<p>As Alongfortheride has explained, I’ve had some more thoughts.
It would have been better if the student had written his email somewhat differently, not presenting his decisions as a done deal, but explaining that he’d already made arrangements to visit MIT and asking to meet with the director in order to work out some ways of dealing with it.<br>
I still think the director was out of line in the way he reacted. After all, the young man had made arrangements to visit MIT before he knew of this last minute addition to the band schedule. At least, the band director should acknowledge this reality. As the adult in this story, I find his behavior quite objectionable, more so than the tone of the student’s email. </p>
<p>That said, the student SHOULD plan on visiting MIT. If he explains to the adcom that he cannot come for the CPW, they may be able to arrange a different time for him to visit. The biggest issue is the student host, but that should not be too difficult a problem. He will also have to make different travel arrangements and perhaps pay a penalty for changing dates. </p>
<p>So, again, let’s hope that tempers will have cooled and hurt feelings will have been soothed over the weekend, and that both sides can get together and discuss what can be done in a rational manner. The student can acknowledge that the performance is important to the band, the school and his bandmates; the director should withdraw his threats of flunking the student and also acknowledge that he overreacted. No betting that it will happen, though.</p>
<p>marite if my son had applied and was accepted at MIT, we wouldn’t have gone. MIT is AM-EYE-TEE. No need to check out !!! My S would have saved his absences for the exmptions from the finals.</p>
<p>If it were anywhere but MIT (or Caltech) I don’t think the weekend would be that big a deal, and that your kid should do band. But MIT is a very intense place, and your son absolutely should not attend unless he really feels he belongs. From what the other posters have said, the preview weekend would probably be a GOOD THING. </p>
<p>Simba, MIT is indeed AM-EYE-TEE. And that’s precisely why a student needs to visit before deciding to matriculate.
My S hesitated a lot between MIT and Harvard before deciding to apply to Harvard EA. MIT had been his first choice during the summer, mostly because he had a couple of very good friends going there. After attending the info session, however, he had second thoughts. He does not see himself as an engineering type and was concerned that, excellent though math and physics are at MIT, the atmosphere might be dominated by engineering students. It was not something he had focused on before the info session.</p>
<p>Yes, students should visit MIT before accepting. But why does it have to be CPW specifically??? It is ridiculously easy to arrange a dorm stay and visit classes at MIT at a time of your choosing. This was easier to set up at MIT than at anyplace else my son visited.</p>
