Why wouldn’t the school give the students who have expressed interest in this program (which you must apply to separately as part of your application, so the school certainly knows of our serious interest) to someone who knew something about it?
Reverse scenario: Perhaps the school asks why are people waiting until just before the deadline to tour such a niche program if it is that important to them.
Not only that, but none of the kids that we saw seemed particularly welcoming. At other schools, you can tell that kids have been told to be good representatives of the school when a tour goes by: they straighten up, put away their phones, and look studious. They give you a big smile as you walk by, and say hi to the tour guide to show what a friendly environment it is.
So you’re upset that the school didn’t fake it for you to entice you to go there? Would you rather have them appear sparkly and shiny now then realize how gut wrenching awful it is AFTER you sent them your $50k check?
It’s perfectly ok that a school didn’t live up to your expectations so close to the application deadline. If you’d gone earlier in the year, you could have saved $50-60 and not wasted your child’s time applying.