Exploring higher education

College visits with my high school junior are underway.  First of all, today's high school students are on their own.  At least in our area.  The excuse is that the guidance counselors have too many other titles and responsibilities to help out in the guidance part of their job that might include helping students get to college. Or get scholarships.  All of this now falls on the student's shoulders, which in my daughter's case falls on my shoulders because she is too darn busy with her IB responsibilities which include tons of essays and projects. I'm just glad that I realized this early, and that I have a good friend who keeps me informed.

Secondly, high school students are granted only three days of excused absences to visit colleges, which means this must be done on the weekends, over breaks, and during the summer months.  All before she begins applying after August 1st.  While she is working on her IB Extended Essay that is due the first day of senior year.  Holy pressure!

I would love to talk about our college visitation experiences, but do not want put things out there that might jeopardize her getting into a college.  How crazy is that?  Welcome to the world of social media.  I will say, and this is because when things are done right I believe in honoring an institution, that so far the best college open house experience that we have had is a private school in Ft. Lauderdale; Nova Southeastern University.

From the outstanding student dinner that we attended the night prior to the next day's open house, this university was first class all the way.  We talked to recruiters, admission staff, professors, deans, library staff, and the college president.  We were informed on applications, the financial aid process, and scholarships. We toured the campus, the dorms, the student center, the library, and tasted the food.  Every questions we had was answered.  If the person we were talking to didn't know the answer, he got someone who did right then and there.

It was our first college visitation and as one professor told me, "we set the bar high".  Who knew she would be so right?  I thought all of our experiences would be just this good.  I thought these institutions would be rolling out the red carpet to woo these students, to pull them in.  So far that hasn't been the case.  I have had one recruiter answer my question with the response, "Go to our website.  It is all on there."  I have been to a college where I met zero professors.  I have been on a tour that showed me only around the outside of the campus, as if they had something to hide in the inside.

So far we have only toured Florida universities and colleges which I have to say are beautiful.  There is nothing like a Florida campus.  I can remember driving around the University of Florida when we were visiting Florida on one of my brother's golf tours and thinking, "Why didn't I come to Florida and go to school?"  The palm trees and the sun were definitely draws for a Hoosier girl coming from a landscape of darkness and snow.

My daughter is nonchalant.  Or scared.  Or excited.  Or a mixture of all of that.  She has another year of high school and doesn't get the fuss, especially since she has a huge amount of IB requirements that still must be met.  I feel that I'm pushing.  She feels that I'm pushing.  I try to step back, but doing so sets us back. Registrations fill up.  Hotels fill up.  It is a daunting experience for all of us, yet also exciting.  The world is so big and waiting for my little one to embrace, to explore, to conquer.  How we get there doesn't really matter, but the institution does and so we continue on with visitations.  Hoping for the that one campus that speaks to her, to us, where we feel she can enjoy, succeed, learn.