<p>Ideally, a student should come a day or two before the CPW to check out the campus when things are more normal, then attend with or without parents the activities planned to recruit prospies. </p>
<p>My S has been contacted by a senior who volunteers to answer questions. He's been invited to attend the CPW (or whatever it's called) at H. He probably will go, even though he's already mde up his mind.</p>
<p>Several years ago my S was accepted EA to Harvard. He attended the CPW even though he had made up his mind. It was a terrific experience. He and another high school student from our area flew up together, met up with others they didn't know at the airport, and figured out public transportation to Cambridge. He also felt that the
FOP (Freshman Outdoor Program) held before move in was valuable; he ended up developing lasting friendships with kids in his FOP group.</p>
<p>that is too bad the Bay Area club doesn't host something local for admitted students. I'm sure there are quite a few admitted students from there every year. Maybe they would provide contact info and one of the freshman families could invite other freshman families to their home. At least they would meet each other.</p>
<p>I was asked to comment on this on a Caltech tread (sorry for the delay.) Although there is not really much to add in the form of hard information here is a personal perspective .</p>
<p>It has been almost two years since the CPW but I remember it being a fun weekend. It was a very well organized sales pitch for accepted students and their parents. My wife and I quickly realized it was a meeting of the "mutual adoration society." The kids are special, the school is special and the parents are special, all of which of course is true :-) Contrast this to David Baltimore's welcoming speech to the parents at the start of classes in 2003, where he told us that the fact that our kids were smart enough to be admitted to Caltech had nothing to do with genetics, which of course is also true :-(. Still a meeting of the mutual adoration society but the parents were merely the drivers and the movers </p>
<p>Besides the fun and the "ego trip" we did get quite a bit of useful information about programs and opportunities the kids would have. I particularly appreciated a candid talk by a member of the healthcare center, where we learned about they way the deal with issues such as alcohol and drug abuse, and the way the institute handles emergencies and calls to the police (if I remember correctly students are asked not to use 911 but instead call an internal number)</p>
<p>Before CPW, our son was sure he wanted to go to MIT. While this did not really change after that weekend, my wife and I were a little bit surprised that he did not become even more enthusiastic about the school. I remember on the drive back home he wondered why MIT, being MIT, had to do such a big production. It seems to me they oversold him a little bit.</p>
<p>About a month latter he went to the Caltech weekend by himself (parents are not really asked to participate.) When I picked him up at the airport the first thing he said is I am going to Caltech. One of his arguments was that he liked what he saw and he believed what he saw was real. Of course he now looks forward to the pre-frosh weekend because in an effort not to discourage the candidates, students take a break from an otherwise ridiculously busy schedule (the three words most likely to appear in e-mails and IMs we get from him) In other words, pre-frosh weekend was still a sales pitch but in that case willingly delivered by students, who in more than one occasion told my son he was crazy to want to go there</p>
<p>The one thing that became clear to us is that in the end, when comparing schools, students will make a gut call. From that perspective I fully agree it is very important that students visit the schools at regular times. For parents, if you cannot go to CPW is not a big deal. If you can go, by all means do. Think of it as a bit of a reward for all the driving to Science Olympiad, science bowl, math league, etc (I assume in this board is ok to admit we raised a nerd!)</p>
<p>We have searched and searched on MIT's website, including son's MyMIT portal, and can't find a schedule of events yet for CPW. We're trying to make travel arrangements right away to take advantage of some good fares. It would be really difficult for us to travel Wed., yet most Thurs. itineraries would have us arriving mid- to late afternoon. What would our son miss? Although we will enjoy parent activities, we're mostly going because he thought it would be nice if we went. (He'd be fine without us. Also, after months of reminding, reading, and going to the P.O., we think we deserve the trip!) We really enjoyed the program 4 years ago with son #1, but the agenda may have changed a bit since then...Any schedule info would be appreciated!</p>
<p>The schedule for CPW isn't available yet; they told me it wouldn't be out until late Jan. or early Feb. I'd suggest calling the admissions office and asking to talk with someone there about CPW: I'm sure they can give you an idea what he'd miss by missing Thurs. I got the sense there were classes during the day and dorm assignments at registration, but I am really flying blind on this one.</p>
<p>the CPW schedule has now been posted on MyMIT</p>
<p>... if you can get your student to let you take a look. ;) Supposedly they'll be sending us parents Actual Physical Paper Info before too long.</p>
<p>any recruited 'athletes' in this group? Does MIT even give a plus factor to kids who might make their teams?</p>
<p>While MIT has some very good teams (for many years their fencers placed well in Nationals), generally athletics are a take-it-or-leave it proposition. While being part of a successful team might contribute as an EC, MIT does not recruit athletes, nor do they change the requirements for them. They've had the same football coach since their end of the first year (1978): <a href="http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2002/football.html%5B/url%5D">http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2002/football.html</a> despite a less-than-stellar record. </p>
<p>And it took until 2000 for an MIT alum to play major league baseball: <a href="http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2004/baseball.html%5B/url%5D">http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2004/baseball.html</a></p>
<p>I will note, however, that MIT has had a fair number of Olympic athletes over the years, including the much-loved Greco-Roman wrestler Erland van Lidth de Jeude, who also had a bit part in Stir Crazy as an axe murderer. (Alas, he died in the mid-80s of a heart virus.)</p>