<p>Well, the title speaks for itself.</p>
<p>I'm going for some campus visits and am wondering if the information sessions are useful. I already know about the details of the common app/app form of that college and have pretty much chosen a concentration for each college. </p>
<p>Is the info session boring?
Will it tell me something I haven't known about?
What is the info session about?</p>
<p>It depends. My D and I have been to two. One was basically a regurgitation of stuff on the website. The other included a lot of information about what they’re looking for in their freshman class that I haven’t seen elsewhere.</p>
<p>I’ve only been to info sessions at NYU, BU, TCNJ and Princeton (not for me, I went with a friend haha), and they were all pretty similar. They discuss recent programs/developments at the school, they touch a little bit on the admissions process and financial aid, all stuff you could probably find on their website, but it’s still interesting. There is usually a Q&A too if you have anything you wanna ask.</p>
<p>At Princeton, we stayed around till the very end and one of the admissions officers was showing parents the applications of rejected students, which was pretty cool. </p>
<p>So yeah, I’d go, no reason no to.</p>
<p>The question and answer period is very valuable. Especially if you ask about the stickier topics some colleges avoid like: campus crime statistics, availability of housing for four years, drug and alcohol disciplinary procedures, how rooming assignments operate for upper classmen, and summer storage options.</p>
<p>We have been to a handful of information sessions with my rising senior son. At each, we generally did pick up new information about programs, merit aid, how to meet course requirements etc. that we did not know going in. Could we have found it researching the website on our own, sure. But we hadn’t come across it yet in preparing for the visits, so it was useful for that purpose. Each school did add something specific about its admission criteria, what it is looking for in putting together an entereing class. Having some sense of what the school at least says it values is worthwhile. </p>
<p>More significant, however, is what we learned about a school based on the presentation itself – who does the presentation, how professional are they, and what is the focus of the presentation. Some reputable schools had presentations consisting of someone reading bullet points frrom the slides, with no additional information. My son also started to notice the type of student attending different schools’ sessions – were they his potential peer group or not. He has started to appreciate that a school sends a message simply with who they put up at the front of the room and what that person chooses to emphasize.</p>
<p>I’d agree: what I learned at information sessions, I could generally have learned from the universities’ web sites, but it was nice to have all that information bundled together for me. Honestly, some of the ones I went to were pretty awful; only one stands out as good.</p>
<p>I also agree that the Q&A at the end is probably the most useful part. But, on behalf of everybody else who will be at any sessions you attend, I implore you: if your question pertains to you only, and could not possibly be of general interest, please ask it individually after the session breaks up!</p>
<p>^^^^^^^^^^yes, yes, yes, yes!!!</p>
<p>Agree w/Midwest. You learn a lot just by seeing the KIND of dog-and-pony show each schools runs.</p>
<p>Some are, some aren’t. Some repeat everything you can read on the college’s fact page on the website. Others have a Q and A session that can be helpful. I’d go and see what it is anyways.</p>
<p>I also think it’s useful to see the other kids on the tour.</p>
<p>Agree with Midwest and youdontsay. It’s less about the actual content, and more about how they approach it and what that reveals about the personality and character of the school. Is it formal? Is it canned or spontaneous? How flexible are they to unintended things (a broken projector, a larger crowd)?</p>
<p>Thks for the reply guys.
Looks like I’m going to attend the sessions mainly to ask some questions and perhaps get to know the admission officers.
Maybe I’ll learn sth interesting about the schools too!
:)</p>
<p>Even then, the info session may not be the determining factor your own decision.</p>
<p>My daughter decided to attend a university where the information session was awful, but everything else–the campus, the academic program, the enrolled students, the housing–was to her liking. She was admitted to, but chose not to attend, the university where the information session was head-and-shoulders above all the others because the zeitgeist just wasn’t right for her.</p>
<p>For the most part the info sessions are the same, it’s just where on the boredom continuum they sit - somewhat boring, very boring, dear God someone get a gun and put me out of my misery boring. Some have a lot of video, others none. Some are given by engaging, polished public speakers others by almost laughingly inept presenters.</p>
<p>My suggestion is to try and do the tour first. After that, if you’re intrigued, if you can see yourself being part of that student community then sit in on the info session. You’ll be more likely to pay attention as well as ask some detailed questions.</p>
<p>We found the Tufts info session incredibly boring, yet it was a school at the top of S’s list for a long time and we had no problem with that. And one of the ones we found most stimulating – Mount Holyoke’s – wound up being a school that D didn’t take to at all. So you never know.</p>
<p>@Sikorsky good point. I’ll probably just use the session as extra info but will not let it influence my decision too much :)</p>
<p>@Vinceh</p>
<p>Isn’t the info session only offered before the tour?</p>
<p>Thnks all for the reply so far. Great advice!</p>
<p>I’ve had info sessions after the tour rather than before.</p>
<p>Tour/Info Session schedules vary among schools, some ask you to do the info session first, some schools are completely flexible.</p>