Summer Tours

This has been the summer of campus visits. With a rising senior in the family, my husband and I decided to use this summer for visiting campuses to help get us into the mindset of the entire college application process. And I say us because, as a family, we are all part of the process: our son, obviously, who has to make a decision that can affect the rest of his life; Joe and I, who find ourselves in the unique position of advising our son while, at the same time, preparing to let him go and make his way into the world; and even his siblings who have to get used to the idea that their older brother will be moving away next year.

So, because we are all involved, each and every campus visit has been a family affair, with all five of us sitting in on information sessions, following guides on campus walking tours, and exploring campus bookstores. We have learned about college application essays, scholarships, early admission requirements, transcripts, and test scores. We have been inundated with information, and while with each campus visit the process becomes clearer and less daunting,  more than anything these visits have shown our son that opportunities are plenty and there for the taking.

Which is exactly the point. There is a world outside our city and we want our son, who is coming from a close-knit school and church community, to know this. As parents, Joe and I have used travel to expose all our sons to different countries, states, cities and cultures, but with graduation and college this is the first time our son will go it alone. We want to encourage him to forge his own path, and these college visits have shown him gateways to new and wonderful opportunities.

Of course, being presented choices means making a decision, which is often the most difficult part since it is only then that the actual journey begins.

But that is a topic for another day.

Entrance to the campus at the University of Virginia

P.S. Just so you don't think that we have been dragging our two other sons around willy-nilly, we have combined these college visits with vacations and day trips. We visited Georgia Tech and Six Flags, Penn State and Gettysburg, UGA and Athens, and the University of Virginia and Monticello. A few more visits are planned, but see? Something for everyone.