We set out for an adventure, an adventure I call “The Amazing College Race.” My son found out about his acceptances on April 1st. He needs to make a decision by May 1st, so there wasn’t much time to visit colleges except for spring break.
We started by going to Nashville, then LA then San Francisco in four days.
First stop: Vanderbilt
The flight out was easy. The car rental was easy. The drive to the hotel and to the school were easy. When we got to the school, we sat in an auditorium with other accepted potential students. We waited. We talked with a few of the other students and their parents and learned that many were from California or from the south.
An acapelo group started singing. They sounded great.
Then four students came out and discussed their “Vandy” experience. They got us pumped. When the presentation was finished, we were escorted out and were divided into groups. Student tour guides showed us around campus. We didn’t leave without getting a free lunch, a tee shirt and a backpack.
Stop 2: Los Angeles
Sidebar: As I’m writing this, I’m lying in bed at a Marriott Hotel at the LAX airport in pain. Why? It’s 4 am EST and we just got here. But that’s not why. I’m in pain because after getting my car from Budget, even though I had a Thrifty rental, and driving to the Marriot, I decided to self park, instead of valet park. I found a spot relatively close and as my son and I were entering the hotel I tripped over a divider and went flying and landed on my knee and hand. Now I’m all bruised up and in pain.
The morning came soon after we landed in Los Angeles. We went out to the car, turned on the ignition and it never started. I called Dollar. After a long ordeal that lasted 3 hours with no help from Dollar Rental Car, we were given a jump, had to go back to Dollar to get another car and ended up missing the 11 am tour at USC (University of Southern California). Instead, we got there late and walked around campus.
USC is an enclave of Italian architecture set in LA. It’s a gorgeous campus. What struck me was all the bikes and skateboarders. There were so many students all over the place it was hard to get from one place to the next without moving around to avoid oncoming traffic.
We left USC within two hours and drove to UCLA. UCLA was very different. The buildings and campus were also beautiful. Unfortunately, the interiors weren’t so nice. We went on a tour with potential students and the tour guide explained that there were 1000 clubs, one being the shorts club. You need to wear shorts every day to be part of the club.
Next Stop: Berkeley
Every one of the schools seemed familiar to me until we got to Berkeley. At Berkeley, everything just seemed “weird.” It was an amazing school and the campus was incredibly beautiful. The grounds were park-like and the buildings were huge and each one was different. We didn’t go inside the buildings. We were just exhausted from the week. But, we did go on the accepted student tour.
We listened to the presentation that lasted about an hour with two of the admissions officers. They showed us videos of student life on campus and sent us on our way with buttons for the students and for the parents. Students also received a pair of shades. The tours were guided by students. We walked around the entire campus and even saw a magnificent view of the Golden Gate Bridge! As we were starring at the bridge, we saw a woman in a white dress doing some strange yoga poses.
As a matter of fact, there was a lot of dancing on the campus. We saw many different groups dancing at random times during the tour and they weren’t organized. Whereas USC students were hustling and bustling to class and UCLA students were doing the same thing, Berkeley had a lot more interaction with students talking with other students.
What’s our verdict?
Looks like my son is going to Berkeley! California here we come!
