Has anyone been to the freshman day at AU? I’ll probably be going, but I’m not sure if I should stay for the entire thing, or also go to the admitted students day at GWU (I can only stay in DC for one day).
We went in 2011. It was what made my daughter decide to attend. We attended both that day - GWU and American. Left GWU early to catch lunch and the afternoon. Wish we had only gone to AU as I thought they did a better job but thar’s just my opinion. Go to which ever school you are more interested in . GWU decisions have not come out yet - unless you got a likely letter - so that and any aid you may be offered may help you decide.
@NewJerseyMom How structured is it, and what do you actually do at the event? are you put into groups and brought to various places by a tour guide? or are you able to walk around campus and choose presentations to attend and that sort of thing?
And I did get a LL for GWU, but I probably shouldn’t assume anything until I get an actual acceptance letter
owent33 - we were able to walk around campus and choose presentations to attend. We were at GWU in the morning, so we missed everything that happened during that time. We got to AU at lunch and there were bagged lunches to choose from. You took any seat but there was at least one faculty member at every table. We were at the table with the head of Career Services. He told us all about the internship opportunities and how AU students fared in the job market. My daughter connected with some of the other students at the table which was great. At lunch, there were tables from different clubs and organizations at the school, manned by students. School is not just about the classes, so it was interesting to see the various ways students can get involved outside the classroom. After lunch, every hour you had a choice of what you wanted to hear about. My daughter and I went to a presentation about the Honors Program (she had been accepted) while my husband attended a presentation by the head of the School of Public Affairs. We had a choice of what we wanted to attend after that as well, but I don’t recall what we did. It was a beautiful day and all the students were studying on the quad and my daughter met up with a graduating senior she knew. It was just a great atmosphere, everyone seemed really happy, we met great people, spoke with helpful faculty, learned about extracurricular activities. It was very, very positive. However, if you can see one school that day, definitely go to the one you are most interested in attending. We liked AU better but there are many that prefer GWU. It’s a personal preference.
If you were accepted into the School of Public Affairs and decide to attend AU, I recommend you apply to the Leadership Program. It was what defined my daughter’s college experience.