Spring 2008 Parent Opportunities to Meet Admission Officers

[tokenadult]

Thanks for the link, Sybbie.

[sybbie719]

SUNY is hosting 3 SUNY College Nights

Saddle Brook Marriot (NJ) Monday, May 19
The Amory Track & Feild Center (NYC) Tuesday, May 20
Binghamton University, Wednesday May 21

Additional information aabout each program & online registration can be found at

SUNY: Activities and Events

[tokenadult]

Thanks again, Sybbie.

[tokenadult]

Some of these events have happened by now in various parts of the country. I'd be grateful to hear from participants what you learned and what the event was like in your town.

[momof3sons]

Hi tokenadult,
I took one of my 10th grade sons to the "Exploring College Options" program in my area last night. It was held in a hotel ballroom, which was pretty much packed, think hundreds of people. (Harvard, Penn, Stanford, Georgetown and Duke.) Each admissions officer made a PowerPoint presentation lasting somewhere around 10-15 minutes. They all stressed their new financial aid policies and the fact that $$ matters should not preclude a student from applying. They talked about student faculty ratios, and the beauty and advantages of going to school in their geographic area. After all the individual presentations were done, they opened up the floor to some questions, stressing that they wanted general questions which would apply to many of the students in the room. One question asked was, "what are the important things you look for when evaluating an applicant?" The Harvard rep said, "Oh, you mean how do you get in?" A good chuckle was had by all. Then the question was answered seriously, and not surprisingly, the answer was that the student's record, the transcript, was the first thing that was looked at. Standardized testing was next, with the comment that there was no formula or cutoff used for those numbers. After a few more general questions, the large group was broken up into 5 smaller groups so that students could speak with the individual admissions officers. We didn't stay for that portion of the program since my S is only in the 10th grade. He actually thanked me for taking him to the program and said that seeing the presentations made everything seem more real.

[tokenadult]

Thanks, momof3sons, I really appreciate the report. In your region of the country, is there usually snow? I ask, because I notice when Exploring College Options comes to Minnesota, most of the colleges try to show snow scenes on campus to be inviting to Minnesotans. (Stanford just can't do that; Duke's snow scene looks very lame.) I wonder how much audience adaptation there is in these programs, as I have never seen the same consortium present at two different cities.

[jackief]

when we went to this event last year (in our cold/snowy section of the country) the Stanford guy kept overemphasizing the warmth and green grass and sunny days. No other college focused much on the weather, I don't remember anyone noting snowy pictures, maybe because that was our "norm."

At another one of these tours, the Columbia shots all showed the same patch of grass. My d and I joked that this must be the only grass on the campus, as they kept showing it from different angles.

[fireflyscout]

When D and I attended a Bowdoin/Carleton/Pomona/Swarthmore presentation, they called the snow pictures their "truth in advertising" shots. No shots of mud season, however.

[momof3sons]

Yes, tokenadult, we've got our fair share of snow. I recall that the Duke presentation showed a snow "blizzard" of a couple of inches or more. They made a joke about it. Georgetown had one picture showing snow, but the rep didn't even comment about it.

[tokenadult]

Carnegie Mellon University has updated its webpage about admission visits to other states for spring 2008.

Carnegie Mellon Counselors on the Road

[vmataram]

DS and I attended the Exploring College Options (our first program). One encouraging info that the college representatives emphasized was that they would offer generous FinAid. Other than that I did not find anything new that I could learn by attending. C.C offers a wealth of info on all aspects of the college admission process. How does one take advantage of these programs.

[tokenadult]

Thanks for mentioning that you just attended Exploring College Options. Please let me make sure I understand what you are asking about when you ask, "How does one take advantage of these programs." Are you asking, how does one get the most out of attending a regional information session, or are you asking something else?

[vmataram]

Yes. Thats what I meant. Sorry. I did not phrase my question correctly.

[tokenadult]

Well, let's talk about that. What I hope to do next weekend when Exploring College Options comes to my town is to take a lot of notes during the general session, and then go to one corner of the room to hear all the questions asked of the representative of one of the five colleges at the meeting while my wife and son listen to the questions asked of another college representative. I'll try to type up my notes and post them here.

What questions do parents suggest I ask at the next joint college information session I attend? What is still unclear, for those of you who have already attended a session this spring?

[Jolynne Smyth]

A lot of colleges are having 'information nights' and college fairs in our area.

Maybe it's just me (& son) but it doesn't seem the kids get much out of that type of experience. Tons of tables with look-alike brochures; chatty admissions officers who tell you how great the school is (all info you can find on a website). It's simultaneously overwhelming (at college fairs) and uninforming.

But, we've got a couple fairs upcoming (one put out by "Colleges that Change Lives" [interesting book] and one by the Harvey Mudd, etc. consoritum) & wondering if it's worth it to spend hours traveling/attending, esp. while son is prepping for his SAT IIs, etc.