<p>I’m thinking of attending Amherst’s open house in April and I live in CA so I’d have to take a long plane ride to get there. My question is, when you attended an open house-type program, were there students there without their parents? </p>
<p>If I feel out of place while there (if only because I’m there alone), it would probably alter my perception of the college and I don’t want my impressions to be wrong simply because I felt anxious/lonely.</p>
<p>I think it kind of depends on how much you have traveled on your own and how independent you are. My D is flying to PA from CA on her own to check out a school- the school actually offered to pay her expenses and I really can’t afford the extra money to go with her. However she is 20 and has been out on her own for a short time already. She is pretty independent but I’m not sure she would have been ready to do that at 18. Definitely the majority of kids will have there parents with them and it may be a bit awkward. Also it can be difficult because you will have to rely on public transportation- taxis or whatever they have- since you can’t rent a car unless you are older. As long as you plan ahead, you should be OK.</p>
<p>When I visited Amherst, it felt kind of in-the-mountains isolated. Like, we had to drive for a while through a cold rural New England setting before we got there. I visited Amherst by car so I don’t know what it’s like to travel there by plane, but IIRC the nearest airport to Amherst is ~1 hour away by car. </p>
<p>It depends on the kind of Open House it is. There are Open House programs where the kids are separated from the parents and given different presentations; you would probably not feel left out in that situation. If the kids are kept with their parents, it may be a little awkward because any socializing you do with the kids are in front of their families.</p>
<p>Schools that have open houses where students are without their parents are usually more regional, ie ones that draw their student body predominantly from the surrounding area and states. In these cases the intention is more to have students go with a bunch of friends and classmates for a day to the open house.</p>