<p>Hello parents... especially those of you who were faced with the MIT CPW decision!
I am looking for advice on whether to attend CPW Apr 8-11 with our son or give him the opportunity to explore and experience it independently. BTW he is already accepted EA.</p>
<p>I read that you really do not get time together and there are different activities for the students and parents.
What was your experience and did you as a parent find it beneficial compared to visiting at another time of year? Did your student decide to enroll?</p>
<p>Any other advice? Should the parent attend ? pros Vs cons
If yes, what are the locations you stayed at, ease of getting to campus etc.</p>
<p>I sure can use your help....
Thanks!</p>
<p>You can compare activities for parents during CPW 2010
[MIT</a> CPW - for parents](<a href=“http://web.mit.edu/admissions/cpw/forparents.html#events]MIT”>http://web.mit.edu/admissions/cpw/forparents.html#events)</p>
<p>and activities for parent orientation at the beginning of the school year to get some ideas.
[MIT</a> Orientation for Class of 2013: Parent Information](<a href=“http://web.mit.edu/orientation/parent/index.html]MIT”>http://web.mit.edu/orientation/parent/index.html)</p>
<p>If your son think MIT is his first choice then you may want to save for the parent orientation later.</p>
<p>There is another event for parents in October called Parent Weekend.</p>
<p>I don’t think there are cons if time and cost is not an issue.</p>
<p>For hotels, both Mariott Hotel and Kendall Hotel are good. They are right next to MIT.</p>
<p>You will more get feedback if you post on the MIT boards. </p>
<p>CPW is a dizzying 3 day event running from early morning to late in the evening with activities (the majority student sponsored) that are all designed to leave your kid convinced there is no place remotely like MIT. It clearly works, as somewhere between 80 and 90% of student attending CPW end up enrolling, according to admissions. Your son will stay in a dorm or fraternity and you probably won’t see him much. He will be way too busy to want to spend time with you. </p>
<p>There are also plenty of activities for parents, some great tours of the facilities, dinners and concerts. It is also a good time to meet with the FA department if you have some issues with your finaid package. </p>
<p>There are plenty of places to stay in and around Boston. We generally stay at the Westin in Waltham which often has great deals and is around 15 minutes from Cambridge. The MIT hotel, also called the Meridien Cambridge is a really fun place to stay and is walking distance from campus. There are several other large hotels in the immediate vicinity. </p>
<p>But pretty much the entire focus of CPW is on the students. If you can’t attend both events, I would suggest you go to Parents Weekend in the fall instead and just have your son attend CPW. Parents weekend is in the fall and generally falls on the same weekend as the Head of Charles, the world’s largest rowing event and one of the few sports where MIT competes at the Div I level. There are a lot more parent oriented activities at that time, including visits of departments, presentations by faculty and a keynote speech by some Nobel prize winner.</p>
<p>DD, DW and I all liked the CPW last year. DD was also accepted EA. She was so hooked to MIT after EA but CPW was like carving in stone. It was a hectic full of activity weekend. We stayed at Boston Marriott which is Kendall sq during the CPW but have stayed at Meridian also during the college visit the summer before. Both are very close to MIT and comfortable.
There were lots of activities for parent and we get to meet other parent too. It was informative, and provide real insight to MIT working.
I think it is a must visit if you are on the fence as it will change your opinion for good.</p>