<p>We were pleasantly surprised to receive an invitation to an "accepted students dinner" - in our town, sponsored by an out-of-state U our D was accepted to. Is this common practice? I sounds like a great way to network with other students, both to assess the fit factor & make contacts for future car pooling opportunities.</p>
<p>Gatherings of some sort are very common. Sometimes they are for accepted students, sometimes for those who have chosen to attend. We went to an accepted students event in the next state with our kid because traveling to the school would have involved flying across the country.</p>
<p>And from the U's point of view, it's an effort to "seal the deal" with their regular admits so that they don't have to tap too deeply into their waitlist.</p>
<p>I think it is fairly common. In my D's case, it was two lunch-time meetings hosted by the alums (two different colleges). Both were very informative and gave D a chance to meet and chat with her potential classmates and ask the alums some questions about what their college experience was like.</p>
<p>All freshman at S2's state u. receive an invitiation to an outdoor picnic type thing sponsored by the university's athletic booster club. They hold them in various locations around the state during the summer to make them easily accessible for any who might want to attend. The sch. is four hours fr. us but the event for our area was located just twenty minutes away.</p>
<p>We attended 2 of these and when my girl assessed the "fit factor" she decided against them. (I agreed.) Instead she is happily attending the school she fell in love with the second she saw the entrance gate in the fall before she applied and where she had a fabulous accepted students weekend.</p>
<p>Fairly common in my experience. They're fun -- hosts and hostesses are loyally enthusiastic! I'd say go if it's not too far.</p>
<p>We've hosted post-offer gatherings for our D's school. It's a great opportunity for both accepted students and parents alike to connect with one another as well as have some face time with the Dean of Admissions (or another representative from the Admissions Office), as well as alumni and current parents. You may find students who were accepted ED as well as RD.</p>
<p>My h's MBA alma mater is doing this in a week. Another alum owns a restaurant and offered to host. Yep, it's cheap for the school but probably effective as accepted students get to know alums in their hometown. No travel costs involved for anybody :)</p>