<p>If I went to spend the night at UVA and visited classes with my host, would that essentially cover the same things that happen at DOTL? Or should I just go to DOTL?</p>
<p>Is spending a night something I should really do? Because my mom would have to drive me there (2 hours), then drive home, and drive back the next morning to pick me up…</p>
<p>Days on the Lawn are fun because they are full of admitted students, so you get to know some of the people you might be attending UVA with next year. There is also a separate program for parents. It’s pretty festive! But you might get a more “normal” sense of what UVA is like by visiting some other time.</p>
<p>When my daughter visited schools she was seriously considering attending, she stayed overnight in the dorms and I stayed overnight in a cheap hotel nearby.</p>
<p>If you are undecided about your college choice, it would be difficult to get as much useful information about UVA from an overrnight as you would from DOTL. Try to schedule a stay with the Monroe Society (student hosts) to coincide with DOTL to get the most complete look – but be aware they get very busy during those weekends so request early. </p>
<p>We found the student and professor panels during DOTL to be very informative – where we first heard about COLA advising and a few must-do classes. You can, of course, sit in on classes with a host, but at DOTL there will be an extensive list that allows you to choose classes in your exact area of interest and timed so that you can still attend other information meetings/tours/panels. The festive atmosphere of so many students visiting would be hard to duplicate with just a student host, no matter how helpful they try to be.</p>
<p>If your parents haven’t spent much time in Charlottesville, they may enjoy an overnight too. We had beautiful spring weather, live music and outdoor seating at resturants on the Corner and the Downtown Mall, strolling among the flowering trees. It really is a special place. </p>
<p>My daughter attended DOTL and did an overnight the night before. She ultimately did not enroll, but found the combo of an overnight/DOTL very worthwhile.</p>
<p>Thank you! I will try to do both</p>