Does it increase your chances of acceptance if you visit a school's open house?

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I was going to attend a school's open house that I was intrested in but I would have to take some of the money from my financial aid and I really don't want to do that. So would attending the open house help my chances acceptance. I would like to go to view the school but I could do that if I got a chance to interview there. So has anyone went to an open house and felt it helped their chances for acceptance?

It won't reduce them at least. Overall I think it is unlikely to have a major effect unless you get to know one of the adcoms there, which is unlikely. But one benefit it can provide you is information about the school, which you can talk about that during the interview to show how invested you are in attending.

I've never been, but I can tell you that it probably won't do much at all... Don't waste your time or money.

the only thing it could do is rule out a school or make it easier to rank it on your list. you can get a feel for the faculty, students, and environment of the school.

Yeah its more of a personal benefit to you, they aren't going to put anything in your file that says, "This guy was at the open house we had on 7/10/12"

The best way to up your chances, IMO, would be to shadow and get an LOR from one of their alumni. The open house could help, but not enough to warrant the money (if it's as expensive as you're implying it would be).

Originally Posted by GimpGenius

The best way to up your chances, IMO, would be to shadow and get an LOR from one of their alumni. The open house could help, but not enough to warrant the money (if it's as expensive as you're implying it would be).

does shadowing and getting a LOR from an alumni that attended your dream school really up your chances??

The alumni LOR would put in a good word and probably hold a little more weight than some random physician, but it's still on you to have the stats and nail the interview.

Originally Posted by DrWily

The alumni LOR would put in a good word and probably hold a little more weight than some random physician, but it's still on you to have the stats and nail the interview.

truth

If you do attend one, should you list it in your work/activities section of AACOMAS? Maybe to show you've taken steps to learn more about a certain school/ osteopathic medicine as a whole?

Originally Posted by geh926

If you do attend one, should you list it in your work/activities section of AACOMAS? Maybe to show you've taken steps to learn more about a certain school/ osteopathic medicine as a whole?

No

No it would not help. I mean it might help you personally, show you whether or not you want to go to the school (theres been a lot of schools that I was in love with before I visited them, only to realize that I really didnt like them). Otherwise, all of the important information that you can learn about the school is online.

I don't think schools will bother to go through their records to see if you attended some kind of open house or anything like that. The only way it can benefit you is if you make an impact on someone that happens to be your interviewer later on. Chance of that are probably extremely low.

Originally Posted by Iliketoytles

I've never been, but I can tell you that it probably won't do much at all... Don't waste your time or money.

I don't think it is a waste of time since you are gathering info about the school. How many threads are started on here asking " X vs Y"? This tells me that people don't learn anything about the school at the interview (Nerves or just don't pay attention).
It may not do much, but if you are genuinely interested and can afford the visit then go.

Possibly, but it sounds like not in your situation. If you lived within close driving distance (say, 15 mins) of the school, but never bothered to come check it out, then I might ding you some points at interviews.

In your situation, don't sweat it. I know how tight money is these days.

Originally Posted by Worker Bee

I was going to attend a school's open house that I was intrested in but I would have to take some of the money from my financial aid and I really don't want to do that. So would attending the open house help my chances acceptance. I would like to go to view the school but I could do that if I got a chance to interview there. So has anyone went to an open house and felt it helped their chances for acceptance?

Concur STRONGLY with this post!

Originally Posted by DrWily

The alumni LOR would put in a good word and probably hold a little more weight than some random physician, but it's still on you to have the stats and nail the interview.

Any help it gives you will be marginal. However, it will not hurt. If they gave you preference because of this it wouldn't be fair to students who simply do not live within commuting distance for the open houses.

It could help more than you think. Maybe not, but it puts your name in their head. The more your name is around, the better chance of some kind of connection. As in, "well Frky's interview was ok, his stats were ok, but I recognize this name so he must have been talked about." As long as you don't eff it up, it can't hurt.

Originally Posted by FrkyBgStok

It could help more than you think. Maybe not, but it puts your name in their head. The more your name is around, the better chance of some kind of connection. As in, "well Frky's interview was ok, his stats were ok, but I recognize this name so he must have been talked about." As long as you don't eff it up, it can't hurt.

I agree with this

I would suggest to attend if it is financially doable. I attended and I can say for certain that it helped put a face and personality with my application. If you do not have a great upbeat personality and well spoken, then skip it and let your stats get your foot in the door.

I am of the opinion that it cannot hurt, and therefore if it is feasible it should be done. Here are my reasons:
1. Puts a face with a name, on both sides, you'll have met the admissions people you'll see on interview day, assuming you get an interview
2. You can use it in your secondary "when I visited your school on June 2nd, I could immediately tell your school was an excellent fit for me blah blah blah"
3. It shows you have more interest in the school than just "oh I saw your school on AACOMAS and applied"

Just my thoughts, and FWIW, I went to two open house type things one helped, one didn't... it won't overcome bad stats (like mine) if you don't have a snowball's chance, but if you do have a chance, it CAN make a difference...