<p>Here’s the Visitas schedule. Lots to do for parents.
<a href=“http://collegeadmissions.fas.harvard.edu/admitted/VP2011_schedule.pdf[/url]”>http://collegeadmissions.fas.harvard.edu/admitted/VP2011_schedule.pdf</a></p>
<h2>omotesando–Thanks so much! We are actually Americans living in Manila, but after two years here, we love everything Filipino–with the exception of Balut! 
! </h2>
<p>Regarding Freshman Move-In vs. Freshman Parents Weekend: If you possibly can, go to both! Because S1 had so far to travel (from Korea), I felt I had to accompany him. We had to get all his dorm needs–sheets, comforter, towels, extra book shelves, cleaning supplies (not that he ever used those), etc.–after we got to Cambridge, and there was no way he could do that on his own. What I loved about Move-In was that I got to see where he would be living, I got to meet his roommates and their parents, and finally, I was able to attend the opening convocation, which helped to give me a needed sense of closure; after hearing Drew Faust’s speech, and seeing the Class of 2012 together on the steps of Widener, I guess I felt that he was in good hands, that it was okay to leave (hard as it was to say goodbye). </p>
<p>Freshman Parents Weekend was great for different reasons. For one thing, my husband was able to accompany me, which made the weekend extra nice. And this time, instead of meeting the students my son would be living with, we met the people who had become his friends. We were able to take S1 and friends out for dinner and to many other events. It was lovely to see our son happy, comfortable, and proud, showing us his new home. Oh, and one of the best things: Harvard Yard was resplendent with the colors of autumn. I am already looking forward to Freshman Parent Weekend; the tropics are nice, but New England in the fall cannot be matched!</p>
<p>I was going to respond on this topic, but DVK just wrote my response for me! :)</p>
<p>(except that we’re Americans living in the state of Georgia, where we love everything Southern with the exception of sweet tea)</p>
<p>Just got a call from d who went to harvard a day early (visitas), cuz she was so excited to finally see Harvard but so far only 2 people has approached her when she was lost and her host is nowhere half of the time so she had to wait outside. Freshmen being rude to her and interrogated her, it’s almost midnight and she’s getting cold and so now after only 5 hours in Cambridge, d realized that Yale is so more warming and friendly. My question is, how do you calm your child from being upset almost to the point of tears with Harvard’s mentality? Being a parent who is so far away, you kinda feel like sending her back to Yale and let all the friendliness enveloped her instead of the coldness in cambridge. This is very saddening.</p>
<p>almostmtnester, My D also arrived last night to Harvard from Yale Bull Dog Days. She didn’t mention any rudeness but she did say she was exhausted from Bull Dog Days so maybe your daughter is just really tired and everything is overwhelming at the moment. Hopefully she will get some sleep and wake up this morning refreshed and ready to meet the friendly people that are at Harvard. Its hard not to worry when you are so far away. Hopefully because Visitas doesn’t start till Saturday people didn’t realize that she was a visiting freshman and it will be better tomorrow. I am SO sorry that the kids weren’t more helpful and I really hope that things look up on Saturday! Hang in there, I have received calls from my kids before in panic, crying etc. Spent a sleepless night only to call them in the morning and have them say, “Oh its all right now I was just frustrated and tired”. I hope for your daughters sake this is the case. </p>
<p>Did she meet any of the kids coming up from Yale, My D said she was on the train with a bunch of kids deciding between Yale and Harvard and that they had all stuck together when they got there? Tell her if she got any numbers from those kids to give them a call, it may help?</p>
<p>Agree with EAO, I got a similar call from my D last week on her first day at MIT. No specific complaints about the kids, mind you, but she did tell me that she thought “college is lame!” You bet I was worried, too. The next day, she was having the time of her life and was trying to figure out how to keep in touch with the kids she met there (and that included MIT/ Harvard cross admits who she will see this weekend). Your D was probably exhausted and overwhelmed when she arrived. She’ll be ok. :)</p>
<p>EA01227 - Nope, my D went to H by herself in the early afternoon cuz the kids that she was “hanging out with” were either waitlisted at H or did not apply. So, she was already “persuaded” to attend Y from what I gathered from the older sibling.
and dignified1 - I guess H is completely out of her college choices because she called me this morning at 6 telling me to not be upset with her if she did not buy any H gears. It kind of saddened me cuz she didn’t even give H a chance. </p>
<p>I still remember her crying after reading the acceptance e-mail. The only school acceptance that she got emotional (dream school). I also like H cuz the financial aid is a lot better than Y.
Only wished she had travel with other kids that are visiting H. That would have been much better. Oh well, que sera sera.</p>
<p>p/s - You don’t have to apologized EA01227, though I do appreciate it. But its so frustrating when your child is upset and lonely. And, the only numbers she has are kids who will be attending Yale next fall. Don’t know about the “waitlisted kids” tho.</p>
<p>almostmtnester, the good news is, your daughter is firm in her choice. Unfortunately it sound like she is setting herself up for a bad weekend. My daughter just headed over to check in around noon so just maybe the day will start to look up for your daughter as the day progresses. Either way she has no bad choices and Yale is an awesome school. I only apologized because I have two kids at Harvard already and it bothers me to hear that kids are rude and unfriendly!
By the way, send Yale your Harvard Financial Aide letter and ask them to review thier offer. We did and they matched Harvards (came down 50%!) Well worth faxing the offer letter. We did this because Yale’s Admissions Officer wrote my D and told her if there was anything preventing her from accepting Yale’s offer-like financial please let them know and to forward her any offers of financial aide that were better and she would see what she could do. We did and they did. </p>
<p>I know how you feel about feeling like you can’t do anything for your kids, we have lived overseas for the entire time my kids have been at college and it is so hard to be so far away when they need you! Hang in there and be happy with the thought that she has found a school where she is really happy!</p>
<p>EAO, hopefully she’ll meet some kids that are really really nice and friendly so she won’t be alone. I do know that she is looking forward to the FEM concert. The only reason she decided to stay and not come home. I guess Yale won her over with “people” and suite. Oh yeah, she also said that the food wasn’t great. Is that true? Older sibling told her that all colleges food are crappy. 
Thanks for the advice on financial aid. Will wait till she gets home, on Monday evening, to discuss that. Hopefully Y will match H’s offer.</p>
<p>Keep in mind: 1) no school just automatically matches another’s offer without careful reasoning and analysis and 2) while no one should attend a school that is not a good fit for them, the best decisions in life are made by keeping an open mind throughout (and to the end of) the evaluation process despite one’s previous predilections.</p>
<p>I would suggest the best path at this stage is to actively participate, listen, and seek out the relevant information during the remaining 48 hours of VISITAS so that substantive comparisons among schools can be made. Short of that, it’s simply a waste of ones own time as well as that of those around them.</p>
<p>Hi everyone,</p>
<p>I have been reading CC posts since my D signed up an account a year ago. She was admitted to the class of 2015. We are so happy for her since H has always been her dream school since she was little. Both of my husband and I went to state Us so Ivy is a new world to us. I started reading the parent thread from page 1 to 193 in the last week. What a treasure!! I am so grateful for the opportunity to learn from other parents’ experiences over the last three years. So much wisdom and sharing from parents like guitars, gadad, eao, twinmom, etondad, and many more. Please know that your posts have helped parents like me to get ready for the exciting years to come.</p>
<p>My D is enjoying Visitas immensely at this moment, as reflected by her very short text messages. She just went to the Princeton Preview and was blown away by the diversity at H in comparison to Pton. As a multiracial, she feels right at home. Her host did not call her back after she left messages for her numerous times, so she found a friend’s friend who can house her tonight. Just done talking to her and she said that the most amazing thing so far about H is its people, so diverse, so passionate, and so talented! She is having a ball. I can just imagine what a great experience she will have when she begins as a freshman in August. Thanks again for the wonderful words of wisdom.</p>
<p>I can’t never figure out this financial aid business. For us, Yale gave us a lot more than Princeton and Harvard, MIT gave almost nothing. We faxed Y offer letter to Harvard. Harvard ended up raised the amount but still did not match Yale. With an old sibling at H, our S was already "“persuaded” to attend H anyway, we were just happy H did give us more.</p>
<p>Today was a weird day for me-- I traveled to Y with my D who is a junior and was invited by the coach of her sport to visit-- she wasn’t expecting to like Yale but fell in love with it-- she spent the day saying-- this is so beautiful-- this is so awesome (it also didn’t hurt that when she got off the elevator at Payne Whitney that the first person she saw was a dear friend who graduated last year from her school and was on the same team as my D.) Great interview–of course, trust nothing without the likely letter in hand!</p>
<p>The took Acela back in time to hear President Faust’s address to pre-frosh and parents. My S has been blown away by Visitas. He is just so happy-- already made a bunch of friends (I gather there is a very active FB group of accepted students and a lot of them met up today and have been going to events together. When I told her about my D’s day --(she is also looking at H) he said–“oh, now that I met a bunch of H students and have met Y students she is just so much more a Yalie.” So, who knows there may be a yearly fight each November at The Game. (Of course I’m also mixed up as a Yalie who has his graduate degrees and has been a teacher and advisor at Harvard for over 20 years I am confused too! :-)</p>
<p>@ almost-- my S is right in that there is a very different feel btwn the two schools-- Yale is much more communal and Harvard is much more you are on your own and there are no limits on you (Faust’s talk was big on that and mentioned the House system almost as an after thought whereas I would bet that Levin wiuld talk about the College system in the main part of his speech…) You have to fend for yourself a good deal more at H–no doubt about it.</p>
<p>Neither school is right for everyone. I guess you should start buying blue accessories for her room.</p>
<p>My S only received one admission package with the congrats letter and certificate, other than that, he never receive any other package. But from old parents thread, sounds like there should be more packages and forms received. So I want to find out if we lost any mail from Harvard.</p>
<p>Other schools like Stanford, Yale, Princeton, MIT keep sending us mails after admission envelop. It seems wierd we only got one from Harvard.</p>
<p>By the way, my son enjoy the weekend so much, he love the school and friends he met.</p>
<p>BTW, there are a whole host of kids on the wait list thread that would kill to have the chance to take her spot, so if H isn’t right-- let someone who absolutely wants it, take her place. She’ll have a great time at Y.</p>
<p>(BTW, Fitzsimmons was spot on when he told the pre-frosh gathering before Faust spoke-- make the decision where to attend with your heart, not your head–it seems clear that her heart is telling her Y. Go for it…)</p>
<p>Just spoke with D and she is having a great time but is more confused than ever. Said she thought the Yale Campus was gorgeous, people UBER friendly, housing amazing and food great but that after two days felt a bit closed in. Harvard has been great as well, dorms older and a bit run down (she already knew this from sibs) food not as great, people not overly friendly but the ones she has met very sincere, and yet she loves the diversity and feel of Harvard and the feeling of Cambridge, felt like she had come home. Said the decision will be so hard as she likes both for different reasons! She has met a ton of kids from both schools and is having a blast so all in all has been a great sucess. And Etondad is right, whichever school she doesn’t choose some lucky waitlister will take her spot and be elated!
WS59, realize school are not going to just take some money off the bill without careful analysis and I would not have even thought of doing so if Yale had not asked us specifically to do so! As Yale’s has changed it financial aide policies for middle class families, they are a bit more pricey and for many people those few thousand dollars means a lot. I feel that if money is an issue for Nester she should at least ask they can always say no. I have found the FA people at Yale and Harvard to be nothing but helpful.</p>
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<p>Not necessarily. Not even Harvard has a 100% yield. They accept a about 2100 applicants with the goal of enrolling about 1660 freshmen. They go to the waiting list only if and when the number committing to the school looks like it’s going to fall a little short of the enrollment target. About 400 accepted students reject Harvard every year. And it takes a little more than that saying no before the hopefuls start coming off the wait list.</p>
<p>I have talked to D a couple of times during her visit to H. She arrived Friday evening since we live on the West Coast. D loves H but was a bit frustrated with her host. Her host met her and then proceeded to ditch her. This was frustrating but my D met some other kids at H and now is having a great time. She told me this morning that she is going to attend Harvard. We are thrilled.<br>
We are perplexed at the financial aid with all the schools. D was accepted at Dartmouth but we would have had to pay thousands more for her to attend. Dartmouth did state in the financial aid award letter if D was accepted into any other Ivy League schools to return that schools financial aid award letter and they would see if they could match the award. Amazingly Dartmouth did match Harvard’s. D has told me today she wants to attend Harvard. It just feels right to her:)</p>
<p>I stand corrected! Let’s say hopefully some waitlister will be lucky enough to get a spot!</p>
<p>EAOyes, a few thousand dollar difference is certainly a lot of money, and I would say on balance for most people (but not necessarily in every circumstance), Harvard FA is clearly superior to that of its competitors. My point to the OP was simply not to think a matching offer from Yale was a given (or even probable) just because H made a better offer, and given that fact, it might be wise for her D to take advantage of Visitas to its fullest before coming to a final decision.</p>