<p>From the reply on what is now, I think, an earlier page of the thread: </p>
<p>We found all of them helpful, actually. (Although, they were slightly more helpful for excluding than for including or reinforcing.) One of the aspects I found most illuminating was the presence of alumni: the kind of people the alumni were, their statements about why they chose the school, statements about how they believed that college made a difference in their lives, what it did for them, and even the comments about that college vs. others -- all of those elements were important.</p>
<p>For example, at the rep event for one Elite, an alum compared his alma mater in a condescending way to a very reach public. First of all, the comment showed an ignorance about the other highly visible school, which a well-informed person should know about. Secondly the comment was along the lines of "quality people go to privates; low-lifes go to publics." It revealed a very sheltered understanding of the real world, and i.m.o. my D would have nothing in common with that. A real turn-off. The other members of that same alum panel looked really, really stressed out, and were (therefore) not convincing about what a supposedly Utopian experience they had had there.</p>
<p>A different negative example was at a lovely LAC event, fine school. These alumni were all very, very introverted and dullsville/mousy, while describing the LAC as totally perfect for them. Since my D is quite the opposite of either dull or introverted, this was certainly quite a wake-up call.</p>
<p>A positive example was an Ivy event which described uniquely how the actual decisions are made. Very fascinating, & made me (and I think D) respect the school all the more, for providing the info, and for describing the dignified decision process.</p>
<p>There were 3 other events we went to which didn't persuade so much as provide information not available in other formats. Any organization which selects a rep (especially an adult) tends to choose a person quite reflective of the "message" or the culture of the place, so I did find that the presenter provided nonverbal info about the campus which was important to consider. Again, most often it helped to identify fit vs. non-fit.</p>
<p>EDIT: I just re-read this & realized it may sound as if my Ds' college decisions were overly based on these visits. No, definitely not. But when there was missing info or we couldn't quite grasp the overall atmosphere & attraction of a campus, the rep visits helped to fill in gaps & forestall regrets over decisions (or results). For us, visits were very helpful, even though they were a minor part of the process, compared to other research, personal visits, & all the various stages of the application process.</p>
<p>We attended a couple of info sessions with child #1, found them completely useless, and never attended any with the other two kids. But I guess ours is the minority opinion...</p>
<p>Two thoughts on alumni reps at college fairs:</p>
<p>1) when I represented my alma mater, I always reported back to the college those kids who expressed a strong interest in the school, asked informed questions, etc.</p>
<p>2) attended our first college fair with my D recently and was surprised to find that we knew many of the alumni reps for the colleges she is interested in - somehow where they went to college had never come up in conversation :) one good friend of my H even offered to write our D a letter of recommendation</p>
<p>We went to a local info session that was only for MIT. It consisted of a video presentation (which included part of a physics lecture with the same silly stuff I remember from my college physics course - professor on a pendulum), a talk with questions by an admissions officer (not Marilee Jones), and a number of alumni in the audience. We're in the NYC area and 9 out of 10 alumni seemed to be in investment banking which was a little depressing, but did give one a heads up that an engineering education doesn't necessarily lead to engineering. Most of the bankers had not majored in economics or business.</p>
<p>Our high school also does a college night, I've been to quite a few of them. Some sessions focus more on how to apply, what courses and ECs look good, (the Ivy league one), while others focus more at selling their schools (nearly everyone else). I do find them useful either way.</p>
<p>archiemom: My S and I went to the "Exploring College Options" info session in our area last year. It was well organized, and each college (duke, georgetown, harvard, penn and stanford) gave an informative presentation. We were given a folder with all of the viewbooks. I don't think it was necessary to go, though, since these schools have excellent websites that have all of the information you will ever need. Only admissions officers spoke -- no students or alums.</p>
<p>I am a compulsive note taker, and because the above-mentioned info is so complete, I only took 3 at this sesssion: 1) georgetown has a nationally ranked hip hop dance team, 2) harvard requires an interview and 3) stanford has the biggest campus of the 5.</p>
<p>My son ended up only applying to stanford, and he got in! He had spent a week there at a running camp a couple of years ago, though, and was very familiar with all aspects of that school before the info session. I doubt that the "interest" shown by attending this session makes any difference in acceptance at these schools.</p>
<p>I've attended the Exploring College Options event for the past few years. It can be a very informative night. I would suggest noticing the differences between the presentations that the schools give. You really can get a sense of the community and their priorities. During the general Q&A session, you can ask all of the reps to respond to the same question (a broad financial aid question, or a planning what do in the summer question, how do they handle study abroad credits...anything where you can get an idea of how the different schools view the same issue...) Don't ask if you should take AP classes and get a 'B' or regular classes and get an 'A'! [News Flash - for these schools you need to take AP's and get (mostly) A's.] </p>
<p>During the general session, don't ask something that applies only to your student - "Susie has been fencing for eight years. Is your fencing team planning to attend the tournament in the British Virgin Islands?" You can try this in the break out sessions with individual schools at the end, but don't be surprised if the AdCom doesn't know. A better source would be the fencing coach.</p>
<p>During the break out sessions, adults should step back and let the student speak for themselves to the AdCom or alum. It might even be a good idea to go to a separate corner and listen in on the questions at a different school. Even if your student doesn't have a question, they should consider introducing themselves to the AdCom. If your student is a rising senior who will be applying next year, this is a great opportunity to have the admissions officer put a "face" with the paperwork.</p>
<p>Take advantage of the alums who are present and ask about career placement and their ongoing relationship with the University. Many of them are alum interviewers. Ask about the interview process. </p>
<p>In short, like most things, you get out of it what you put into it. They can be fun and informative or they can be just another dog and pony show.</p>
<p>Re Exploring College Options: we attended one last year. I would say that it was worthwhile, especially if you cannot reasonably visit all of the campuses, since it gave somewhat of the flavor of each school. For my kid, anyway, it did not provide a meaningful opportunity to make contact with an admissions rep, since there is no way he would put himself forward at such an event. Ours was quite convenient. I don't think that I would travel major distances to get to one.</p>
<p>We went to two single-institution presentations, one of which I had to drag my S to. (Ironically that is the school that he has chosen to attend.) He found that to be very worthwhile. The other one was mostly notable for the jockeying for position amongst the students, since the rep was the regional rep in whose hands their fate largely lay.</p>
<p>Whitman College is currently traveling to spring information sessions, some of which include representatives of other colleges. </p>
<p>Admission</a> Officer Travel</p>
<p>Is there ever a situation where it would be appropriate to give the admission's officer your resume? Should you be prepared and have one in case they ask for it?</p>
<p>MODERATOR'S NOTE TO "Are off-site college visits w/admission reps worth it?" THREAD: </p>
<p>Thread merger here, with thanks to the OP of the newer thread, to group replies about specific programs with links to the various programs that are still running this spring. I'll try to post my report on my town's Exploring College Options program here soon.</p>
<p>Went with my sons to the Exploring (?) Educational Excellence program last evening. Cornell, Columbia, Rice, Brown and U. Chicago. Same basic format as Exploring College Options (Harvard, Penn, Stanford, Georgetown & Duke.) One rep started off the program with some general comments and then each rep gave one "pearl of wisdom," concerning either financial aid, the essay, teacher recommendations, etc. Each school rep then presented a brief slide show featuring his/her school, mentioning traditions, sports teams, clubs, size, etc. They all bill themselves as small research universities. Some mentioned famous professors/alums. The Rice rep got in one obvious "dig" to her traveling companions by showing a slide and remarking, "this is what it looks like on our campus in February." It was a slide showing a group of students playing "beach" volleyball. After the individual presentations, they took a few general questions from the audience. "Do you guarantee housing all 4 years on campus?" "What's the male/female ratio?" Thereafter the reps went back to their tables outside the auditorium and were available to answer individual questions. Parents, stand back and let your child ask the question/monopolize the rep! I could not believe one mom at the Brown table, obviously an alum, who monopolized the rep's time talking about the good 'ole days while many kids stood patiently waiting to ask questions. All the reps stayed until every last individual question was asked. (There were registration "tickets" sent via email for this event, and these were collected at the door when you entered. It was made clear that these would be shared amongst the schools no matter which rep you handed your admission ticket to, and would be noted as demonstrated interest, for whatever that's worth.)</p>
<p>
[quote]
They all bill themselves as small research universities.
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Cornell? Small? Not in my book! Cornell has 13,500 undergraduates. </p>
<p>Columbia has 5,500 undergrads and 18,000 graduate students. I'd be concerned about where it puts its emphasis (undergraduate v graduate education), although I'd want to know of those 18,000 grad students, how many were in the law and medical schools; since they have their own dedicated faculty, they have little impact on undergraduate education.</p>
<p>Hi, momof3sons, you evidently attended the same meeting I attended last night. Thanks for the good write-up. I'll mention that because Barack Obama was in St. Paul last night, about a twenty minute drive from where the meeting was, two of the college representatives mentioned him. The Columbia rep pointed out that he is a Columbia alumnus. The U of Chicago rep pointed out that he lives in Chicago, so "he may be a graduate of Columbia, but he eats pizza in my neighborhood." The U of Chicago rep also had a lot of fun mentioning repeatedly that Chicago has had eighty Nobel Prize winners (this would have to include economics prize winners) associated with the college as alumni or faculty. </p>
<p>I asked the question that is coming up a lot recently on CC, namely, "If a student is choosing between taking a hard course with a risk of getting a C, or preserving an A average by taking an easy course, what should the student do?" and of course the answer, to laughter from the audience, was "Get an A in the hard course." But the Brown rep followed up on that answer by saying that you're not on track for admission unless you're taking the hardest courses in your high school. Later a student asked if weighted or unweighted grade averages matter more, and how those kinds of scales are compared by admission offices. The Chicago rep said, "I have seen a 12.3 G.P.A. on a transcript. The G.P.A. helps very little. Don't get hung up on your point scale." The Brown rep, who liked to joke a lot, said, "If you fail driver's ed, don't bring a car to campus." The message I got from these replies, and also from a reply to the perennial question, "Do you prefer AP, IB, or dual enrollment in college?" was that the best thing to do is to challenge yourself by taking indisputably hard courses, especially while pursuing your own interests. </p>
<p>I liked the Rice slide of beach volleyball in February a lot. I thought it was odd that the general Q and A came BEFORE the individual college slide shows to the large group--the Exploring College Options program does things the other way around. I thought this same Exploring Educational Excellence program was more comfortable last year in a hotel ballroom rather than this year in the chapel of a private school. </p>
<p>Thanks for the reports. Has anyone else seen a college meeting recently?</p>
<p>tokenadult-we saw the program on the "right (as opposed to left) coast," not in mid-America. :)<br>
At the program we attended, the general Q & A came AFTER the individual slide shows. I think that all the reps said they were alums of the schools they were there for. One disappointment was the Columbia rep, who said "umm" virtually every other word. It was so bad it was distracting. One of my 16 year olds mentioned it to me. She was a little giggly trying to make lousy jokes, too. I didn't think it showed Columbia in the best light. Another note, after the formal program ended and the reps went out to stand at their tables in the lobby to take individual questions, it was very obvious that the least visited table was Cornell.</p>
<p>Yale's programs will continue into the summer </p>
<p><a href="http://admissions.yale.edu/events/%5B/url%5D">http://admissions.yale.edu/events/</a> </p>
<p>in a variety of places around the country.</p>
<p>
[quote]
tokenadult-we saw the program on the "right (as opposed to left) coast," not in mid-America.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Oh, yeah, they have more than one set of tours going on at the same time. What a coincidence that we both attended on the same evening. That's a good way to get a reality check on what each college says in different towns.</p>