By Lucia Tyler Ph.D.
Certified Educational Planner

Hooray!  You just got accepted to Harvard and they have invited you to an  accepted students day open house.  Uh-oh---that is a day that you promised to work at your restaurant job and nobody else is available. Should you visit on another day?  Absolutely.  What are the Pros and Cons of going during an Open House.

Pros-

•  You get to talk to other students that were accepted and meet possible future friends and peers.
• Special events like faculty panels and workshops are scheduled.
• You are given the royal treatment with special guides and food.
• Facilities are often accessible like labs and library collections that may not be open on normal tours.

Cons-

• You won't see the campus on an average day because they have rolled out the red carpet.
• Special food is served that is rarely seen by the regular students.
• It will be hard to evaluated normal activity and interractions because of the volume of visitors.
• Campus tours are often large and it may be hard to hear the guide.