<p>Does anyone know the dates for this year's Owl Days?</p>
<p>The general conclusion amongst my fellow ED students seems to be that the dates of Owl Days will be released once admission decisions for RD applicants have been released…</p>
<p>I called Rice Admissions and they will not release dates until RD decisions are out. It really makes planning airfare for different college weekends impossible.</p>
<p>Yes it does. It also prevents us from getting a decent airfare. We’ve been watching the airfares rise over the last 2 weeks. I don’t see why they can’t release the date.</p>
<p>Owl Days runs from the morning of April 7th until noon April 8th. Activities will be planned all day on the 7th, and parents leave in the afternoon. This information has not been released yet, but since Owl Days is a week earlier this year, it seems fair to let you know. Plan accordingly.</p>
<p>Wow…how can they notify kids on April 1 to be there for the 7th? Our ticket prices (Southwest) are now up to $200, but will be $400 by then.</p>
<p>Does anyone know…if the kids show up on the evening on the 6th, can they stay with a student?</p>
<p>flute - I don’t believe so. You could try checking with them to be sure. They went to Owl days from owl Weekend to shorten it</p>
<p>I can’t seem to find any information about Owl Days on the Rice website. Any answers to these questions would be much appreciated:</p>
<p>Can prospective students attend Owl Days without parents? Does Rice provide or arrange for transportation to campus from the local airports (IAH and HOU)?</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Students can definitely attend Owl Days without parents. They’ll need to get to/from the airport on their own, but there are shuttles that will do that for you (we use SuperShuttle all the time). </p>
<p>I, too, am surprised that the announcement for Owl Days is coming so late! When we went with our daughter 3 years ago, I think we knew the date in February, even before she’d been formally accepted. This late announcement is going to mean expensive flights and difficult decisions for a lot of families.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I would go a step further and say that students SHOULD attend Owl Days without parents. The time spent at Rice is all about you, as parents aren’t going to be there. As a result, spend the time there with other students doing what you want and seeing what other students do.</p>
<p>Owl Days is all about finding out if Rice is the right fit. And to do that, you need to live the life of a rice student.</p>
<p>Antarius is right. As I think back now, we didn’t see our daughter much during Owl Days. I remember going on a campus tour, but that may have been the day before Owl Days started. Once we dropped her off for Owl Days we didn’t see her again until it was over. We enjoyed see the campus and getting to know Houston a bit, but our presence was not necessary.</p>
<p>If we go to Owl Days this year (April 7-8) we will absolutely need to fly out the morning of the second day. Does anyone know what our son would miss on that morning? We don’t want to spend all the money to travel there for just 24 hours if he will miss something important on the 8th. Thank you.</p>
<p>If I remember correctly, the morning/afternoon presents an opportunity to visit classes, meet professors and continue to get a feel of the university.</p>
<p>Parental involvement is not essential – but in our case, attending as a family was very helpful when my son was making his final decision. We pooled our impressions and talked about what we saw … </p>
<p>Early on, our son got his Owl Days shirt and overnight assignment and was out of sight – my husband and I toured on our own and explored the campus for the first time. We took a peek at where our son would be staying, but never saw him again until the next morning. We attended a presentation, met a few profs, and talked with other parents about the decisions their kids were facing. Later that month, our son weighed out his choices – and the conversations he had during Owl Days and the positive sense we all felt during our visit pointed in the same direction. </p>
<p>We were lucky that my son’s airfare was picked up by Rice – elsewhere, only one of us flew out with my son. Airfare is a big factor – if you’ve already been on campus, it may not make as much sense to make it a family expedition. We’re so glad we did!</p>
<p>Also, thanks to RiceKid for the help!</p>
<p>I just found prospie days info on the web for another top school – a few dates to choose from and later on – I really hope that Rice considers air costs when they set next year’s dates … a week or two later, with a little time for price shopping, would be helpful for students who come by air.</p>
<p>Thank you, Antarius! Think we will go then, if we won’t miss other activities.</p>
<p>Try to contact Rice to get a full itinerary. Regardless, if it is not a huge financial burden, visiting is a plus. It gives you the ‘feeling’ about the place, something that cannot be put down on paper.</p>
<p>One trip to MIT and I was like… no.</p>
<p>Just found the official dates/info on the admitted students gateway/website thing</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Dangit this sucks Owl Days is during school for me… the last 2 days before spring break and my senior thesis is due the 8th… :((((( Why Rice… why couldn’t it be the next week!!!</p>
<p>Are you allowed to attend Owl Days if you are waitlisted?</p>
<p>Does Rice expect students to fly in the morning of April 7?</p>