<p>Thank you to those of you who answered my questions regarding whether or not a detour to Niagara Falls would be worth it, here’s a synopsis of our college road trip last week:</p>
<p>Greetings from the very hot and humid Midwest! These two Pacific NW women are wilting on our college road trip, but trying to stay positive and are enjoying our air conditioned motel room. </p>
<p>We arrived at U of Illinois yesterday in plenty of time for our 1:00 tour. At the suggestion of many, we grabbed some gyros at Zorba’s for lunch and joined in the excitement of the first day of classes. We felt right at home with all of the lost freshmen. The campus hasn’t changed much since I was there last in 1984. Our tour only had four prospective students, all from out of state, as high school’s in session in Illinois. Our guide was friendly and tried to keep us cool by ducking in air-conditioned bldgs whenever possible. Some audible groans could be heard when someone asked if the dorms, I mean residence halls (must be a dirty word as both the tour guide and admissions person who gave the power point never used the word “DORM”…hmmm???) were air conditioned. Answer: only half. Also, no wifi in many dorm rooms was a big turn off to D. Stopped in the bookstore and bought some t-shirts then headed out of town to W. Lafayette. U of I got mixed reviews from D. Nothing especially bad, just no wow factor. </p>
<p>Today’s tour of Purdue was in jeopardy for several reasons: 1) Way too humid and hot to stay focused, 2) All of the buildings look alike and there were no directional signs welcoming visitors or pointing us in the right direction. We arrived at the slide show presentation 10 min late and very hot from desperately trying to locate our starting point, but finally settled in and enjoyed the A/C. We weren’t going to stay comfy for long as our 90, yes, 90, min walking tour followed the slide show. About six students were in our tour today, again all from out of state. Pretty campus in the middle of the endless Indiana corn fields. D liked Purdue, but still not a home run. Weather may be playing a factor, as it’s hard to be positive when you’re miserable and hot. We visited with a student from our hometown who answered some questions on the good, bad, and ugly of Purdue. It was a nice break from the “our school is the best in the world” slide shows and tours led by students being paid to be enthusiastic and positive. Grabbed a few PU souvenirs and hit the road.</p>
<p>Indiana U.
OMG! Everything about our visit here was perfect and welcoming. From the easy parking/shuttle service, to the bubbly and fun tour guide, it couldn’t have gone better. Props to admissions for offering bottled water and snacks on the hottest day of the year. D felt right at home and could easily see herself going here. Very different vibe from Ill and Purdue which are both big engineering schools. </p>
<p>We stopped in Niagara Falls on our way to Syracuse. Both D and I agreed it was well worth the 2.5 hour detour. In order to make that day manageable (it was originally going to be a 10-hour drive–Mason, OH to Syracuse), we drove 5 hours after our IU visit the day before and stayed in Ashland, OH. BTW, a very nice small college town!</p>
<p>We didn’t have time to do the Maid of the Mist at Niagara, but still enjoyed taking lots of pictures from the US side. It was also really educational to drive through Buffalo and witness a small sample of the “rust belt” with its defunct steel mills and dilapidated buildings.</p>
<p>Syracuse U.
Initial impression driving into the town in the early evening was not good. Dilapidated and somewhat sketchy downtown was off-putting, but I convinced D to keep an open mind for her tours/interviews the next day. Glad she did. The campus was very nice and our tours were informative and interesting. D said she could definitely picture herself attending. She was very impressed with the Whitman School of Mgmt’s fashion/retail programs. </p>
<p>Ithaca College
D was not impressed with the campus and it didn’t feel right for her, although Ithaca is breath-takingly beautiful. A friend who attends Cornell gave us a private tour of her school. One word–WOW! Not an option for D, but for those who have the stats…what a school!</p>
<p>We also stopped by the Fashion Institute of Tech in NY and D agreed that a truly urban college was not was she was looking for. While window shopping on 5th Ave, we chatted with a Michael Kors saleswoman who co-incidentally is an unhappy mktg student at FIT. Says she misses the traditional college scene her friends are experiencing (dorms, sports, Greek row, etc.). She did say she’s getting an excellent education there, so no complaints academically. That sealed the deal for our “big school/small town” D. She has no interest in attending an urban campus.</p>
<p>Bottom line–so glad we visited schools when students were in session (unlike all our previous visits which were in the summer or Xmas break). It really was helpful to see the student population, eat in the cafeterias with students and faculty, talk to students who attend, etc. If you can swing a visit during school, I highly recommend it. It made a world of difference to D.</p>
<p>Our formal tours are done, and now it’s up to D to make her final decisions, get her LORs, and apply. This will be an interesting six months. Can’t wait to see how everything unfolds…</p>
W&L unfortunately does not offer engineering.</p>