Admitted Student Days- hoopla or ho hum

[Anonymous]

Notre Dame was incredible, didn’t end up there but will always have a soft spot. AO sent handwritten letter, email saying safe travels, met on arrival. Two days of quality programming, the school spirit was infectious with a wonderful program in arena followed by an evening party. Had people stationed at table in lobby at nearby hotels to answer questions, walked into a dining hall and woman insisted on personal tour, plus random people were just so nice students and faculty alike, stopping to chat or say hi.

[Anonymous]

We found these to be FAR more useful than basic admissions tours.

[Anonymous]

Did anyone got to UGA's admitted day? We did a tour and DC has a friend down there. We are considering going to an admitted session (which I every day) and then meeting up with the friend instead of trying to squeeze in another admitted students day on the already booked weekends.

[Anonymous]

UNC was very similar to regular admissions tour, nothing too special and not worth traveling a great distance for if you’ve been before in my opinion.

Cornell was okay, didn’t help that it was a long journey there. Great school, just not a fit, so visit still served a purpose.

[Anonymous]

UChicago's was very well run. Impressively organized and you could go to as many or as little info sessions as you wanted to (study abroad, financial aid, bus tour, joint masters programs, arts, etc). My son and I attended different sessions according to what was interesting to us so he was able to really get a feel for the school and the students minus my own personal bias.

I don't know what other admitted students programs look like because after UChicago's, my son felt he did not need to go to the rest. He was sold.

Needless to say, I was very impressed too. We felt well taken care of. And their orientation week was even more impressive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:W&M is always fun - massive event tbh

And my son was turned off by the vibe (and other things besides) and went elsewhere. This is exactly why Admitted Student Days are valuable: some schools look great on paper, and some campus tours are curated such that details important to your kid are glossed over... but Admitted Student Days is when colleges typically let their hair down, dorms and dining halls are open, and the nitty-gritty gets revealed.

Please attend as many of them as possible.

What was the turn-off for him?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We enjoyed William and Mary's very much. It's not going to give you the day to day feel, but it's a chance to learn more about the school, tour buildings, meet with club representatives, speak with professors in your major, and hopefully get excited about the school. The lunch was nice, and my son met his roommate when we sat at the same table with their family. Finding your student's name on the admission banner was fun and a good photo op.

How did your son find a roommate? Ahead of time on Instagram or?…..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UVA is great--they bring in the mascot, band, acapella singers and have a number of informative sessions. We learned a lot and it was definitely worth while.

UNC was meh if you already took a tour. They had a brief info session with the mascot, admissions and students answering a few questions, then a tour that had a little more info about dorms than a normal tour, but otherwise was the same. Was surprised it wasn't better.

Thanks!

Can anyone else report on specific schools?

Same feeling about UVA - did not go to UNC. DC was kind of "meh" on UVA until Days on the Lawn and it sold them on the school. They are there are loving it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did anyone got to UGA's admitted day? We did a tour and DC has a friend down there. We are considering going to an admitted session (which I every day) and then meeting up with the friend instead of trying to squeeze in another admitted students day on the already booked weekends.

Georgia parent (kid not at UGA but has friends there). I heard that UGA’s admitted student days are a lot of fun.

[Anonymous]

Attending Admitted Student Day was an important factor in my DD choosing Davidson. She attended a real class, talked with the professor, had lunch in the dining hall with a small group of students, even met the President walking across campus. Gave her confidence that the vibe and energy was a fit for her. (And it was a beautiful day, which always helps.)

[Anonymous]

Brown’s A Day on College Hill was high energy, food truck festival, speed friending, student performances and lots of activities.

They did same high quality at move-in, 6 days dedicated to settling on campus, attending workshops to learn about life on campus, and making friends through planned events and activities before classes began. Not sure if this is typical, oldest, but it was a nice way to start.

[Anonymous]

VT was great in '22. Got to meet in smaller groups for his major and talk to current students about their classes, team sports, dorm life, etc. Even got to tour a few dorms. Felt very authentic. Some of the larger events still felt like a sales pitch, but that's to be expected. Made my son's decision easy.

[Anonymous]

Would love to hear more about W&M's DFAS. Planning to attend this year with my daughter. Accepted ED, so not about making a decision, but have heard such great things and she is excited to go in April.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Brown’s A Day on College Hill was high energy, food truck festival, speed friending, student performances and lots of activities.

They did same high quality at move-in, 6 days dedicated to settling on campus, attending workshops to learn about life on campus, and making friends through planned events and activities before classes began. Not sure if this is typical, oldest, but it was a nice way to start.

Prior to Covid, Brown, Princeton, Columbia (and maybe others) had an overnight component to admit days. While other schools (Yale, Stanford, Harvard, MIT, Caltech) brought back the overnight(s) component, its unfortunate that some chose not to. I agree with another poster that it is ideal to visit on a regular school day too.

[Anonymous]

We attended an open day / admitted student day (they doubled them up) at Loyola Marymount in LA.

It was like every other open day, an introductory chat with an admissions person, then a tour with various students.

Absolutely nothing different.