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S received a postcard invitation from one of the two ivys on his list to attend an information session Monday night about 45-min away from where we live. It's with the Assist. Dir. of Admissions (and probably regional rep?) The card says there is no need to rsvp, so it's a pretty casual, typical affair.

Normally, we would go. However, we plan to be visiting the college a week later for the info. session and tour. S also has arranged a class observation and on-campus interview.

Is there any benefit to going to the local session in terms of demonstrating interest or learning something that would not be learned on campus? If we do go to the local event, I guess we could skip the info session on campus and spend more time wandering around the beautiful grounds! Also, maybe it would spark questions for S to ask the day we visit. Just not sure if it's worth the drive and time on a work/school night.

Thoughts from those of you who have been to local info. sessions for your kids' reach schools?

By Northstarmom (Northstarmom) on Saturday, October 09, 2004 - 05:56 pm: Edit

The only reason I can think of going would be that if your son goes to the info session and loathes the college, then you could skip the full day visit that you'd planned for there.

At least when it comes to HPY, I am fairly sure that demonstrated interest is not at all important to the colleges. The colleges have such high yield rate, that they know that in most cases, students whom they accept will be thrilled to have the opportunity to attend.

By Texas137 (Texas137) on Saturday, October 09, 2004 - 06:03 pm: Edit

I agree with Northstar mom - the main purpose of the local sessions is for people who are not able to visit campus to get info. If it's inconvenient to go, I would say skip it. You're showing much more interest (if it is a school that cares about that) by visiting the campus.

By Coureur (Coureur) on Saturday, October 09, 2004 - 08:30 pm: Edit

The one advantage I can think of for attending the local session is that you stand a better chance of meeting your regional adcom rep. This is often the key person in evaluating and presenting to the whole committee your child's qualifications. It might be useful to hear that particular person's view on what the school looks for in an applicant. And if your child gets a chance to meet and chat with him/her, the name and face just make stick.

By Lamom (Lamom) on Sunday, October 10, 2004 - 01:58 pm: Edit

If you have absolutely nothing better to do,think about going. We went to one for Rice-they also had 1 or 2 IVY's. It was packed and full of obnoxious parents pushing towards the table to talk about their kids with the IVy adm. reps. Students were pretty much left in the background. During the presentation I thought too many students asked questions that they thought would make them stand out. For son it was a waste of time. Rice was probably the least popular school there and son had a chance to ask rep about the MOB. It was in Orange County near some competitive schools-maybe that was the problem.

By Momof2inca (Momof2inca) on Monday, October 11, 2004 - 12:04 am: Edit

Okay, thanks everyone. I think we'll pass on this visit. The last thing I need right now is to observe obnoxious parents and kids hoping to be noticed! LOL We should learn everything we need to know from the visit anyhow.

By Over30 (Over30) on Monday, October 11, 2004 - 12:27 am: Edit

Our experience: S attended one of these for school which admits less than 15% of applicants. The adcom conducting the session talked to every student who waited after the session. She told my S that she likes to put a face with each name, as it helps her when she has to advocate for the students from "her schools." Each adcom has a region and she said it's almost a competition between the adcoms to get qualified students from their own region admitted.

One session he attended for another school was more like the one described above. I think it depends on the school and who is conducting the session.

By Momof2inca (Momof2inca) on Monday, October 11, 2004 - 12:57 am: Edit

Okay, the school is Yale. Does that make a difference? Anyone make contact with their regional adcoms and have it make a difference?

By Marite (Marite) on Monday, October 11, 2004 - 07:07 am: Edit

S had a chance to visit Yale a few weeks ago, for the second time. It turned out the regional adcom had changed from last spring, and the new one was out of the office that day. My understanding of Yale's regional adcoms is that they are straight out of college and do not stay very long. S has had some correspondence with the regional adcom but has never met.
Unless you think that your child will stand out and make a strong impression on the adcom, I would not bother.

By Eadad (Eadad) on Monday, October 11, 2004 - 06:35 pm: Edit

Demonstrated interest means nothing at Yale. With that said, having attended 4 Yale info sessions over two years during our son's process I can tell you that they are all crowded to the point of overcrowded. If you reside in California as your name implies, you can pretty much count on a full house.

There is little or no opportunity for interaction unless you stand in a long line after the session and get your minute, literally. The ability to put a face with a name would have required superhuman skills at any of the events we attended. They didn't even have registration cards at any session (except the one at Yale) to see who was in attendance which reinforces the fact that demonstrated interest is not a factor there.

What I can tell you: it will be emphatically stated that the essays are perhaps the most important part of the Yale application.

They repeatedly state that the essays are your one shot to "bring yourself to life." Another thing is that they "STRONGLY RECOMMEND" having an interview if at all possible (even more importantly for EA) and they stress over and over to follow directions.

DO NOT submit anything more than what they ask for (they said that the thicker files go to the bottom) and only submit a supplemental rec if it is by someone who knows the student in a completely different light and can shed information about them that their teachers or college counselors can't.

My son was admitted to Yale EA last year and right after his admission the college counselors at his school received a call from the regional rep talking about his application and essays. Shortly after that he also got a call and a letter from her again talking about his essays.

My advice: pay alot of attention to the essays, he should do everything possible to make them his voice and allow them to have some insight into who the person is behind the numbers they are looking at.