Sunday, February 15, 2009

Good Weekend, College Touring



Since my daughter is currently only a junior in high school, we are afforded a bit of luxury in time to check out various colleges. She's scared to death to even think about college right now but it's something we have to start. Our visit on Friday took us through some very scary parts of the city but the campus itself, which is patrolled by the city's police force, was very impressive. I went hoping that I wouldn't be impressed but I was. Tomorrow, we will cross state lines to tour another campus. That will bring us up to a total of four that we have visited. My daughter's not sure of what she wants to study but is leaning towards nursing. She's definitely not interested in the business world. She can't see herself as she words it "in a cubicle all day".

We are fortunate in that she does very well in school and I attribute that to her early start on reading as evidenced by the first photo.

It feels like we were just choosing preschools and now it's already time to think about college. Where did the time go???

11 comments:

angie {the arthur clan} said...

It must be such an exciting stage of life for you, but bittersweet as well. She is such a pretty girl Dot!

ChickenGal said...

My guys attended college here at home and commuted.....so I have little experience in out of town or out of state colleges except for my nephew and my friends experiences.....
the best advice I can give is...make sure it is somewhere that you can get there by car in a couple of hours...I mean 3-5 hours.....anything more will mkae you crazy..... here is my reasoning..... in 3-5 hours you can be there to pick them up, make a short visit, or rescue them if needed.....if they are 12 hours away, it can be done , but with more difficulty. If they are over 12 hours away....you lose something in the email and phone cal translations.....and you need airfare to get there fast....which brings me to the friend who's daughter is on the west coast...and then she gets apendicitis....big plane fare, many hours flying and she was in pain..... add this to your pro and con list.... if out of state is where she wants to go, make sure it is an adjoining state, and if it is out of town, make sure they have freeway acess..... I have been to some campuses that are off the beaten path!Good Luck

uberrhund said...

OMG! I remember driving by the main campus of Temple when we were on a College touring trip, awful neighborhood for such a good school.
our daughter , in the end , chose a school 23 miles from home, a good fit and a full tuition scholarship(Not food , books, health, housing etc..). Had she gone 2500 miles away it would have been rough. ChickenGal is right about being under 4 hours away ...hot soup for a sick kid will not travel much farther than that!
Finding a good fit for the classes she wants and for the social culture she needs is the most important.
I would look into every school with a nursing program in a 3 hour/ 100 mile radius.
You two are doing this right since as a JR. she will be testing and sending out apps this spring/summer.
OK, I have babbled enough, I used to work in our High School college center helping kids apply and find the right forms for aid and mostly support them in THEIR dreams not their parents dreams for them.

Anonymous said...

How exciting and what planners you all are. I have two grandaughters in college locally. My one daughter read to her kids starting when they were infants and they excel in school, I also contribute that to her introducing them to reading in early life.

Thank you for stopping by to visit me. Come back often, you're always welcome.

Hugs,
Chris

Christina said...

So wonderful that you all are getting an early start on the campus visits. Best wishes!

Pam O'Brien said...

She looks older than junior high school! She's a doll.
Thanks for the prayers and for missing me... I miss blogging, too!
Looks like we're headed to NC at the end of the month, so things should get back to normal soon after that! At least, that's what I'm hoping...!! :-)

Anonymous said...

The time sure does fly doesn't it? Hopefully she'll find a college close enough that she can visit when she (or you) get to missing each other.

Dughallmor Beagles said...

A scary and exciting time....as you know, our daughters are almost the same age....mine fancies nursing too! You guys seem far more organised than us :o) Good luck with it....and the invitation stands :D
Kisses for Freckles xx

Dot O said...

Thanks, Angie! It is bittersweet.

ChickenGal, we toured another college yesterday and for the first time she said "Mom, I don't want to be far from home". I had already told her that 3-4 hours was really the max we would do unless there were some unusual major (i.e. marine biology) for which she would need to head south or something. So, we are basically looking some of the surrounding colleges in neighboring states and she'll choose from there. She's being flooded by mail and e-mail from so many colleges and she is overwhelmed. All I can think of is how much waste all of that paper is!!!

Janis, it was Temple we saw on Friday. I didn't want to be impressed because of the surrounding neighborhood but I was impressed by the school. It is just so scary... 2 hours after we left, a policeman was shot and killed two blocks from campus!!!

Chris, I too starting reading to both kids when they came home from the hospital. I also played music tapes in their rooms every night when I put them to bed starting day 1. While my son is not as avid a reader as my daughter, they are both so into music and are both in the marching/concert band at school. I'd like to think they were inspired....

Thanks Christina :0)

Pam, she is a junior in high school. Glad to see you were able to stop by. Stay in touch!

Dot O said...

Yes Vicki, time has flown by much to quickly for me.

Nicki, you'll be soon starting the tour too and then I'll be doing it again with my son. Although, he's gone to two tours with us so far. Yesterday's visit was the only one he enjoyed - he loved the campus!

Unknown said...

I have to do this next year. My daughter growing up too fast! How does that happen? Good luck with your search!