<p>I have a quick question for anybody who wants to weigh in on the subject.</p>
<p>What would be better, or more useful: to attend a BS open house, or to go for an individual visit? I can see that the school would like people to attend their open houses, but would a prospective student have a better experience if they go for a visit separately?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>That is a good question without an easy answer because the Open House experience will vary by school. When we were looking a few years ago, I think we learned more from the Open Houses.</p>
<p>A typical individual visit is around 2 hours -- around one hour for the interview and around one hour for the tour. If your child has a special talent, you should also try to schedule a visit with the coach, head of the art dept., etc. The interview will be one-on-one. The tour may or may not be just you and your child. If it is a busy time of year, you may be grouped with other families. </p>
<p>At an Open House, you have the opportunity to spend the day on campus. In general, if you schedule early, you can also schedule an interview then. Please note that if you do not schedule early, you may have to come back for the interview. How productive the Open House is for you will depend on the school. For some, it is a very busy day with swarms of people. Others have a more manageable crowd. If you go to an Open House, remember that many of the applicants there will be day students, although there will be boarders as well.</p>
<p>We attended 2 large open houses when we were looking. I think both were more informative than the individual visit and tour. That is because you will have the opportunity to hear different people speak about the school. Usually there are receptions, so you can talk to faculty/staff/current parents. </p>
<p>Whether or not a prospective student would have a better experience at an Open House is another question. It can be tiring and overwhelming for an 8th grader. Mine was OK with it, but was ready to leave at the end. You can probably ask to stay longer to watch a sports event or a drama production. If you can do this, you can get more exposure to life at the school.</p>
<p>Good luck in your search!</p>
<p>I agree with what Burb Parent says, but I come down on the other side. I found the open houses much less indicative of the character of the schools than the individual tours where we saw the school truly in action and not putting on a show.</p>
<p>I think the more typical the day you can see, the better a picture you will have. Most of what you can learn in an open house you can read on a website.</p>
<p>My daughter and I only focussed on three schools and we had already pored over all their information. I might think differently if I had a long list like some people on this board.</p>
<p>We were similar to Grejuni, and would agree that if you have already narrowed down your search to a few schools and have learned what you can about the school, you might as well interview when you visit. We only applied to 4, and so we saw all of our schools for the first time during the tour at the time of interview. You can still choose not to apply even after you've interviewed so the interview does not bind you in any way. The only downside is that your daughter may not know which school she favors until after she's already interviewed at all the schools, so won't be able to convey this in an interview, though she can express this later in her admissions application.</p>
<p>But as Grejuni said, if you have a greater number of schools that you are applying to, then maybe open house is the way to go to narrow your focus. Best of luck to you and your D during the process.</p>
<p>Thanks BP, Grejuni, skibum4! </p>
<p>I'm so glad I found this site. You're all very helpful.</p>