If we already have had a tour of Wooster, is it still worthwhile going to the admitted student day? My daughter has not decided on Wooster at this point because she has some applications due back at the end of March, but she liked it very much and would consider Wooster a frontrunner at this point.
Personally, DS found every admitted student day to be more valuable than any tour or "shadow a student " day. More resources available and a great chance to meet lots of current students and potential classmates. (Iow, easier to figure out if your peeps are there.) And unlike a tour, which is pitched to a wider group (many younger, some who won’t apply), this will be focused exclusively on students whom they hope will attend.
Wooster was not on his list so I don’t know what it looks like there, but I would say if it’s likely to be in the running, it’s worth it to attend.
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Depends on how the day is scheduled but it can’t hurt. You’ll meet some others who, if they attend, it’d be a head start for fall, especially given it’s a small school. You might get more comfort with the campus, clubs…they’ll likely have a club fair and even meet a prof or two.
Certainly if you have the time and it’s financially feasible, why not ? But if you missed it, it’s not death.
But it might give you the confirmation needed as your top choice.
Good luck.
I just briefly looked at Wooster’s admitted student day site and it looks like they offer an overnight experience as part of their admitted student days.
I would highly recommend doing an admitted student day that offers an overnight as that will give your daughter more information about the dorms she might live in as well as more time with students to get a real feel for the campus. And a couple of bites at the dining halls so she get an idea of whether the food is palatable for her.
I firmly believe college is about fit and the more information you can get for how that fit would be “in the wild” as it were, the better choice your daughter can make when she has all her decisions in.
Good luck and congratulations to your daughter for having an acceptance to a front runner already!
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My son did a Wooster Open House in November of his junior year of high school (2019). This was before he had applied, so it was not an Admitted Student day, but I think the Open House format could have been somewhat similar to what would be arranged for an Admitted Student day as they offered multiple panel discussions, food and activities with existing students, a cocktail hour for parents, a bus tour of downtown/the surrounding area, etc. (This was pre-Covid so I’m not sure how what’s offered could be impacted by Covid).
It was fantastic - we were there for less than 24 hours total, but we came away feeling so comfortable with the place…it was much more than a tour. He was able to sit in on two classes he chose, he went to dinner and then activities with a small group of students and prospective students, we went to 3 or 4 panel discussions, we ate in the dining hall and in an on-campus coffee shop, etc. He wanted to do the sleepover with a student but couldn’t as he was still a high school junior, and he still came away from that event saying that the place felt like a community to him, and it remained in his top 3 right to the end. One thing we heard in a panel discussion that really made us, as parents, feel it was a good match was that they emphasized that despite the rigor of the IS program, Wooster is not a weed-out culture but rather a prepare-for environment. Due to Covid, he never got to attend an Admitted Student day or another Open House anywhere (except virtually), but that experience stands out in his and my mind as valuable.
Congratulations to your daughter on the acceptance and best of luck with the rest of this process.
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where’d your son end up?
@tsbna44, he is at Wheaton College in Massachusetts. He narrowed his list after acceptances to Dickinson, Wooster, Clark and Wheaton.
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Wow. All great choices !! Good luck to him.
WjT put Wheaton over the top ?
I think it was two things that put Wheaton over the top -
- Massachusetts location (he grew up in the Southeast but has extended family in MA and has visited many times; also, given his interests, he was getting pretty excited seeing some Wheaton students doing environmental/bio/birding types of jobs on The Cape and Islands, so that northeastern location in MA close to the coast was a draw for him)
- the open curriculum (requirements at Wheaton are basically a freshman seminar, a sophomore experience, a senior research project, and a major…he felt that the flexibility was what he was looking for, and we agreed it would likely work well for him).
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I am really happy that my son will be able to attend this Admitted Students Day. Other schools are not offering this experience, and I think it will be invaluable to learn more about Wooster AND figure out what he cares about to ask questions at other schools.
Thank you all! We’ve decided to attend. I appreciate it.
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I hope your daughter has a wonderful time, please come back and share your impressions and your daughter’s.
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We just returned from the Admitted Students Event at College of Wooster, and we had a great time. The description above by nichols51 is very similar to what the weekend was like with a few tweaks for Covid precautions. The students were supposed to be able to stay in the dorms, but a couple of weeks ago, they chose to remove that options. They did however have a bunch of evening activities in and around the dorms for students only, including eating in the dining hall. At the same time, there was a social at the local brewpub for the parents. My son and my husband and I all had fun and learned a lot about Wooster. No one could leave without getting every question you may have answered. My son really loves the fact that everyone has to do IS, so there is so much support of each other on campus. He enjoyed being able to attend a class and the friendliness of the students. My husband and I appreciated that the admission staff thought of everything, including having shuttles to bring our son back to the hotel after the evening activities.
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My husband and daughter went this past weekend as well. She enjoyed the nighttime activities for the students and sitting in on a class the next day. My husband said the first info session was not much different than what we had heard when we were there for a tour. So, if you haven’t toured already, that could help. She was also able to see a couple of dorm rooms. Her student guide had a test (midterm maybe, I can’t remember what they said) and did pass her off to a few different students throughout the evening, but she felt comfortable with those students and prospectives as well. My husband did enjoy the parent Q&A while my daughter was in the class.
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Our D attended Accepted Students Day last week at CoW. CoW did an amazing job of presenting the campus - stunning, the learning environment - challenging and supportive, the students - diverse and supportive.
For our D, she’ll be attending CoW studying biology - she said she felt proud when she walked the campus.
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Congrats! My daughter sent me pics from around campus last Thursday and it was a gorgeous, blue-sky day!
I think you’ve made a great choice and I hope your D is very happy there!
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Thx! Did your D make a decision yet?
My daughter has finally decided and paid her deposit to Wooster on Thursday. Wooster had always been one of her top choices. She applied EA, was admitted with a College Scholar award. About a week ago, she was also given a small Alumni Scholarship out of the blue. She had applied to 14 schools total, accepted at 8, denied at 5, and waitlisted at 1. As she waited for all the results to trickle in, I knew she loved Wooster. She had visited twice and she seemed really happy there. She didn’t want to commit until she heard from everywhere. She spent the last two weeks or so thinking about her top two choices. Thursday she finally decided!
Two kids applying to colleges within two years was almost more than I could handle 
My freshman at Purdue was a lot easier and was theoretically finished by January 15.
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Congrats, it’s a great spot - definitely punches above its weight, and we felt it had everything her sisters had at Hamilton. Our D can’t wait to go back for Arch in end of June.
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