<p>I was deferred from MIT early action, so it was a pleasant surprise to be admitted regular! To all those deferred early action and/or wait-listed, have hope!! I'm from the Midwest and I've never visited Cambridge before, so I was really excited about the prospect of CPW. Btw, for all admits, sign the guestbook on MyMIT!</p>
<p>My heart sank slightly when I realized that CPW conflicts with my high school prom. I'm the total nerd and in most circumstances I wouldn't even consider prom (last year I skipped prom in favor of doing a take-home differential equations exam), but this year I would really like to go to prom (already have a hot date, gorgeous dress, etc). </p>
<p>How much would I be missing out if I didn't go to CPW? Would going there on a weekend visitation allow me to have a similar experience? I would like to get a feel for the campus, the classes, and the people. Mostly I just want to see whether I'll fit in or feel like a country bumpkin (I have corn growing happily in my backyard).</p>
<p>I'm intrigued to see people on this board respond, as I expect most of them to be techie MIT-ers being like, "You ditz!! Stupid trivial social gatherings like prom! Go enlighten yourself at MIT instead! And while you're at it, memorize the digits of pi on the plane ride!"</p>
<p>if I were you I'd just skip prom, but I'm not you. You'd be better off going to prom and scheduling an overnight visit at MIT, although the experience might not be as good as CPW when students aren't loaded with homework.</p>
<p>i wouldn't skip prom. prom is one in a lifetime thing and after u go on to college, its not gonna be there anymore. CPW isnt that important, schedule some thing for the following weekend with MIT.</p>
<p>plenty of people can't make it to cpw. but those people don't have the chance to go to your prom in your dress with your hot date. go to prom and visit mit some other time! no, it's not the same, because during cpw there're a bunch of activities, but.. it's senior prom. when're you going to be able to do that over again?</p>
<p>pseudointellectual - I agree, you only have one prom. Question though - would it be realistic to come to CPW for Thurs & Fri and then head back Saturday in time for prom? Lots of folks aren't able to stay for all 4 days of CPW.</p>
<p>If you could do CPW on Thurs-Fri, like Ben suggests, that sounds like a good compromise. If you can't do that, and you are undecided about MIT, visiting at another, more "normal" time would actually give you more realistic information about what it would be like to attend MIT. And if you are already decided on MIT, you will have 4 more opportunities to take part in the fun and whirl of activities aspect of CPW.</p>
<p>Either way, I think you should go to the prom. Even if the "magic" of the prom falls far short of the hype, that and graduation are sort of the symbolic closure of your high school career. (besides, you don't want that hot date to go to waste ;-))</p>
<p>Me too! My prom is Friday night and I must go. I'm considering coming to MIT on Saturday morning but realistically can't be on campus before noon (earliest flight is 6 AM). Would I miss so much of CPW that it won't be worth it? Should I come another weekend instead? I was so excited about CPW.</p>
<p>Aww, thanks guys! I thought I'd be ridiculed for thinking about prom over CPW. My parents have been like, "What? Prom? What's prom?"</p>
<p>For those who have been to campus visitation, what is it like? Can you compare/contrast it to just a weekend visit?</p>
<p>Benjones, I was sort of thinking about trying to arrange my schedule so I can go to part of CPW and then prom, but I don't think it'll be possible.</p>
<p>Also, stasterisk...I think you'll be amused to know that actually my date is a college freshman! Lol. </p>
<p>Oh, and if things couldn't get more complicated, I just found out today that Caltech accepted me (after an early deferral). Gah! I'd nearly set my mind on MIT, and now...totally haven't a clue.</p>
<p>I think whether I chose prom or CPW, I'll keep wondering, "What if...?" I'd chosen the other.</p>
<p>Well look at it this way: A larger proportion of people do not go to CPW then those who do not go to prom. Therefore the whatifitness index will be higher if you go to CPW and not prom. Therefore you should go prom.</p>
<p>also being from the midwest, i didn't come to any admitted-student weekends b/c i couldn't afford it. while i regret missing cpw (now knowing how much fun it is on this end) i'd say it's fine to visit some other time; i actually hosted a pre-frosh the week after cpw last year rather than during the weekend itself. do visit, it'll probably help you make the decision, and you'll probably get even more out of it seeing MIT when we're being ourselves instead of going out of our way to cater to pre-frosh. not that it's a night&day change, but no one will claim we're like cpw (or rush, in the fall) all year round.</p>
<p>as for why mit and not caltech, that's self-evident :)</p>
<p>CPW will probably only make you want to come to MIT MORE than before.</p>
<p>Prom will probably not be a the most fun, memorable (except for the fact that it is "prom") or important night that you have had in high school. There is so much hype around it that it usually can't meet or exceed your expectations. The most enjoyable nights in your high school career will be at seemingly random times when things just work out well.</p>
<p>However, if you don't go to prom you will probably regret it--even if you know it wouldn't have been all that great. If you know you want to go to MIT and you really want to go to prom, then just go there. If you are unsure, you may want to visit all the schools you want to attend. Remember, though, at CPW MIT seems more enjoyable than it actually is.</p>
<p>If you are solely basing your decision on what will be the most fun. I would say that CPW is pretty interesting and fun. More interesting and fun than both proms I attended.</p>