St. Olaf - way up!
D24 is already admitted but we had never seen the school. I went in knowing I already loved it, and I was right. The info session was about 30 minutes, and just the right amount of information where we didn’t grow bored. We then split up for tours. Our guide led us and one other mother/daughter, and was great. She showed us a good amount of campus, definitely hit all the major spots. She was engaging and funny, and answered questions well. She also was honest if she didn’t have an answer.
Following the tour we checked back in at the admissions office and they had lots of AOs available for interviews or just to ask questions and chat. We declined an interview since she is already admitted, and chatted for a few minutes before heading to lunch in the dining hall which was included in the visit.
I had heard that St. Olaf has great food and that was an understatement. The number of options was almost overwhelming. Everything was high quality. Dishes like Shrimp Fra Diavolo actually had good sized shrimp, etc. They had leg of lamb. Honestly we were blown away.
They only have one dining hall, by design. Outside there are cubbies and shelves where all students leave their backpacks and other items, the idea being that they will talk to each other during meals rather than be glued to a device. (Our high school does the same, so it is a familiar concept.) I can say that while we were there, at least 95% of students were engaged with each other without phones out. Faculty and staff were sitting with students.
While eating, my daughter confessed to me that she had only applied because our CC had pushed her to do so, and that she really had never had any thought about actually attending, but went on the visit because I wanted to. And now … she loves it and can see herself there. So high praise!
Oh, and being a Friday and in keeping with their Friday Flowers tradition, my daughter was given a rose when we left. Nice touch.