<p>Well, the visit to Dartmouth for Dimensions was definitely a huge turn-off for me. Part of it was my host -- she asked me to find another place to sleep so that she could have her boyfriend over. So there I was at 2 am with my sleeping bag wandering the hall trying to find a place to sleep. That wasn't fun. Why bother to offer to host if you are going to do that? My host experience aside, my visit showed me that Dartmouth social life (or at least the frats) aren't for me and there just isn't enough else going on. When I visited Princeton on an official I spent time at two of the eating clubs and I found them to be a lot more fun and to offer a greater variety of entertainment than the Dartmouth frats. </p>
<p>The trip was a major disappointment, but it does make the decision making process a little easier for me -- it is down to Harvard or Princeton with a strong lean towards Princeton.</p>
<p>I know I'd be VERY bummed if a host I had asked me to find another place to stay at 2am! WOW! It does make you wonder what these folks are thinking when they volunteer to be hosts?!!??
Glad you had a nice visit at Princeton. Nice to be able to choose between P&H--can't go wrong!</p>
<p>Actually, seduction of prefrosh sounds reprehensible to me & makes you wonder about the school & students there. Really a sad state of affairs from a parent's perspective.</p>
<p>coldcomfort - I'm sorry to hear about your Dartmouth experience, but actually in a way I'm glad only because it shows that that type of experience can happen anywhere, not just at a big state U. In my D's case of "sexile," she was only asked to vacate for one hour, and she ended up spending the hour down the hall hanging out with a very nice girl who was up late writing a paper (one of the few students who did any homework on a Thursday night). Oh, and one point of kind of sick amusement -- the host made a point of mentioning certain things she did not do with the boy she hooked up with, because apparently she had given up certain things for Lent. </p>
<p>Part of why my D's MIT hosting experience wasn't so great was that her host spent the night at her boyfriend's place (and I hope didn't displace a pre-frosh there). The host's absence at least meant my D could place her sleeping bag on a bed instead of the floor, but it made it a bit lonely. Definitely a much more considerate choice, though, than the Dartmouth host made!</p>
<p>I loved all of my overnight experiences and they definitely had an impact on my choice.
My school DOES give its [freshmen] hosts (called Ambassadors) $50/semester stipends, however each Ambassador is also required to get 5 other people they perceive as qualified to volunteer as hosts each preview day and preview weekend.
Our hosts are chosen through an application and group process interview, and I know the positions are somewhat competitive as well as self-selective. When I applied freshmen year, every candidate was an excellent one and the group process interview was a lot of fun, however they had to cut the majority of us.</p>
<p>When I previewed my senior year, it was a lot of fun, but I do know there are horror stories, so nothing's perfect. On the other hand, students here love to get to know preview students. I had an HS sr. and her parents tell me recently that of the schools they visited, this was the first school where students consistently introduced themselves to her and had a sincere interest in her.
In addition, I know students here are willing to go out of their way to love on previews. For example, one student I know recently took an overnight preview being hosted by a friend and took her into one of the campus recording studios and recorded/produced/engineered a pro-level demo for her on the spot...
Another student I know decided this was the right school after spending two nights here and attending many classes. He learned a lot in that period of time from those classes (whoever said education couldn't be free?).
All that to say...just keep your mind open to learning all you can during that time and it can be an awesome experience!</p>
<p>Wow, talk about too much info--I don't think I'd want to know what anyone else gave up regarding intimacies for lent. YUCK! Makes you wonder about what's private any more--obviously, not much.</p>
<p>My daughter had great overnight experiences at three schools, but I think that's because she had older friends and was interested in attending their classes and meeting their friends, etc. I suspect that if she'd been hosted by a random student who didn't have much in common with her, she might not have enjoyed her visits as much.</p>
<p>My oldest d only overnighted at one school and liked the overnight experience more than the school. The host student was very nice and emailed my d several times, which may just have been part of her hosting responsibilities.</p>
<p>My middle d never overnighted but has hosted several students at her school. She has a small single into which she has managed to cram a futon (this kid really should have gone into engineering). She likes hosting, and her school only offers overnights on non-weekends. Still, she often has to find a friend or hallmate to take over with the prospective student when she has an obligation the student either isn't interested in attending or can't attend. College students are BUSY, and it wouldn't surprise me if some prospective students felt a bit out of it because their host's interests aren't compatible.</p>
<p>Sexiling a prospective student is, of course, ridiculous, and anyone who'd do it just shouldn't be a host.</p>
<p>My roommate and I have hosted three students so far this year and will be hosting another one this week. We don't get paid and do it for love of the school (we're both tour guides). We try to show off as much of the school as possible so our guests leave with a positive impression. The first student we hosted this year has decided that he is coming here and we're very excited about that and I'm looking forward to hearing about the other students we've hosted.</p>
<p>i just finished an overnight at Cal, and had a HORRIBLE host. She complained that she told the organizers of the overnight program that she only wanted ONE girl and that her roommate was going to flip when she found out there were TWO girls. She immediately pawned me off on her hallmate, who was just as unfriendly. Her hallmate told me "You can crash here, but I'm going to bed and waking up at 6 tomorrow." I then braved coed bathrooms alone, and fell asleep listening to the shrieks and laughter of students outside the dorms.</p>
<p>Well, all I can say about my experience at overnight college visits is that I found it to be really fun. I spent the night at Columbia University two weekends ago and had a blast. It was really important to me to have the opportunity to feel what spending time there was like. As I have only one week left to decide between Columbia University and the University of Southern California (Both very different but really cool schools) I felt that the overnight helped. However I have also spent time at USC and having friends there and being close to home have made it harder for me to let go of it. One on hand there is Columbia: the school I miraculously got into, Ivy League, prestigious, excellent school, and in the heart of New York City (somewhere I have always wanted to go, where my parents grew up, and where several of my family members live). On the other hand there is USC: the school I always pictured myself at, excellent undergrad business school, united Trojan community, great network, many options in majors/minors, and the ability to go home whenever I want to. </p>
<p>Tuition is no longer a problem for me because of the Gates Millenium Scholarship and so now the only thing is ... where do I want to spend the next four years?</p>
<p>I think it depends on your host. Last time, I was invited to sleepover in an organization called SWE. My host was really nice. But when we went back to her apartment, she took us to a party next door. She was really nice because she asked us if we wanted to go to the party and if we didn't like it, we could come back anytime. But the party was pretty bad (well, for me, cuz I dont drink), and I think it gives me a second thought.
Some of my friends said that they had a great time. Their hosts were very nice and they answered every question that my friends had all night. So basically, they had a "real sleepover" while we just went to a party for nothing.</p>
<p>yea totally depends on the host. i went to an overnight with 2 of my friends and they had a blast. their hosts did a great job at showing them the campus and afterwards showing them some real fun. my host on the other hand was mainly educational. she was really nice and told me eveything she knew about the school but it was just an absolute dud. we spent most of our time in her dorm. she was sort of a geek that didn't know anything aside from her room. i tried making conversation with her but it didn't work. i really didn't get the whole feel of the school i was visiting.</p>
<p>We are back from a two college overnight "vacation". DD loved one school, and hated the other. The trip far away from home was well worth the money as the school she hated had been a very very close second. It is now OFF the list. The campus was very dull after 9 pm, and the students she met were not all that exciting. Her host was ok, but really didn't do a great job of showing two girls a good time, or selling the school. Neither of her overnight guests will be going to the school. The second overnight for DD was terrific. She felt very comfortable with the girls she met, and had a great time. They exchanged email addresses, and agreed to keep informed about everyone's final decisions. The school had a LOT going on even later at night on campus, and this impressed DD (it's a smallish school). Also, everyone was very friendly, and wanted to show the prospective students a good time. DD actually got a t shirt for being the student who travelled the farthest to the overnight. So...now dd has two schools left from her acceptances....and one is the positive overnight, and the other a very positive two day visit (but not overnight in the dorms) at another school. We gave her until midnight on Friday to make up her mind.</p>
<p>In my experience, overnights don't really help in a decision, but rather can wrongly bias it depending on the situation.</p>
<p>The best thing to do is to take some sort of summer workshop or class at the college before applying for undergrad, this gives you an accurate depiction of what is really important at a college, the education; wheras some overnights can tend to give only an impression of the dorms and students.</p>
<p>we are right. Meeting one student that shares no common interest does not prove no student shares his interests. Thats why in my post, I said that he left there wondering. Our family looks at the host position as one of many "salesman". The salesmen that wants your business tries harder to sell you on the school by pointing out many areas of interest, particularly those that might appeal to the prospective student(among other factors, too). We feel how hard they try is an indication of how badly they want a particular student. While that school was indifferent, other schools arranged much more knowledgable, appealing guides for my son. Those schools appealed to him much more, and I don't think it merely a coincidence.</p>