<p>Just looking for some idea on what people have been experiencing as local presentations roll around and summer information sessions have passed. Who did the best/worst? Which were the most memorable and were they worth the effort?</p>
<p>UP did a great job. Not only were there admission reps, but there were current students and former students from the area who also spoke to the group of us. Oh...and really yummy pastries.</p>
<p>the Claremont colleges sans Pomona did a nice job too but no treats and no non-paid reps. The Scripps admissions director was fantasticly entertaining though and I feel the best speaker there.</p>
<p>I went to the Colleges that Change Lives general information forum. 35 colleges out of 40 were there. It was basic information with an opportunity to ask admissions counselors questions. Most of the AdCom people were young men and women, probably graduates from the recent past. </p>
<p>Basic information provided--admissions, financial, majors, flyers, etc; it was not too crowded and easy to navigate. A good introduction, but would not really help you to make a decision. This would be a good thing to attend as a sophomore or junior to begin your list of possible school in which to apply.</p>
<p>My D could not attend due to conflicts with committments and she really did not miss much in my opinion.</p>
<p>Claremont Colleges: Nice powerpoint presentation about all schools including Pomona (however no reps from that school) and breakout Q&A sessions to learn more about individual colleges (due to time constraints you could only attend 2 sessions). No cookies :(</p>
<p>The Sisters: No powerpoints, but you could feast on yummy cookies and coffee (!!!) while listening to the spiel. There were also lots of opportunities for the girls to talk to individual schools' reps before the general session. The reps asked a few local alumnae who were present in the audience to introduce themselves and tell what they do for al living since graduation. A few parent and grandparent alumnae also stood up and spoke.</p>
<p>I do not think we'd be going to any more of these since D's college list is already full, and the reps started showing up at her school. She told me that a few kids signed up to go to the first presentation (Yale) just to get out of class, which she found very funny.</p>
<p>BB.</p>
<p>The Sisters have a joint presentation? Is there a Web posting about that? </p>
<p>Thanks for the interesting thread.</p>
<p>tokenadult, we went to the one in Seattle last night. Today (09-17) they are doing one in Portland, OR. D got cards in the mail and e-mails from Mount Holyoke.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.mtholyoke.edu/adm/thesisters%5B/url%5D">www.mtholyoke.edu/adm/thesisters</a></p>
<p>BB</p>
<p>Anyone else?!</p>
<p>Whitman College
Yesterday's reception in the Seattle area was outstanding. Lots of information, enthusiastic alumni, personable admissions dean and very little of the usual marketing fare. Oh, and the cookie/candy bar/pastry buffet with latte bar was the best we have yet encountered.</p>
<p>This was the first info session we've attended, so I can't give it any kind of comparative rating.</p>
<p>Both admin officers wore suits, ties and green name badges.</p>
<p>The PowerPoint presentation covered what I would expect are the usual bases (how to apply, list of schools, etc). There were a few useful tidbits, like the acceptance stats for each round (ED, EA, RD). The gentleman also covered what they are looking for in an application, which I thought was good for my daughter to hear.</p>
<p>They showed a video, which I had sent away for, so we'd already seen it.</p>
<p>I must say that the presentation raised a big question in my mind -- how do you sell a school to teenagers, anyway??</p>
<p>No snacks were served....</p>
<p>Just went to CalTech's information session. The speaker provided some good information about the uniqueness of the school, particularing in the different pranks and parties that students like to plan. He showed some slides which weren't of much value. First, they should have tried to have one slide per picture instead of squishing 4 onto one!! Some of the pictures were not very meaning. What I did find amusing was the last shot that he left up was one where about 1/2 of screen was light beige color (not quite sure what it was) but the main object was a fairly attractive young women. No comments of explanation were given of the picture. </p>
<p>The other odd thing was that of the 4 alumni that spoke, the "youngest" one graduated in 1974!! And one of them went for graduate school and came out and said he couldnt answer anything about college life. </p>
<p>Overall, I was not impressed at all at the presentation. They seemed eager to get us out of there after 1 hour. Maybe because of the minimal focus on the actual academic programs, my son decided that CalTech was probably not a good fit for him.</p>
<p>just thought I'd throw in a link to a discussion about the CalTech information session <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=377408%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=377408</a> (One note about the thread - there's a reference to 5 units of math. That means 5 courses in mathematics are required. I'm so used to thinking of credits = units it throws me off every time I read the thread) </p>
<p>njmmmom, did your S think that there is minimal focus on academics and that's why he didn't' feel it was a good fit? Caltech is known for the rigorous academics. I laughed when I read about the last slide with the main object being a young woman. With the ratio of 7 men to 3 women at Caltech, Caltech wants people to know that not everyone is a geek..that attractive young women do come to Caltech.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Maybe because of the minimal focus on the actual academic programs, my son decided that CalTech was probably not a good fit for him.
[/quote]
Yeah...that's a great reason to not like Caltech...not enough focus on academics...</p>
<p>Here's link to my review, which I posted to the Elon forum:</p>
<p>Oh, forgot to mention that they served coffee, soda and water.</p>
<p>Are CalTech and MIT the only two schools which show any sense of humor?</p>
<p>Here's a link to my review, posted to the Tulane forum:</p>
<p>Excellent job; the Tulane info session is now our gold standard.</p>