Are the revisit days worth going for? Also what do you do at them
Ultimately, if you are undecided on what school you want to attend or even if you are pretty sure on which school but still have slight doubts about what school you want to go to, it would be very helpful to attend revisit days as the visit will most likely be very helpful in making your final decision. Every revisit day varies, however, typically newly admitted students will attend classes with current students and also meet with coaches, teachers, theater directors, band directors, etc. In most cases, you will also get a look at different club/EC opportunities and attend a seminar style chat where students are able to ask questions to faculty/admin. Parents will usually also visit a few classes, but will spend most of their time talking to faculty and admin about the school and any questions or concerns they might have (which tends to be a lot, particularly if this is their first time they are sending a child to prep schools). Of course, there will be variations of this from school to school, however, in general this is how revisit days work.
If you have the ability to attend the revisit days I highly suggest attending, however, if you must make a blind decision without visiting the schools, know that essentially any school you pick (which I am assuming is either Cate or Milton due to your previous thread) you will be successful at.
There is another thread with this information I suggest you read. It should answer your questions from many different perspectives
Here is the link to that thread.
Thank you so much for your help! The thing is I have already decided on a single school and was wondering if it is worth it to go to that school even if I have already locked onto it. Thanks!
@SchoolKid12345 only you can decide that, but if you read my post from earlier, it made all the difference to us.
It is fantastic! A full day on campus, classes, meeting with parents, students, and coaches. 100x the information of the tours and interviews. Fully recommend taking the time for the revisits day(s). It is also better than the fall orientation of the school you select.
If it isn’t a financial burden, I recommend it. Revisit days can help alleviate some of the fear that will come before that first day of school in August, for students and for parents.
I actually believe that revisit days are a key part of any application process, whether it is boarding school or college.Going to boarding school is a risk, and it is good to know what you are getting yourself into. It is easy to romanticize a school when you are bombarded by marketing emails and pamphlets, as well as a beautifully designed website. Yet, being on campus can drastically alter any previous perceptions of that school. As a rule of thumb, if you cannot see yourself walking around campus, if you do not have positive interactions with your future peers, or if you do not like the general vibe of the school, then you probably shouldn’t not go to that school. However, in order for you to have these experiences and to formulate a well-informed opinion on a school, you must attend a revisit day. Furthermore, revisit days can be incredibly helpful when determining the deciding factor that distinguishes one school from another. Overall, if you have the financial means to attend revisit days, then I highly recommend that you do so.
I agree with @Penguins75. We have close family in New England so we had a number of opportunities to check out campuses over the last year. Most of the well-recognized schools have very nice campuses, some better than others IMHO. Andover seemed like a “college” to me. I didn’t love the set-up of the Choate campus much. Taft was nice and its main building was very impressive, but I would’ve liked the campus to be set just a little away from the main road. The one thing I liked about the NMH campus was its spaciousness - I’m pretty sure you’ll never feel crowded walking to class. St. Paul’s has an incredible campus and Deerfield looks like a movie set - it’s amazing. St. George’s has another fantastic campus - they don’t call “St. Gorgeous” for nothing. Mercersburg’s campus is awesome - I just loved it. I’m saying all this because campus visits greatly influenced my decisions on where I applied.