It seems that at most schools, the fall “open house” events usually consist of an info session, a tour, and sometimes extra info about a department of your interest. At these same schools, all of these things are available to book on many other days of the year. So what exactly is special about an open house? Are there benefits to attending an open house event as opposed to scheduling a regular campus tour and info session?
I think it depends on the school; some open houses are more elaborate.
I think the open house is more like a presentation, where you may get to hear from different departments, faculty are more available to answer questions, you may get to hear from prospective students, go inside the dorm rooms, eat in the dining hall, student groups, and other things like that. I guess the biggest advantages to attending this are that it’s convenient, since everything is ready for you to learn about or talk to whomever you want. Especially if you want to talk to professors, you probably won’t get that at an ordinary campus visit. And I’ve been on tours and to open houses, but I’ve found open houses to be more memorable. The disadvantages may be that there’ll be a lot of people there at once, so it might be hard to get someone to talk to one-on-one, and that it may be less authentic than just visiting on your own.
Tours are just that; you’ll see the important places, but I don’t know, I haven’t really learned anything of value on a tour because I’m just observing the campus, not really engaging with it. Still, the experience is more candid and real than at an open house, especially if you go eat in the dining halls, sit in on classes, or talk to random students. It is less convenient because you have to plan all of that on your own, but is more convenient in that you can plan it whenever you want.
At open houses (which can go by other names, such as Junior Preview Days, if they are held in the spring) there are usually a few added benefits. Formally, there may be a structured panel discussion with faculty and current students. More informally, you will meet more of your peers who are also considering that college; in some programs I’ve seen, you can eat lunch in the dining hall as you would as an actual student, another opportunity to interact casually.
does anyone know what to wear to a boarding school open house if the dress code is casual?
At open houses, I feel the entire day is more geared towards you as a student. Everything is structured to provide you with information and give you a feel of the school through different aspects. Admissions reps may talk about freshman admissions, faculty may talk specifically about something in a department of your interest, and current students will be able to comment or give a speech about their experiences. There’s more availability since it’s a scheduled open house where the entire college is on display, ready for showcase.
If you want to be able to listen to a professor from the English department or you want to be able to speak to the pre-med advisor, you will have a better chance IMO if you are at the open house. Also, sometimes, it can be harder to talk to people individually at an open house since there are more people. However, if you hang back a little and wait till people filter out, you can talk to people.
BTW, never ate at the dining hall at an open house I went to. 
The school had a cater/buffet style setup in a meeting hall area. I didn’t eat at the dining hall at my college until I attended an all-day tour/experience for the Honors program. BUT if you get the chance, by all means take advantage of it! Food is sometimes a huge dealbreaker for kids.
I found there to be a trade-off. In general the open houses are more crowded but sometimes there are extra discussion panels, presentations from departments etc. that you can’t get in a regular tour/info. session. We generally did whichever fit into our schedule best.
Compared to standard tours the open houses we attended were much more in depth and included panel discussions with students and faculty, trade show style set ups featuring all majors with professors and students there to answer questions, trade show style set ups for student activities and student support - such as financial aid, athletics, housing, etc. most we did included a welcome program with the college President, vouchers to eat in the dining hall, campus tours, etc. I found the open houses to be good ways to gather a lot of info at one time. For most schools my DS seriously considered we did both a typical tour and an open house.
@TheDidactic you seem to know a lot of info on open houses, do you think you could answer my question above?
I went to a UC Berkeley open house a few years ago, and it came off as half sales-pitch to prospective students, and half “this is where your tax dollars are going” to taxpayers in the community. Lots of general interest lectures by various professors, and tours of various departments and buildings. It went all day, and I thought it was pretty interesting.
@mjane111213 I noticed that a lot of the students maintained that casual aspect (jeans, sneakers, varsity jackets, boots, jackets, normal shirts). I don’t know what gender you are, but either dark jeans or dress pants are good either way. For girls, a nice blouse/shirt and jacket combo work nice. For guys, flannel shirt, dress shirt, or polo are good. Unless it’s really hot, I wouldn’t recommend shorts. For shoes, sneakers, casual dress shoes, boots, and flats are good.
@TheDidactic Thank you so much!