Anecdotal "evidence"....

Periwinkle
Sun, 06 Jan 2013 15:29:44 +0000

How is getting random information from unknown families at revisit day more reliable than from a student review on boardingschoolreview.com?





I have to admit that I’ve never been to a revisit day, but I would personally put that low in ranking of sources for information. Everything about revisit day is geared to win you over. It’s like getting your free night at a timeshare and listening to their spiel. Now mind you, I’m not saying don’t bother going, but take it with as much of a grain of salt as going on facebook, reading reviews on cc or elsewhere, etc.



Having attended more than 5 revisit days, I emphatically disagree with your opinion. The schools can’t control the families, and parents can be quite frank about their opinions of schools. They will share opinions with other parents which they won’t publish on an open internet forum.

I’m not the only poster on this forum to have noticed this. Here’s a post from “Garrity,” who posted in 2007:

Attending one school’s revisit can yield enlightening info. about the other schools on your accepted or waitlisted list. For example,a few years ago several boarding schools within a few hours drive of New York City that also accepted day students were experiencing drug issues. Parents will orally share this type of info. with other parents in person while reluctant to do so elsewhere in other forums. Also info. on other matters is shared such as hazing or administrative turmoil as well as a lot of positive information. Go to as many revisits as you can because it is a wonderful social and learning experience.

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/3715888-post4.html

Also note that several newspaper articles have a habit of appearing and, ah, disappearing from this forum lately. Schools can and do monitor their online reputation.