My Side of the Fence

The danger isn't going too far. It's that we don't go far enough.

The College Tour

We're getting close.  Close to that time when the daughter is going to have to make an important life decision.  A life decision that the 'rents can't make for her.  We can get her to the vicinity of the decision – this ain't horse shoes but close also counts when it comes to parental involvement in life decisions.  To this end and in pursuit of my parental duties I agreed to take her on a whirlwind tour of colleges in Virginia.  Well, three colleges anyway.  It was quite an experience.  The weather chased us the entire length of the state but we managed to stay one step ahead the entire way!  Of course, when you go college touring with my daughter you must be prepared for just awful weather.  

So, we motored down I-66 to 81 – the "college highway".  There must have been a state law at some point that all colleges would be built along I-81.  There are a ridiculous number of them but we were looking at two: Mary Baldwin and Hollins.  We've previously been to many of the other schools and these two institutions had both offered Erin a decent scholarship.  Not sure that either one was the right fit but we had an invite at Hollins to interview for a more august level of scholarship so we figured we'd take it.  The experience is worth the time.

First up was Mary Baldwin.  We've been accepted to Mary Baldwin but didn't really know much about it.  There was no organized activity at MBC so we just drove around campus.  It's a nice looking facility but it is hilly!  Having checked that box, we went to stay overnight at Hotel Roanoke.  What a great hotel that is and the way that Roanoke has built up that downtown area is just fabulous.  We arrived about 30 minutes before the snow / wind storm kicked into high gear.  Thankfully it didn't last long – we were driving a rear-wheel drive car!

The next morning we went to Hollins.  I admit to not knowing a hell of a lot about Hollins other than it is all women and that they have a riding team.  That seems like a fair breeding ground for a bunch of snobs and I'm sure that they're there somewhere but all of the women we had occasion to talk to were pretty ordinary peeps.  Sitting in the dining hall (really nice btw) and watching the kids interact, it's pretty clear that the school makes a serious effort to recruit all kinds of women.  The Hollins tour and presentations were well-executed and highly informative.  Beautiful campus.  It was actually a 2 day event but the next day we had to run over to VCU for an accepted students event.  So, along about 2 we left Hollins.

VCU

Stairs to the Lobby

Richmond is an easy drive from Roanoke and 64 is pretty relaxed so I let my daughter drive part of the way.  The first time she's driven on a "fast road".  She did great but she sure was nervous.  We rolled into Richmond and I had used some card points to get us a room at the Jefferson.  What a marble barn that place is!  My thoughts on the Jefferson in a nutshell: check-in was great.  Service was slow.  Room was large but the heater couldn't keep it warm.  Food was great.  There's signs of faded glory creeping in.  I'd go back to eat but would not stay there again.  Wasn't worth it.  

The next morning we were up and off to VCU for some more education about the school.  They sent the kids to one auditorium and the parents to another.  VCU is always a tough school to fathom.  It's pretty large and mixed right into the surrounding city.  The daughter thought the students portion of the program was pretty good but I thought the parents one was horrid.  We were in an auditorium that had a 30 foot tall screen (top picture) but there was no presentation.  The Dean of the college spoke and his preperation consisted of a crumpled sheet of paper with some notes.  I've never been impressed with a VCU event and this one was no different.  I felt that if I'm investing a day of my life in this thing the least they could do is to prepare a little.  I'm sure the college itself is just fine but I don't know why they don't go the extra mile on the front end.  Hollins just murdered VCU in that respect.  The event went on for awhile after lunch but we had to blow outta there as the first of 2 snow storms were approaching.  Good thing we left when we did.  When we took the exit for 234 off of 95 the snow was starting to stick!

still waiting to hear from Va Tech and William & Mary…

1 Comment

  1. Andy,

    A little bit of unsolicited advice. No matter which college you choose, the kid you send to college will not be the same kid that returns after college.

     

Comments are closed.