Campus Visits:It's the end of the month and I'm about to take three trips to my potential colleges. I have a good chance of being accepted into all three and I had to visit to see if I could narrow down my choices. Since I'm the first in my family pursuing a college education, I don't really know what to look for in a school. I keep hearing that I will know and it will "feel" right, but that doesn't really help. What is exactly is this right feeling? I hope to achieve this feeling on my visits and gather information about my schools. I'm taking my parents and feel that they may have trouble understanding our tours but I hope for the best.
Ivy College
This is our first of the college trips and to the most prestigious one: Ivy College. It is right near the state line and hopefully all these trips don't put a burden on my parents pocketbook since gas is so highly priced. If I was to imagine college, this would be the perfect picture based on the brochures. It took about 3 hours to arrive and found the town to be in the middle of nowhere. Though it was easy to find, the college itself is surrounded by woods and a road leads the driver into the forest to discover Ivy College. The signs were found were all big names like the John Adams Building for Academic Admissions and the J.P. Reilly Scholars Union and Research Center. From the names, we didn't really understand where to go. We finally found our destination to the Lincoln and Brandy Orientation Unit. The welcome center, as I'll refer to it, was nice and interesting in many ways. It seemed more like a doctor's office than a welcome center. It was very quiet, neat, and demanded respect.
As our guide came, she gave us a packet of information to muddle over and we were on our way. The campus was beautiful. Brick buildings, perfect trees, perfect day, and a nice stroll through Ivy College. She explained to us there were many places to eat and see and made the campus seem smaller than it was. We arrived at the Jasper Kats Center for Medical Research and made our way to the 8th floor. There, my parents were whisked off to who knows where, while I stayed and met a third year student in the medical program. They took me through the criteria for admission and the ins and outs of the program. I asked a ton of questions and some were met with a "I'll have to ask" or "good question". Unfortunately, she wasn't able to answer everything. Next, I got to meet some faculty who were considered world-renowned scholars. They were very interested in my story and if I had any questions. They asked me about my ambitions and where I saw myself after college was over. I re-met my tour guide and I finished the tour exploring the student union, which turned out to be on the other side of campus. I found my parents waiting and it turns out they had a wonderful time with the financial advisor of the school but were still confused about the needs of their college student. Overall, the school and research power was impressive. They were very structured and the people were friendly. It would be nice to go there because I know that they would help me achieve my goals as a pre-med major and become a doctor someday.
Big City University
The second in our trips was to Big City University. Its location is in the heart of Downtown, USA and from what I hear, you get a great education and all that a large city offers. We've been to the city many times and it wasn't too hard to find, though the traffic was frustrating along with the rain. We got to campus finally and it took us a while to find parking. We had to go around and around even to find the place. We arrived at our destination to the large student center, made our way up stairs, and to find the admissions office busy with activity as we looked to start our tour. It had finally stopped raining when we started though the humidity was slightly annoying. We were taken here and there and nothing really stood out as too noteworthy. The city is surrounding the campus and is very noisy. I would hope that I could find a great little place to study once I arrived on site.
The last half of the tour was individualized and I was taken with my parents to the Franklin Medical Center to get a glance at their program. We were greeted by a faculty member and a student. They took us on a tour and sat down to take questions about the university and program. It seemed like the student didn't want to be there and the faculty member felt anxious about the whole event. Despite that fact, the tour was nice, the weather cleared up, and the city surrounding the university intrigued me. We were even taken into the city and pointed out how the institution collaborated with many business, shops, and restaurants. Overall, though the campus itself was interesting, the people weren't as friendly as I had hoped.
State University
State University is an in-state college that has the program I'm looking for, not as prestigious but will offer me a quality education. It is close enough to home and far enough away. Its a new adventure and the final trip on our tour of colleges. The drive was a straight shot up the highway and a right turn directed us to campus. Th signs to the university were easy to read and we turned into the school and a main road led us into campus. From there, we saw signs for the admissions office and ample parking. The main desk was right inside the admissions center and we were just on time for our campus tour. We were taken all around and the guide filled our heads with traditions, building names, cafeterias, book stores, and other things that seemed like the standard for all these tours. We ate in a nice cafeteria with trees inside and quiet spots to study. This was no normal lunch but ate with current students who had the same major I was looking into pursuing. This was amazing for the fact that I got to hear about what they did both on and off campus.
The second half of the tour seemed more custom and was to meet with an academic advisor who oversaw the medical department. The building which housed the medical department seemed full of life, people hanging out, and in general seeming to be engaged with what they were learning. I found my academic advisor to be friendly and open to any questions I had, which was nice, since I had a lot of questions. My parents at this point got taken to do parent things and I hoped they would understand what was going on. My advisor seemed to have as many questions as I did and really wanted to get to know what was important to me, my hopes, fears, and curriculum questions. He asked, "Outside of school, what do you want to do". This was something that flustered me and I had to think about for a few minutes. No one had ever asked me about that before him. I said I wanted to stay connected with my Latino heritage but at the same time get outside of my comfort level. I then found myself being escorted to the student life office, where we visited before, but the advisor made a call and we meet briefly with the Director of Multicultural Affairs. She told me about the programs they had to offer and gave me information on other activities such as Greek life, academic clubs, and sports. We then reunited with my parents and I found out that they were less clueless than usual. They told me that an interpreter had helped with their other tours and were informed about the financial aid process and what they needed to do to help me. As we departed, I found myself smiling because I think I found a right fit. Except I can explain this feeling. The people were what made this experience unique and enjoyable. They were personable, open and saw resources outside of their department to help.
In the end, I had to make a choice. I weighed my options and found that I was putting programs, buildings, and people against each other. I then prioritized what was most important to me. In the end, people seemed like the most influential factor on my decision. The program could be the prestigious in the nation but without anybody to support me, it wouldn't mean as much. I saw the situation I was in, being the first one to go to college, and the need to feel grounded. At one college, it felt like I was a priority to the campus. The faculty, staff and students had a good grasp on who they were, what they were about, and at what length they would help someone in need. I know that financially, some of the other schools are more expensive and I asked myself, what exactly I was paying the extra money for. I found that I could have a great program and people at one school. My final choice is State University. I said, based on my pre-conceptions, that I wasn't too sure about the school but the people seemed to be the deciding factor. I'm really excited to begin my journey, though the stress of finances are still there, I'm eager to become more independent!
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