<p>We were planning to have d do some visits to college that have either accepted her or that she is awaiting decisions. FOr some of these, we planned to combine colleges that are near. One of the main trips has to be rescheduled and now I am considering what others have found to be more useful= stand alone college visits where student meets staff, visits class, goes on tour and stays overnight or going to an admitted student day? My oldest never went to any visits at all since we were overseas at the time and he didn't want to travel back just for a short visit. WHat have you found to be more helpful?</p>
<p>My D went on three accepted student visits and found each particularly instructive regarding the culture of the school (both the from the point of view of the administrative organization of the visits and the student life). We also arranged for her to speak with faculty during those visits. I would highly recommend the accepted student overnights, as you get a really good feel for the “best face” the school puts on (which is sometimes pretty alarming, ranging from benign neglect to what were you thinking).</p>
<p>I think CC consensus has tended to be that while both are great opportunities to get a sense of a school, the admitted students days tend to be just a tiny bit sugar coated. Sometimes.</p>
<p>My bottom line would be to do whichever fits your schedule best, although DS#1 only went on individual visits. He did overnights at his top couple of picks, which allowed for a pretty honest evaluation by regular students.</p>
<p>It depends on your student’s situation and mindset. If your student is one that is easily swayed by the immediate and a party/fun filled visit with the focus on him/her is going to make a difference in his choice, it isn’t the way to go, if there are some important choices to make. Say, he has a full ride at a school that just isn’t that rah rah and doesn’t have these sort of fun fests that you want him to seriously consider as an option based on what that school can offer. And then he is also accepted to another school as a full pay that rolls out that red carpet and practically has a carnival on accepted students events. You can see how that razz ma tazz can affect the decision making process.</p>
<p>In our situations, we didn’t have such considerations. It was a big deal to us which school our sons chose by the time those events were happening. So they went and enjoyed. It didn’t affect their decisions one bit. But you can see where it could have an impact on the decisions in certain situations where you don’t want that effect.</p>
<p>It depends on how accommodating the school can be when it’s not admitted students days. A sleepover definitely makes things more clear to many, is that a possibility when it’s not admitted students days? It’s easier to find out more information during admitted students days. We’ve always preferred admitted students days over individual days even though we knew there was some hoopla involved. But life’s not perfect - if you can mange each schools admitted students days I suggest that, if not, it just makes it a little more involved and you won’t see as much that the school has to offer (in both a good and not so good way).</p>
<p>
[quote]
It depends on your student’s situation and mindset. If your student is one that is easily swayed by the immediate and a party/fun filled visit with the focus on him/her is going to make a difference in his choice, it isn’t the way to go, if there are some important choices to make. Say, he has a full ride at a school that just isn’t that rah rah and doesn’t have these sort of fun fests that you want him to seriously consider as an option based on what that school can offer. And then he is also accepted to another school as a full pay that rolls out that red carpet and practically has a carnival on accepted students events. You can see how that razz ma tazz can affect the decision making process.[/unquote]</p>
<p>And that was actually my point. My D was totally turned off by the school with the parties, and she wouldn’t necessarily have discovered that pervasive drinking culture on an independent visit. What each school and its student body chooses to display during an accepted students’ weekend can be very revealing.</p>
<p>There are plusses and minuses to each approach. On Accepted student’s day, departments hold open houses, Finaid and Housing make time for parents to drop in with questions, etc. Other days, they may not be available on your schedule. Also, Accepted day includes presentations about the curriculum, study abroad, etc, so it’s a good way to learn a LOT of stuff in a short time. OTOH, every college rep is in ‘Sales’ mode on that day, i.e., they want you to love the place and think of no other. Heck, even cafeteria food maybe a special meal. And, of course, the colleges with party reps are on official notice – high schoolers are not allowed any where near the inside of a Frat, or it will lose it’s license. Thus, no keggers on the lawns. :)</p>
<p>We found the accepted students programs quite informative and efficient, and could be amplified by special appointments with selected professors in departments of interest. We actually thought the “sales” pitches by the deans quite informative: were they able to identify clearly what sets the school apart and where it is going? We found a lot of difference. </p>
<p>The overnights also are very important. However, be cautious of the bad fit. Your student may not like the person he/she is paired with and this could unnecessarily taint his/her view against the school. </p>
<p>The bottom line seems to be that decisions are based on a collection of impressions and no one thing should turn a student off (or perhaps on) to a school. </p>
<p>Another nice thing about the organized admitted students events are the organized activitiets for parents. It was nice to trade experiences with other parents in the cheerful setting that goes along with accepted status.</p>
<p>I’m a fan of the accepted student weekend/days. Yes, they are putting their best foot forward, but I think they do a pretty good job of reflecting institutional values. I’ve never found that they’ve lied about the quality of the food or the dorms. I know that even places like Chicago, with relatively staid reputations, had the Greek institutions throwing parties. Between two kids I went to eight accepted student events, and at about half of those institutions I’d seen them before as well. It was the department open house at Harvard that made my oldest realize that Carnegie Mellon was a much better fit for him. </p>
<p>Since both kids visited all the schools that accepted them at their open houses, I felt they were all pretty much on the same footing.</p>