I do agree that the breakfast was a little awkward, but I think that was due to admitted students. Also, I think it was the awkwardness of networking events where everyone is just thrown in a room. After just a few minutes, I no longer found it awkward. (Also, the food was great.) As a note, there were 110 students in attendance; it came up in a conversation with someone from Admissions who had helped organize the event.
There were three or so tour groups that left during this time, but I didn't go on any of them. They do say that it is a very abbreviated tour, so I would suggest touring the school and sitting in on a class another day. I did that and the tour was absolutely fabulous. The class also gave me a good insight into the student life in addition to the class. (That's another matter though, since it was a different visit. I will say that everyone was very welcoming and engaged.) I actually met with the tour guide I had had previously at the ASD breakfast - she came running over to say hello, answer any questions, and directed me to people she thought I'd be interested in speaking with due to my interests. I was able to meet with a lot of current students, professors, and staff.
You can also walk around during this time to look at a few of the organizations, information on journals, housing information, and the like. Not many seemed to be doing this, but I thought it was a good way to talk to someone you knew was a student (with similar interests, potentially) before you actually got close enough to read their name tag.
My only real issue with the breakfast was how noisy it was, but that's not something to be helped. I suggest arriving early, particularly since they allowed people in almost a half hour early. (I was walking around outside and noticed.)
Following a few brief words, we went upstairs to a nice classroom for the mock class. I was less interested in this due to having attended a real class, but I did find it interesting and well done. I think the real class was more engaged, but it had a similar or higher level of energy and comfort. I would say that the classrooms are not as nice as I’ve had before, but I don’t expect most schools to match my undergrad’s. In comparison to most schools, these are nice rooms with computer hookups, great views, comfortable, etc. The chairs are kind of unique, because they are the kind where two are connected to the table and swivel to the side (same as BC). The windows also open, so it is nice and cool.
We then had the student/CDO panel. While I agree that there was too much time spent on the individual students’ resumes (especially since we had them in front of us), I thought this was otherwise a great program. I learned a lot of opportunities that simply aren’t explained online. It was good to see how some people have been able to combine programs and get more out of it. I liked Maura Kelley a lot, too – her honesty and charisma really show.
Lunch was good. I thought the food was terrific, but we probably had different sandwiches.
We had a really good discussion with the professor at our table. The dean gave a really good speech, which managed to be energetic, informative, and interesting.The faculty panel was also very informative – not in terms of classes/clinics offered (if you’ve done even minimal research) but more so in getting a feel for different professors and being able to ask about specific programs.
As a note, I think much of the information throughout the day covered information boring to me, since I did a lot of research, but the school needs to cover it for those who don’t research (particularly displayed in questions from admitted students that could be found quickly on the website).
The financial aid session wasn’t anything new, since I’ve dealt with financial aid and paying myself throughout undergrad. It did go into school-specific information, including a discussion on places to live and adjustments to the budget. The woman (who was great – energetic, informative, and quick) also showed us the new calculator that is going on the financial aid website this week. I suggest checking it out, not for new information but instead to compare different options. (I also found from later discussions that information in this session greatly surprised some people.)
Since we finished the finaid session in about a half hour (one hour was allotted), we got to wander and go to the ice cream social (and our tshirts) early. I liked this section, too. While the ice cream was good, this time more importantly let us review what happened over the day, talk to other admitted students, and talk with current students.
I did attend the bar night following. I highly recommend this to anyone attending, since it was very beneficial. (There is also a lot of free alcohol and a small amount of food, but that’s not the reason to attend.) The students are very welcoming, want to help you decide, and basically have a great time. They also invited us to a few later events. A lot of people seemed to not stay long, but I suggest waiting these people out so you can get the real feel of it. I was able to talk to a ton of people, had a great time, etc.
Overall, I highly suggest attending the day. You need to go out of your comfort zone in the beginning, but it is worth it to get a feel for the school. I found the entire day helpful – and most of it was fun.
