Admitted Students Day: Does everyone go?

[ir_gradstudent]

I'm wondering if most people make it out to admitted students days, whether or not they've already decided which school they will be putting their deposit down on.

 

I'm not loaded, so I'm probably not going to fly halfway across the country for a couple days of activities and questions. I feel like I can judge most of the important factors from afar and make my school decision prior to making the permanent move out to the east coast later this summer.

 

What do you guys think? I'm on the fence. I do have the money and means to attend, but I'd just like to not spend the cash right now if it's not so necessary. Thanks for any insight.

[ReinventOneself]

Like you, I have the money and means, but due to work commitments and distance, will not be attending any of the new admit days for the schools I was admitted to. 

 

However, two of my schools (HKS and SAIS) will be having new admit receptions in my local area, so I will attend those. My biggest concern is whether or not there'll be free beer/wine available

[deletethisname]

Like you, I have the money and means, but due to work commitments and distance, will not be attending any of the new admit days for the schools I was admitted to. 

 

However, two of my schools (HKS and SAIS) will be having new admit receptions in my local area, so I will attend those. My biggest concern is whether or not there'll be free beer/wine available

Would it be safe to assume that it is BYOB?

Edited March 18, 2015 by kingthearab

[Guest]

I live no where near DC, and I am already comtemplating of flying over to visit GWU Elliott for a day or two for the Admitted Student Day thing.  Maybe American SIS as well. This is also the week of my Sprng Break, thankfully.

 

My ttition deposits are due May 1-2, and that is the only time where I have time off from university. I need to see where things are going for me. So, I guess that it can help to know what the program is like before those deadlines come around. I don't think I can make it to Denver or Pennsylvania though...

Edited March 18, 2015 by Guest

[pavlik]

They're worth going to if possible, especially if you're on the fence about the school in question. A good/bad impression can make/break your decision to attend there. But if you're already wrapped up and decided on a school, I wouldn't fly across the country for one. It can give you a good feel for the intangibles like student life, resources, etc. that you can't glean from seeing where alumni are placed. Usually they offer a model lesson or a chance to sit in on a real class, which is one of the more salient parts of that.

 

I ended up only going to Georgetown's open house last year because I already lived in DC. At the time, I was still undecided between Georgetown, Texas, and Michigan but leaning toward Georgetown, and the positive impression at the open house made me comfortable enough to decide. It's probably only worth going to one if you're really on the fence about which to attend.

 

That being said, the free beer and wine these open houses generally offer is nothing to sneeze at. The Southern state university I attended as an undergrad had a puritanical attitude toward underage drinking, so events at a Catholic school are pretty nice.

[chelaylay]

Ask if they have travel funds for you to attend! I did this at a couple schools. One even outright offered, and I'm only a short plane ride away.

[chocolatecheesecake]

Thoughts for people who haven't applied yet: if you know or think it will be difficult to attend Admitted Student Days, make the effort to visit before you apply. It can be as a formal prospective student visit or it can just be coming in and sitting in on some classes, with a word or two to the professor beforehand. Strike up conversations with current students who aren't tasked with guiding you around. You can get a more accurate feel for the environment there. I was able to do this at three schools, two of which I applied to and one of which I decided against because I didn't like the vibe. 

[Gov2School]

For me, the visit days were really helpful, because I was picking between three equally great programs, and I was really undecided about which would be better.  The visit days helped give me a taste for things that I couldn't read from the website -- how friendly did the other students seem to be?  What were their reasons for picking this school over that school? What were the other admitted students like, were they people I had a lot to learn from over the next two years? Did they have interesting and varied backgrounds? How diverse were they (not just ethnically but intellectually, socioeconomically, and in terms of their personalities)? Would I like the environment of the school, and what did it even look like?  It's kind of hard to get a sense of that just from glossy website pics and brochures.  

 

I wouldn't spend a ton of money to visit, but if it's not that expensive (or even better, if you can get one of your schools to cover transportation costs), it can be useful.  Especially if you're trying to choose between programs that are either very very similar (in which case, visiting can help turn up some differences that you may not be seeing on the website)  or very very different (in which case, you should be able to get a sense of which you prefer from a visit).   Also if you're trying to establish to yourself whether taking on more debt to go to a certain school would REALLY be worth it, a visit can give you some basis for making that decision. 

[crisisdiplomacy]

Is it better, in terms of getting a good feel for a school if you go during Admitted Student Day or just a visit on a non admitted day? 

[kaseyleigh]

I know that American sent out an email offering some partial travel assistance, but I haven't heard anything about that from GW. Is it weird to ask a school straight up if they have any assistance, or is that acceptable? Anyone already know if GW has assistance available?

[Filmore22]

I asked all of my schools not in DC if they had funds available to defray travel costs.

Some said yes resoundingly others said no but it definitely does not hurt to ask.

Plus all the schools understand you're just trying to make the best most informed decision possible.  Don't ask, don't get.