News from the 2013 College Reception Circuit

Pitzer College

Many colleges and universities hit the road this time of year to begin a recruitment process that actually gets into full swing in the fall.

Short of actually visiting a campus, these presentations offer opportunities for you to get basic information about a school as well as make yourself known to area representatives.

Although these sessions are usually open to the public, it’s generally a good idea to pre-register if the opportunity is offered. Otherwise, how are the folks running the event going to know how many folding chairs to set up?

The following are some of the more popular spring events:

• Exploring College Options: This is a special recruitment program sponsored by the undergraduate admissions offices of Duke, Georgetown, Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, and Stanford. The tour has three stops in the DC area, with the first scheduled for Monday, May 20th, at the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, at 7:30 p.m. Two additional sessions will be held on May21st at the Tysons Corner Marriott, and Wednesday, May 22^nd at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill.
• Colleges That Change Lives: This year, CTCL will visit the Washington DC area on Sunday, May 19, at the Marriott Bethesda North Hotel and Conference Center, at 1:00 pm. Each program begins with a 30-minute information session followed immediately by the college fair.
• The Claremont Colleges:   The Claremont Colleges (Harvey Mudd, Claremont McKenna, Pitzer, Pomona and Scripps Colleges) will hold a local information session on Saturday, May 18, from 2 to 4 p.m., at the Pooks Hill Bethesda Marriott.
• Exploring Educational Excellence:  Join Brown, Chicago, Columbia, Cornell, and Rice for an information session targeted to prospective students and families. Sessions include an overview of each institution, information on admissions and financial aid, as well as a chance to speak informally with admissions representatives.
• 8 of the Best Colleges: Claremont McKenna, Colorado College, Connecticut College, Grinnell, Haverford, Kenyon, Macalester, and Sarah Lawrence invite students and families to learn more about these eight nationally recognized liberal arts colleges. Six programs remain for the year.
• Coast to Coast Tour:  Dartmouth, Northwestern, Princeton, UC Berkeley, and Vanderbilt visit nine cities in eight states.  The evening includes a brief information session about each school and time to interact with admissions representatives in a college fair format.  The tour comes to the DC area on May 23^rd.
• Boston College:   This informational program is designed to provide prospective students with an “Eagle Overview.”
• Carnegie Mellon University:  Admissions counselors will present a general information session to high school students who may be in the early stages of their college search. You can register now for the event scheduled for Sunday, June 2, at the Bethesda Marriott Hotel.
• Northwestern University:  In addition to the Coast to Coast Tour (see above), additional sessions are open to students and their families in other parts of the country.  Northwestern travels with Dartmouth, Princeton, Vanderbilt and UVA to Southern California in June 2013.
• The University of North Carolina at Greensboro:  Two "First Look" sessions will be held in the DC area.  The first will take place on May 29, in Rockville, and the second is scheduled for May 21, at the Tysons Corner Marriott.  Online registration will require you to open a SpartanLink account.

Note that you're much more likely to receive advance notice of these events if you've registered for information or otherwise demonstrated interest to colleges on your search list