Wheaton

When the assistant soccer coach at Brown was done with us, we hopped into the car and raced to Norton, MA to our last college of this trip: Wheaton. We left Providence at the time we were to arrive at Wheaton, and then missed our turn onto the correct highway, twice. Elsa called and told the admissions office that we were running late. The Wheaton people were so sweet that they arranged for a student to give us a private tour!



Upon arrival, the Dean of Admissions, Ms. Berson, came out to greet us and chat for a bit. We had met her at a Wheaton alumni gathering in Manhattan in January. We have had email contact since. Our tour guide, Sarah, was lovely and great to talk to because of her interests and her future plans. She has studied in Uganda and plans to do Teach for America for two years after she graduates this spring. Wheaton is adorable. It reminded me of Skidmore a bit in its size and scope. Half of the campus seems older and more Mount Holyoke-esque. The other half has more modern architecture and and a pond through it. Sarah showed us some buildings and classrooms and then delivered us to Coach Reis, the women's soccer coach at Wheaton.


Coach Reis was great. Elsa fell completely in love with the Wheaton soccer program. She felt that the coach presented his program in an inviting way. He seemed interested in her, and spoke to her in a respectful and welcoming manner. Coach Reis is unique in that he has players who have "walked on" to the team, will give non travel but talented players a shot on the field, and acknowledges how political selection onto ODP teams and into NCAA tournaments can be. He is totally personable and charming, and told us funny stories about his life as a coach. He has been coaching at Wheaton for 12 or 13 years and we hope he plans to continue. We had a great visit, and then a tour of his athletic facility and his lightless, but newly fenced field with new bleachers and scoreboard. We will definitely be visiting Wheaton again.




Elsa's rating: 10. My rating, 10.

Please revisit in April when we begin the "southern tour" which now looks limited to Pennsylvania and Maryland.

Brown

The snow got worse and worse as we drove east. I hate driving in snow and called Jonathan, in a panic, as though there was anything he could do about it. The highway traffic was reduced to one lane traveling at about 30 miles per hour as we headed towards Providence. The visability was terrible for me when we were between towns and there were no street lamps. But, we made it to Pawtucket safely, and happily there was a restaurant, a Ground Round, attached to our hotel. We ate and then checked in and went to bed. The next morning, we were at Brown by 9am for a tour which left from the admissions office. We had planned to take a taxi to Brown because we were warned that parking is limited. But at the last moment, I decided that I wanted to risk parking because if we got backed up, which we did, it would be stressful to find a taxi to get back to the hotel to get the car. As it was, parking is allowed for three hours on the street and there were plenty of spaces that early in the morning.


On our tour, there were many guides to select from-they each introduced themselves and described a bit about their interests. We selected two women, Samantha and Beatrice, and were very happy with their tour. Brown is beautiful! It's big and spread out, but the campus is interesting and, to me, the most attractive of all that we have seen. Samantha and Beatrice were experienced and organized. Their tour included historical information and funny stories. After the tour, we attended an information session in a big chapel-like space. Again, the information session was led by a senior and a sophomore, and both were clear, helpful and informative. The big idea about curriculum at Brown is the lack of distribution requirements. Students can study what they like and what interests them, thereby elevating the dynamics and learning in each class. Elsa ran into a Rocket teammate, Adrienne, at the information session. Adrienne and her mom had been touring this week as well, but they had visited Harvard, Yale and Tufts!















I have to say that I love Brown. I love the city of Providence, the campus, the students we met and even the admissions officer who spoke to us. But, there was also this pervasive feeling that Brown is so inundated with applicants, that they don't seem to take too much interest in visitors and prospective students. For example, there are no cards to sign in at admissions and this is the only school that we sawthat does not do this. Neither Elsa nor I felt welcome at the school. It's so funny, it's just a feeling, but we both experienced it.

After the information session, we walked back to the car and then drove to the athletic center, which we had not been shown on our tour because it's so far from campus. Honestly, Brown's athletic center is not nearly as impressive as most of the others we have seen. It's really old, and lacks charm. We found the women's soccer coach's office and a secretary asked if he was expecting us. I apologetically said 'no' as we had never heard back from any Brown coach at all despite numerous inquiries about their soccer program and camps. The head coach wasn't there, but we were seen by the assistant coach, Dennis. Dennis is a grandpa, and told us that he has worked at Brown for 13 years. He asked Elsa a few questions, but repeatedly asked her if she had questions for him. He did a good job of making her feel unprepared because she didn't have a list of questions written out. I had the feeling that Dennis didn't really know what to say to us, so he kept throwing the ball back onto our court, if you know what I mean. He walked us around the dingy old building and showed us the gyms and the training rooms. He took us to the pool and to the roof, where the lacrosse team has a turf field. He showed us the women's playing fields and the practice fields. Then he walked us all the way back to campus to show us the dorms Brown uses for their overnight soccer camp, which we were planning to have Elsa attend this summer. Dennis felt compelled to repeatedly mention that we were not expected. Finally Elsa looked at the sent emails from her phone and produced the date she had emailed to the head coach, Phil. Since Phil was in Arizona looking at a player, he didn't forward her email to Dennis, as he usually does, and then Phil's mailbox filled up. Mystery solved. Score one for Elsa!


Overall, we didn't feel any more welcomed by Brown's soccer program than we did by admissions. Elsa has had her heart set on reaching for Brown since her summer camp counselor at Hidden Valley encouraged her to apply. Amy loved Brown. But, Elsa is actually considering scratching it from her list. I would like to keep it on, just because I think it's a great school, and that if she were accepted, she would feel differently. It would be a nice feather in her cap. But she says that she's quite sure she wouldn't be able to play soccer for the Brown team, and if she were lucky, she'd be warming the bench. Harry, Elsa's coach, agrees that Brown is tough. Two of his best players were told at camp that they weren't good enough to play for Brown. Oh well. We'll move on...

Elsa's rating: 7. My rating: 8.

Smith

It was snowing when we reached Smith for a 3:00 tour. The town of North Hampton is adorable and I love the proximity of campus to town. The admissions office was friendly and relaxed, and shortly after we arrived, two tour guides showed up to take us around campus. There was no information session at Smith because of the application/selection process going on at this time of year. If we want information, we must go back in late March, at which time students can interview as well, I believe.


We selected Chloe as our guide, a lovely woman from Riverdale, NY who attended Fieldston High School. She loves Smith-it was her first choice and I believe she applied early decision. She told us a funny story about her application, which she believed had to be postmarked by a certain date, but instead had to have been received by the date. Her father drove it up to Smith so that it would arrive on time. What a nice Dad!

Smith is very attractive and very likeable. There are a variety of architechtural styles which compliment each other nicely. The dorms are big old buildings with high ceilings and lots of charm. Like Mount Holyoke, each residence has a living room with comfy couches and a grand piano. Chloe showed us her room which is by far, the homeyist and most attractice that we have seen to date. The academic buildings were also very nice. I especially liked the science building and was fascinated by a display of marsh birds. I immediately felt as though I wanted to be at Smith, studying marsh birds in the field and doing research. It is an exciting and inviting campus.


As the tour went on, the snow continued and I began to panic about our drive to Providence. Chloe finished our tour in the art building which to me looks like a mini MOMA. I was very impressed with the campus. After we said goodbye to Chloe, we drove over to the athletic center to meet the Smith soccer coach. It was hard to find her deep in her dungeon-like office, but we did. We had a sedate and slow paced meeting during which she described her program and asked Elsa about her soccer experience. We learned a lot from this coach about the difference between Division 1 and Division 3 recruiting. It is all very interesting.

Overall, Elsa and I agreed that Smith is a more inviting and vibrant community than Mount Holyoke. I didn't miss males as much there as I did at MHC. But, there is definitely less enthusiasm for soccer at Smith. If only we could combine MHC soccer with Smith college! Elsa's rating: 8. My rating: 8.

Mount Holyoke

Elsa and I spent the night in Holyoke, MA. We had a very difficult time finding our hotel, in more than one way. I failed to remember the existance of the CT River-minor detail. Once we had directions, a map and phone support, we made it to the Country Inn and spent a quiet, restful night there. In the morning, we had breakfast and then loaded up the car to drive to Mount Holyoke College.

We went on a tour first, with an Anne Hathway lookalike junior named May who was friendly, thorough and cheerful. She showed us the campus and her dorm and room and talked a lot about the attributes and qualities of the school. Mount Holyoke is a beautiful campus, full of old brick and Hogwarts-style buildings.

While the campus looked great, the best part of our tour was our lunch with the Mount Holyoke soccer team. Coach Haneishi organized a "team activity" lunch to meet a recurit, Elsa. We ate in the dining room of one of the residence halls. The coach was just as sweet, cute and nice as she could be. The team was warm, open and welcoming. The food in the dorm was not bad either.

Each residence at Mount Holyoke has a Steinway in the living room.



After the lunch, we went on a tour of the athletic center with the coach. She showed us the facilities and the field, (equipped with lights) and the planned renovations for the sports center.



Then, we sat in her office and chatted for a long time. It is obvious that the Mount Holyoke team is on the rise, and that this coach is improving the program tremendously. This coach knows what she is doing. She has a vision for this school and for this team. She is firm and direct and seems to have the respect of her players. She is cheerful and friendly and seemed interested in Elsa, but also was clear that she would be honest and let Elsa know if she would not be able to help this team.

Both Elsa and I love this coach and her team very much. We were thrilled and honored to sit, eat and talk with them. The spirit we experienced with them, however, was not evident across the campus. The students I saw during the course of our visit seemed sedate and sad. This campus lacked the energy and spontanaity that we saw at Wesleyan. The team seemed energetic, but everyone else looked overwhelmed. The coach assured us that the student body and faculty is friendly and welcoming. We will probably have to give the school a second look. We love this coach. We love this team. Elsa likes Mount Holyoke. I am less enthusiastic.



Elsa's rating: 8. My rating: 7.5.

Wesleyan

Elsa and I dashed out of New Paltz and drove 110 miles east to Wesleyan in 1 hour and 50 minutes. We arrived at Wesleyan's admissions office almost in time, but then were told to walk across campus to the science center, which made us officially late. We met and walked with a family from Kensington, Brooklyn, which was fun. Elsa and Emma have friends in common. The Wesleyn information session took place in a lecture type classroom with rising seats. It was led by two students, a sophmore and a senior, who spoke informatively and eloquently about the school. I was pleased and I thought the school sounded intriguing, but it was the tour that did it for us.


This is the drorm we saw. The room we saw was untidy, but had potential.

The Wesleyan tour guides suggested that we separate and go on different tours. Elsa went with a soccer player, Ingrid, and I went with a lovely young woman from California whom I adored. She was humorous, friendly, knowledegable and clear.


I had heard from others that Wesleyan was not a very attractive campus. However, I thought it was beautiful. I loved the little frame senior houses that we passed on the way to the athletic center. I almost fell over in the athletic center when I saw the hockey rink-I had no idea! I liked the variety of architechtural styles and I loved the feeling and then energy present at the school.



"I'm in love. This is it! We can stop looking at other schools now," were Elsa's words to me after the tours ended. I was happy to hear this from her because I was feeling the same way about the school during my tour. I can't believe I'm going to write this, but I felt the $40K difference. Elsa gave her player profile and video to Ingrid to give to the Wesleyan soccer coach, who had left for Enland at 12 noon on the day we visited. We were sorry to miss her, but just couldn't get there any earlier. Too bad, because we don't have a complete sense of what Elsa's experience would be like at Wesleyan having not met the coach.



But, as Heather says, we'll just have to go back. And we will. Elsa's rating: 10. My rating: 10.

New Paltz

From Vassar, Elsa and I traveled a short distance up 9W to Route 299 to New Paltz. Although we planned to arrive early and do a self guided tour before hand, we just barely made an 11am information session in the admissions office. What we began to learn is that most information sessions present very general information about colleges and begin to sound very much the same, especially those of the SUNY schools. Presenters are creative and do come up with lots of statistics about their schools. Knowing that we needed to be at Wesleyan by 2 and we had two hours to drive, we ducked out of the info session after half and hour, skipped the campus tour and headed right to the athletic center where we met the women's soccer coach.

The athletic center at New Platz is even newer and fancier than the one at Oneonta. There is a running track, lots of gyms, weight rooms, an olympic sized pool, etc. Everything looks new and clean and bright and very inviting. The New Paltz coach is also very nice, and spent lots of time showing us around. She, too, told us about her soccer program, the training schedule in season and out of season, how she personally supports students whose grade points drop below a certain level, and about special trip that her team has taken to England. This coach is a bit older, and has been coaching at New Paltz for 12 years. She asked Elsa lots of questions and said that she, too, will try to catch Elsa in a game this spring.

The New Paltz campus is attractive. Some buildings were architecturally impressive, but most are modern and rather cement-like. There were brick buildings and dorms, however. We didn't learn as much about the curriculum as we did at Oneonta, but from what I gather, it's similar to the other SUNY's. I personally preferred the Oneonta campus. Elsa's rating for New Paltz: 4.5-5. My rating: 6.5.

Vassar

The drive from Oneonta to Pougheepsie was a long one, across windy route 28 to the NY Throughway, route 87. We stopped for dinner at a terrible diner in Kingston and then actually drove south on Route 9W to stay with our friends Adam and Jennifer in Poughkeepsie. The next morning, Elsa and I headed out to see three schools, the first of which was Vassar.

At Vassar, we had no tour or information session, (their tour began at 12) so we signed in at the admissions office, something every prospective student visitor should always do (we learned from Chris) and began a self guided tour of the campus. Vassar is georgious and the self guided tour was chock full of interesting information. Here is a photograph of Elsa in the building where the bulk of her classes would most likely be. We loved the school but ended our tour early as we were freezing and worried about time. We plan to revisit this school again later in the spring.

Oneonta

Elsa and I left Binghamton, grabbed some lunch and drove like mad 60 miles north on route 88 to Oneonta. Sadly, the 2 o'clock information session we were in a hurry to attend actualy began at 1 and we missed it. We met the presenter as she was walking out the door having tried to find her in two different locations (across campus.) We signed in late and began to give ourselves a self guided tour. At the library, we happened upon a tour in progress, led by Alice, a knowledgable and very clear junior who welcomed us and told us many things about Oneonta.


Here is what I thought: Although modern in architecture, the campus has a pleasant leafy feel, even in winter. The building are atractive and there is a lot of light. The althletic center is amazing, and the soccer team looks extremely successful-they were NCAA champions in 2003. One negative, the freshmen courseload is dictated by the college. Students can only select one of their five classes the first year. Majors, again, seem funtional rather than intellectual. But overall, it was a relief to find a SUNY school that we could see Elsa, and certainly Jeremy, go to.
This is a photo of one beautiful dining room in a residence caled Hubert, I think. I thought it looked like a lovely place to eat and to sit and study. Elsa likes Oneonta better than Binghamton but wasn't blown away. We met the soccer coach and had a lovely meeting with her. She told us all about the soccer program at Oneonta and how important women's soccer is to the school. She told us about their training schedule and how players are supported by their professors and are allowed to miss class on Fridays when the team has to travel, etc. She asked Elsa lots of questions and told her that she would try to come and see her play soccer this spring. We liked the coach a lot.
Elsa's overall rating: 4.5-5. My rating: 7.

The February Northern College Tour: Binghamton

During the February winter break from NYC public schools, Elsa and I embarked on a five day, eight college tour of what I call our "northern schools." Our tour began with three SUNY schools: Binghamton, Oneonta and New Paltz in upstate New York.


We left New York City on Sunday, 2/15 and traveled with our friends and neighbors, Jennifer and Sophia. We shared a hotel room in Binghamton, or Vestal, actually, and signed up for a 10 am tour on Monday, Presidents Day. Binghamton is a Divison 1 school for athletics, which, for Elsa, means that she is probably not going to be a recruit for their soccer team. For this reason, I sort of had to drag her to see this school. None of us were really expecting this to be THE school, but we felt as a SUNY school with a good reputation, we had to see it. Jennifer's approach was a wise one. Her plan was to ask Sophia, "What DID you like about the school?" Here's what I thought: The presentation, the information session was excellent. I felt the whole event was well organized. There were plenty of student volunteers, there was nearby complimentary parking, and we signed in quickly and got materials. The presenter was well spoken, organized and had a nice power point presentation. It seemed that the bulk of it was, however, exactly the same as a glossy brochure we were handed, which we are capable of reading ourselves. The overall message I got from Binghamton is that the school ranks well in many college ranking magazines, top three this, best four in that, yada, yada. It seems graduates are well prepared for the work force as many degrees seem to track students right into the job market: nursing, education, engineering, etc. The killer was the list of salaries which graduates from many heavy hitter schools earn in their first post-college year. Binhamton's are reported to be the highest, making this education the biggest bang for your buck.

Our tour guide, Robbie, an accounting junior, was cheerful and semi-knowledgeable. The campus tour, however, seemed endless to me (and to Elsa and Sophia) because of the size of the campus and the pace and content of Robbie's shpiel. While Robbie generously showed us his own dorm room and introduced us to his brother, he also loved pregnant pauses and used them frequently to allow visitors to think of questions to ask about the school. The Binghamton campus is amazingly, completely cement. Interestingly, the school got a 99 rating for it's greeness and recycling program. The school even composts, which is a foreign concept to Robbie, but there is nary a tree-oaky, I'm exaggerating, there are a few baby saplings on campus-but they do not off set the overwhelimg presence of austere, oppresive bland block-like buildings on campus. But, here's what I did like: Binghamton is serious about recycling and has structures in place to help students do so, it has a great transportation system for students to get around campus and to get to LI or NYC, and we were told that freshmen can participate in hands on research projects with their professors. Elsa's comment was that Binghamton didn't seem as big as it is when we were there. Our friend Sarah attends the school and likes it a lot. Elsa and I were eager to leave to drive an hour or so to Oneonta. We thanked Robbie and took off. In fairness to Binghamton, we never saw the actual downtown. Frighteningly, we were told by a student guide that the "miracle mile" of fast food restaurants and malls was the town, but I'm sure this can't be so.

Elsa's overall rating, on a scale of 1 to 10: 3. Mine, 5.