Inside scoop on college tours
More stories from Emme Longman
College campus
Over break, I went on three college tours: Purdue, Butler, and Trine. I learned many things while visiting these colleges. For example, you must keep an open mind when on them; it is really easy to judge the college immediately just for the way it looks or remembering the bad things that you’ve heard about them. When attending, make sure to empty your brain of pre-existing beliefs of the college. That way, you will be more open to what you are seeing.
“Going on a college tour makes me feel motivated to finish with a strong high school career,” said Keian Gatewood, 12.
The first tour I went on was Purdue. I was astounded by the size of the college. With graduate students, they have around 42,000 people studying there. This would be a big change from Mt. Vernon, with about 1,350 kids in the whole high school. I tried to not let that big number intimidate me. Most of the tour was walking around the entire campus, which was quite the workout. The campus is beautiful and truly a place that I could see myself next year.
There were also information sessions on the application process and financial aid. It costs $20,000 a year to go to Purdue, including the costs for room and board. This price is fair, especially in today’s world. I really do see myself as a Boilermaker in the future.
The Butler tour was also very interesting to me. The campus is beautiful, and there are lots of new or newly improved facilities.
There are only around 4,500 students at Butler, which is a contrast from a school like Purdue. It makes for a more tight-knit community, which is nice. I was ready to sign my paperwork to go there until they told us how much it costs to go there-almost $59,000 dollars a year. I was dumbfounded. I immediately knew I needed to get off that campus, no matter how beautiful it was. I decided that I could get the same education from somewhere cheaper. It was beautiful, but not worth the cost.
Last but not least was Trine University. It is a small school of about 5,000 students. When I was looking around, I was not impressed with the facilities. I felt it was rather small, and I didn’t like the look of most of the dorms. It costs $45,000 a year to go there, but from the look of the college, I did not think that it reflected the cost at all.
The college might not have looked the best, but the facility was very nice. I got to meet a chemical engineering professor, who was so sweet and answered many of my questions. When I talked to her, she told me that there are only five engineering teachers who deal with chemical engineering; this is kind of a scary fact to me and shows me how small the school really is. I really liked the staff but was not overall impressed by the school.
I am glad I went on these tours, but they were kind of overwhelming. I felt like there is so much information shoved at me that I was not sure what to remember. It is also hard because I do not want to vision myself at more than one college; it becomes difficult to narrow things down after I see myself at more than one place.
“College tours are exciting, and they give you insight into how college will be,” said Vivian Hoeppner, 12. “They are fun, but they’re also kind of scary.”
Going on the tours was honestly a dealbreaker for me. When I saw the campus, in my head, I immediately decided whether or not I wanted to go there. It is not the best idea to do that, as you want to keep an open mind, but when you know, you truly know.
“Touring colleges made me feel like I was in a small world,” said Joseph Shepard, 12. “There is just this big place to explore.”
