<p>As revisit days approach, I was thinking that it would be great to hear from CCers about what to do and what not to do on revisit day. This could range from dress code to behavior in the classrooms. It would be sooo helpful to hear everyone's opinion. (:</p>
<p>I wouldn’t ask any questions the teachers won’t be able to answer like: Who am I? Why am I here? What was the Universe like before the big bang? I would also really practice using cutlery with finesse so that I won’t spill the pasta sauce on my advisor. </p>
<p>Relax. Be yourself. Remember, it is not the pre-admission drama, you are already innnnnn!</p>
<p>Pulsar, what’s with you?</p>
<p>Dresscode: Regardless of what the school’s dresscode is, don’t wear jeans, printed t-shirts, revealing clothes, or anything else that might not be appropriate.
I recommend at least some khakis [shorts are okay if it’s a warm day] and a nice polo/button-up for boys. If you’d like, a blazer and tie would not be out of the ordinary and are perfectly fine [and preferable] to wear.
For girls it gets a little trickier. In general, I recommend a skirt or dress, but pants or even nice shorts are okay if worn appropriately. If you’re wearing a skirt, dress, or shorts, make sure they’re of an appropriate length. Now that doesn’t mean it has to be knee-length, but if you have doubts about the length, don’t wear it. If you’re wearing something that’s spaghetti-strapped or strapless, wear a cardigan or something equivalent. A nice floral dress with a cardigan, a nice skirt+shirt combo, or nice shorts [chinos of at least medium length], likewise with the top, are all acceptable. If it’s cold/rainy, just dress in the same type of thing but for colder weather. Rainboots/coats are okay. Try to avoid heels.</p>
<p>Be polite, interested, and engaging. The first two apply to in general, the last applies mostly to your host. There’s nothing worse than a timid revisit-day guest [they’re worse than timid tours].</p>
<p>Good luck to all!!</p>
<p>Pay attention to the kids and try to imagine yourself hanging out with them. These are the people that you will spend 99% of your time with. They are the ones who have the most influence on your high school experience. Can you see yourself in a study group with them, playing with them, helping them out and being helped?</p>
<p>They’ll pull out all the stops for you in order to get you to sign up. They will play their best orchestra for you, teach you the school’s fight song, hand out free insignia t-shirts, have their a cappella groups sing for you, in short they’ll try to woo you and seal the deal.</p>
<p>Just be gracious and ask good questions about what’s important to you to help you make your decision.</p>
<p>The Exeter revisit is not like that. No dog and pony show there. Frankly, I appreciated that. What you see is what you get. I’m sure that if you wanted to stay into the evening to hear a music rehearsal you could, but it would just be a normal rehearsal. The students spend all but the very beginning and end with their hosts while the parents sit in on a class, and attend Q and A panels with deans, students, etc. There was also a time when faculty from various departments were available at stations in one big room so that parents could ask questions.</p>
<p>Parents should also pay attention to the other parents.</p>
<p>Right. Taft wasn’t like that either. They presented a “real” day and allowed my husband to see anything he wanted. Even extended the day so my daughter could go to Latin classes.</p>
<p>Not every school puts on the dog an pony show. Most don’t need to.</p>
<p>Since you are going to Exeter, you may want to participate in their Harkness discussion and not be too quiet.</p>
<p>Do the students or parents spend any time with the AO who interviewed you?? Do you have access to anyone from the admissions office?</p>
<p>We have received notes from AOs indicating that they will spend some time with us on revisit days. I’m not quite sure what to expect, though.</p>
<p>Middlesex does a pretty good job of revisit days- a good balance of normal daily life and special occasion, imo. I don’t know about other schools, but our revisit days are on half days. In general, you stay with your host and go to his or her classes, unless there’s a specific class you want to go to that your host doesn’t take [i think i switched off a spanish class or something with my guest last year since i don’t take spanish]. Parents have their own set of events- Q&A sessions of some sort with teachers and admissions people and whatnot, in addition to a chapel. Guests and hosts have a chapel that is similar in format to a normal chapel, except not given by a senior. Lunch is either inside or outside, depending on the weather [the food is a little better on revisit day]. Guests might not be eating lunch with their hosts this year as in previous years.</p>
<p>On this occasion, the schools will bring out all their fine china. Time to remind ourselves: “All that glitters is not gold.” :D</p>
<p>^Actually, I believe the quote is “All that is gold does not glitter,” which has a slightly different meaning- but is no less true! Just because a school doesn’t seem as “fun” on revisit day doesn’t mean you should rule it out- be able to distinguish between the “fine china” as it were and what the school is like on a regular day.</p>
<p>For the revisit, low key is the key. Do observe and ask questions but no point to impress anybody as you are already in.</p>
<p>@Pulsar - Pulsar, where are you in school now? Did you make it into a boarding school?</p>
<p>ExieMITAlum: Did you revisit Taft this year??? We went last week and our experience was completely different from yours. While the kids did have a chance to shadow a student for about 1/2 the day, the parents were presented with a series of “packages” where current students and/or faculty were given 5 minutes each to talk about their experiences - which left about 5-10 minutes for questions after each of the two sessions. Both the Dean of Admissions and the Headmaster also gave speeches - with some time for questions after the Headmaster’s speech. I felt it was very packaged and did not provide an opportunity for parents to get a real feel for the school. I will say that my D said she got a pretty good sense of the quality of the classes and the students.</p>
<p>I believe Pulsar got into Hotchkiss.</p>