Ds was invited to a diversity day at an OOS public flagship that’s on his list. It offers instate tuition for his stats and potential merit that would make it affordable.
Would attending this event place him in a better light for potential scholarships? Or will it not make that much of a difference?
I would love to see the school, but it’s a 10 hour round trip drive. Ds has visited one local school and would prefer to wait on acceptances and financial packages before visiting any others (he’s very laid back and practical), but we’ll make the trip if it will help his chances.
The college is inviting him. It’s on his list. It offers favorable tuition and potential merit.
Why in the world would you not encourage him to go? Yes, it probably will have no effect on admission or not – that’s what the Common Data Set tells you. The Common Data Set does not tell you whether the Diversity Day could have any effect on merit offers. I don’t have a strong idea about that one way or another, but I think there’s at least a decent possibility that he could help himself by impressing people at the university. (Whether he’s the kind of kid who will show well in that context is another question altogether. But if the college is using the event to identify the students they most want, I assume they will have people there who know what to look for when they are meeting teenage boys, and aren’t just going for the brightest smiles, firmest handshakes, and slickest humblebrags.)
What’s more, maybe he’ll really like this college, and be enthusiastic about it. That would be great.
“10 hour round trip drive”: If that’s five hours each way, count yourself lucky. You’re not likely to get out of college selection season without a few of those, unless your kid is really committed to being near home. Anyway, can he go on his own, without you? Is there a bus, or could he get a ride with someone?
usually for Big State Schools they don’t consider it because there are too many applicants to keep track of.
For an Ivy, they don’t because 'of course you would want to come here".
It is the private schools that care.
Wait until he is admitted to visit if it is that far away.
I agree that 10-hour RT may be one of your shorter college trips. To make it more worthwhile, you may want to consider visiting other colleges along the way or nearby. With good planning, you should be able to visit a few more colleges without significantly extending your trip.
I wouldn’t mind going at all, and if the school was an hour or two a way, I’d force the issue. But 5 hours each way is going to require us to stay overnight, and ds really wants to wait and see what schools come back with an affordable financial package before going on tours. He feels it is pointless to tour if you aren’t sure it’s affordable, but did say he is willing to go if it will help his scholarship chances. It isn’t that he doesn’t like the school or doesn’t think it is worth a visit, he just has a really practical approach to all of it.
@1NJParent That’s a good point. There is a school we might be able to see on the way so he would get to visit both OOS schools on his list. Visiting might also help him with his essays about why he likes the schools.
No one here has answered your question about scholarship chances. The Common Data Set doesn’t address that at all.
Here’s an easy solution: Your son should call the admissions office, and ask them. He should say something like,i, “You’re on my list to make an application, but I’m not planning to visit anywhere until I have an acceptance and a financial offer that’s affordable. I don’t want to fall in love with a college I can’t afford, and I don’t want to ask my mom to drive all weekend for something I don’t know will be a real option. But if there’s any chance that coming to this program will give me a leg up on a merit scholarship at your college, I don’t want to miss that opportunity! It’s a great school, and I would love it if things worked out there. So tell me, will coming give me any advantage for additional scholarships?”
He will get an honest answer. And whatever the outcome, the call will likely get noted, and can’t possibly hurt him.