College Reflection and Visits

On Saturday night I went back to my college alma mater - do you know where I attended college???  If you thought to yourself, of course, the University of Kentucky, then I have reason to smile.  If you didn't know that I went to UK then let me start off by mentioning that UK is located in Lexington, Kentucky.  Lexi, our school therapy dog, is actually named LEXINGTON!  :-)  Lexi is just her nickname.  And, if naming my dog after where I attended college isn't enough, then perhaps the large pennant, magnets, artwork, and lamp in my office would make it clear.  Ha.  Yes, I am proud of the fact that I attended the University of Kentucky.  I had an incredible 4 years there and was reminded of that this weekend while there for the football game against South Carolina.  Thankfully UK won the football game which is exciting as football is not particularly their greatest strength.  I had an AWESOME time at the game and was reminded so much of my times in college.  And, as I am apt to do, my college memories made me start to think about you and your search for a college.

During my time in college I traveled often to LOTS of different college campuses, but my visits to each campus was short and basically consisted of the training rooms, football stadiums, tennis courts, or gyms. I know enough to remember that if I never see the color orange and hear the song Rocky Top again it will be too soon (University of Tennessee) and that everywhere you turn at the University of Arkansas you will see the image of the Razorback which is this bizarre pig like looking creature, but truthfully I cannot tell you much about either campus and the academic offerings at those or most of the schools that I recall traveling to in the past.  It is important to remember that while you may be a die-hard fan for a particular college team, you still need to make sure the actual college - the campus, the academic opportunities, the dorms, and the organizations available will fit your interests and needs.  Just because you are at a campus for a game (like I was this weekend) does NOT equate to a college visit - so if you are traveling to a beloved school to see a game, please be sure to see more than just the stadium.  (And yes, this does include OSU - you should actually go and VISIT campus and not just assume that because you have gone to lots of games at OSU or because it is in your "backyard" that you already know everything there is to know about the school.)

One of my biggest tips for when you are making your college visits is to pay attention to the details around you and all that there is to learn about the school.

Try to keep in mind that there are a lot of outside factors that can influence the quality of your visit – positively or negatively. For example, the weather… if it is a gorgeous sunny day with perfect temperatures you may think it is the most beautiful school and if it cold, rainy, or dreary you may think it is miserable, but try to remember that the weather changes from day to day and judge the school without being overly influenced by the weather. (Please also remember that if you are traveling to areas in different climates than Ohio that weather may be a factor, so I am not making a blanket statement to always ignore the weather.)

Tour guides also form a huge impression of the school that you visit. Most colleges know that and will try to find outgoing, positive, energetic students to take you through the campus. Ideally the guides will try to get to know something about you or your interests to help point those aspects of the school out to you, but the reality is the students serving as tour guides are not always great and, let’s be honest here, we all have bad days so even some of the good ones can have off days where they won’t be impressive on the visit. I know it can be hard, but try to separate the guide from the school.

If you can spare the time – stop and sit on a bench and just “people watch.” Are these people that you can imagine being your friends in the future? Remember, you are hoping that in the near future that you will be able to make friends with them and others like them on campus. Think about how you are feeling on the campus – can you imagine yourself being there and being both happy and successful at this school?

Eat in the dining halls of campus.  Is there a wide selection of food choices available?  Do you like the food?  Talk to students who are also eating in the cafeteria - find out what they are studying, what they think of the school and ask for suggestions they have for you. Sometimes your best insights into a campus may come from those you just run into and can strike up a conversation with during your visit.

In addition to people watching, check out the bulletin boards, campus newspaper and other signs highlighting upcoming events and opportunities on campus.  Try to think about how much the activities appeal to you.

If school spirit and pride in your college is important to you (and, quite honestly, I think it is always a good sign when people are proud of their college), then watch as you walk through campus - how often do you pass people wearing shirts or sweatshirts featuring the college's name - it is shocking at how different that is on various campuses.  Now, that being said, please remember that this measurement is not going to be valid on a game day as you are likely going to see TONS of people decked out in their team's colors.

Visiting college campuses is one of the truly fun adventures in the college search process, I hope you will enjoy every second of it.  Who knows, maybe the next campus you visit will be your future home for 4 years after you are done at WKHS.