to get the fullest experience?
My experience may by slightly dated since this is from before the current director of the program took over, but this is generally how the weekend has worked:
Finalists are hosted by current scholars in their dorms/apartments/Greek housing. In the case that a host lives in Greek housing, there will not be a house party that weekend.
During the weekend itself you will have an opportunity to visit a class, tour campus, socialize with other finalists and current students, including some planned social functions, and go on major tours to see certain major related facilities, meet professors, and learn about what the department offers. There will generally be enjoyable speakers at the lunch and dinner events to provide you with further insight in Tech and the PS program. There will also be both student and parent panels where current students will answer questions and some sort of expo/student activities fair where you can get a taste for what Tech has to offer as far as research, student clubs and involvement, etc…
Of course, there will also be more interviews and problem based tasks/simulations, which are generally performed in more of a group setting rather than the one-on-one format of the semi-finalist interviews. I am aware that Chaffee changed some components of the finalist selection process a few years back, so the interview portion could have undergone some changes.
The weekend is a competitive process by nature, but I would recommend that you try not to focus too much on that aspect of it. Be social, make connections, and get to know as much as you can about the school and program. This should be obvious, but work with the other finalists during the interview process.
Interesting, thanks for the help @InPursuit