Many colleges will hold “admit days” in April when applicants who’ve been accepted can visit the school. Students (and often parents) can spend the day attending information sessions, touring dorms, hearing student panels, and interacting with current students. It’s the college version of an open house where the host puts their most impressive foot forward to wow visitors.
A Collegewise parent asked us a savvy question today. Isn’t visiting a college on an admit day like visiting New Orleans during Mardi Gras? Wouldn’t a student get a more realistic sense of the college by visiting on just a regular weekday? Her point is a good one.
I do like the admit days because they make it easy for visitors. You get to tour dorms and facilities, hear from faculty, and even interact with students more so than you’d ever be able to do on a regular visit. I also like the celebratory feel to it (many of the admit day announcements I looked up before writing this actually used the word “celebration”). They’re festive affairs. The pressure is off because the kids have been accepted. So students can just have some fun and finally enjoy being courted by a college that wants them.
But if you’d rather get a more realistic sense of everyday life at a college, especially if you’re not the kind of student who needs to tour all the dorms or talk to academic advisors in order to pick your school, you might pass on the admit day. Pick a regular day to visit, like a food critic who shows up to a restaurant without announcing her intentions.
Either way, make sure you relish this. You’re finally in. Now you’re the one holding all the cards. That’s a pretty great position to be in no matter when you tour a college.