The Truth about college trips: my experience at 3 colleges by rachel dick
For Germantown High seniors, the college tour is invaluable. It provides students a chance to get a feel for the campus, get a preview of the program they are leaning towards, and see how they mesh with the current college students. With this in mind, I travelled to four colleges over the course of fall break: Arkansas State University, Webster University, Belmont University, and University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Each has various pros and cons that may make or break decisions to apply.
Arkansas State in Jonesboro was my first stop. The campus is mostly centered on the enormous stadium, home of the Red Wolves, and the large center that is mostly used for freshman class meetings. The rest of the buildings are dull and laid out in a disorganized manner, and the whole campus is pretty much in the middle of nowhere. As we drove around campus looking for the admissions office, we passed through a strange neighborhood of tiny, shack-like houses whose purpose was unknown.
The Greek life is huge; an old academic building had recently been torn down to make room for a sorority house. All in all, by the time I went to the journalism and media department, I was not feeling good vibes. Even my tour guide, though friendly enough, mentioned wanting to transfer when I mentioned my dream of going to college in Chicago. The head of the department, Dr. Osa Amienyi, took me to a large studio, a room full of cameras for rent, and the radio station DJ rooms. This brightened my day a bit, though he did mention that a lot of the TV and radio station is run by professionals and only select students actually get chosen, especially the radio station. My final verdict was that ASU was definitely a safety choice.
The next stop was Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri. This time, the tour was personalized especially for me. A parking space in the lot was marked with my name, and inside the office a television flashed across the screen welcome messages to everyone touring that day, with our school names and intended majors underneath. Webster Groves, the surrounding suburb, is a perfect little town, full of independent boutiques and cafes for an afternoon off. Once on our tour, we visited the sizeable dorms where not only was the laundry free, but a small public pool was nestled in the middle of a semicircle of sophomore dorms. As for the journalism program, though it was small, the equipment and space was fantastic, and the students seemed very eager to meet us and show us around.
After the general campus tour, I met with an admissions representative, who informed me I was eligible for a few scholarships, and that 95% of the students attending Webster received some sort of financial aid. Obviously this was a bit of welcome news, and of course I left with a high opinion.
Third on the tour: Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. Belmont is a campus of pure white buildings with Greek columns, beautiful, manicured lawns, and perfectly polished lobbies. At first this was a selling point for me, until I figured out that Belmont’s affiliation with the Baptist Church was stronger than I had thought. So strong, in fact, that each student, no matter their religion, was required to take two Bible study courses and fulfill sixty convocation hours. Not only that, but when I asked our tour guide what percentage of students received financial aid, she could not tell me. Neither could the admissions worker who spoke to us later that afternoon. Needless to say this was a little disconcerting.
We never actually got to see their music or communications facilities. Though we were led into the buildings where they were housed, they were merely pointed out for a few minutes as we walked by. Our tour guide seemed to know quite a bit about the most generic information about the school, but could barely tell us anything about the specifics of any programs of study. We left very confused and disillusioned about the school, and decided not to apply.
Last stop, UT-Knoxville, on the eastern side of the state. Unlike all the other campuses we’d visited, Knox was huge. It is almost a city in and of itself, and aside from the dorms and the library, we did not leave the bus that took us around campus. Along the way we passed a road that was called Religion Row, where a small worship center was provided for every denomination from Catholic to Mormon, but, like Belmont, there was nothing provided for Jews, Muslims, or any other type of religion. The dorms were tiny, and some even had communal bathrooms, and laundry cost a $1.29 a load. Not only that, but a parking pass cost $280. There was absolutely nothing mentioned about how any of their departments could offer something that any other school couldn’t, and I concluded that it was because there really weren’t any.
Four stops, four differing experiences. It is clear that despite my experiences, it is ultimately up to each student to find the right fit…but it usually takes walking on that campus to do it.
Arkansas State in Jonesboro was my first stop. The campus is mostly centered on the enormous stadium, home of the Red Wolves, and the large center that is mostly used for freshman class meetings. The rest of the buildings are dull and laid out in a disorganized manner, and the whole campus is pretty much in the middle of nowhere. As we drove around campus looking for the admissions office, we passed through a strange neighborhood of tiny, shack-like houses whose purpose was unknown.
The Greek life is huge; an old academic building had recently been torn down to make room for a sorority house. All in all, by the time I went to the journalism and media department, I was not feeling good vibes. Even my tour guide, though friendly enough, mentioned wanting to transfer when I mentioned my dream of going to college in Chicago. The head of the department, Dr. Osa Amienyi, took me to a large studio, a room full of cameras for rent, and the radio station DJ rooms. This brightened my day a bit, though he did mention that a lot of the TV and radio station is run by professionals and only select students actually get chosen, especially the radio station. My final verdict was that ASU was definitely a safety choice.
The next stop was Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri. This time, the tour was personalized especially for me. A parking space in the lot was marked with my name, and inside the office a television flashed across the screen welcome messages to everyone touring that day, with our school names and intended majors underneath. Webster Groves, the surrounding suburb, is a perfect little town, full of independent boutiques and cafes for an afternoon off. Once on our tour, we visited the sizeable dorms where not only was the laundry free, but a small public pool was nestled in the middle of a semicircle of sophomore dorms. As for the journalism program, though it was small, the equipment and space was fantastic, and the students seemed very eager to meet us and show us around.
After the general campus tour, I met with an admissions representative, who informed me I was eligible for a few scholarships, and that 95% of the students attending Webster received some sort of financial aid. Obviously this was a bit of welcome news, and of course I left with a high opinion.
Third on the tour: Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee. Belmont is a campus of pure white buildings with Greek columns, beautiful, manicured lawns, and perfectly polished lobbies. At first this was a selling point for me, until I figured out that Belmont’s affiliation with the Baptist Church was stronger than I had thought. So strong, in fact, that each student, no matter their religion, was required to take two Bible study courses and fulfill sixty convocation hours. Not only that, but when I asked our tour guide what percentage of students received financial aid, she could not tell me. Neither could the admissions worker who spoke to us later that afternoon. Needless to say this was a little disconcerting.
We never actually got to see their music or communications facilities. Though we were led into the buildings where they were housed, they were merely pointed out for a few minutes as we walked by. Our tour guide seemed to know quite a bit about the most generic information about the school, but could barely tell us anything about the specifics of any programs of study. We left very confused and disillusioned about the school, and decided not to apply.
Last stop, UT-Knoxville, on the eastern side of the state. Unlike all the other campuses we’d visited, Knox was huge. It is almost a city in and of itself, and aside from the dorms and the library, we did not leave the bus that took us around campus. Along the way we passed a road that was called Religion Row, where a small worship center was provided for every denomination from Catholic to Mormon, but, like Belmont, there was nothing provided for Jews, Muslims, or any other type of religion. The dorms were tiny, and some even had communal bathrooms, and laundry cost a $1.29 a load. Not only that, but a parking pass cost $280. There was absolutely nothing mentioned about how any of their departments could offer something that any other school couldn’t, and I concluded that it was because there really weren’t any.
Four stops, four differing experiences. It is clear that despite my experiences, it is ultimately up to each student to find the right fit…but it usually takes walking on that campus to do it.