Day Two, Wesleyan Campus, Lunch, and Dinner

Instead of shopping at the college bookstore, Jenna made a beeline for the nearest Urban Outfitters, where we spent a happy 45 minutes (not really for Tua-Ku though). We bought a bunch of clothes on sale, nail polish, and a dress.

As a result of spending so much time at the mall, we were running late for our tour to Wesleyan, so we sped out to Middletown, CT. Wesleyan was the first liberal arts college we had been to, and at first glance, it was my favorite college so far. They allowed undecided students to spend time taking a broad spectrum of courses in the first year or year and a half, and “discover their major” by learning what they really enjoyed. Because I am undecided about what I want to study, this was a perfect match for me. I’ve always felt that what I need is a little more time to study different things and I will be able to figure out what I want to do.

The campus was sometimes pretty and sometimes ugly. The first buildings we went past were big, blocky concrete structures (probably built in the seventies), but as we moved on we saw new architecture mixed with old, like a glass and steel structure addition to a old granite building. Some of the buildings on campus were gothic or even greek-looking, with lots of columns, towers, and cathedral-style spires. The campus was fairly open, and green and shady, which I liked. Wesleyan also offered on campus housing in the form of dorms and houses (renovated A-frames etc).

 A building on College Row at Wesleyan (I'm wearing green and Jenna is in white).

A building housing a fraternity (Alpha Delta Phi) at Wesleyan.

 Construction on a building on College Row.

 A library (Olin Memorial Library) on Wesleyan Campus.

Foss Hill on the Wesleyan Campus, where students lounge, do work outdoors, and play sports after classes and exams.

We left Wesleyan for the heart of Middletown, where we lunched and shopped at a toy store for gifts for Becky (Tua-Kim’s cousin)’s children. After about an hour or two, we drove to Becky’s house for a long visit. Becky and her sister were very glad to see Tua-Kim, and Jenna and I spent the time entertaining the five children (Becky had two boys, her sister had three girls) with their new toys. The oldest girl, Julia, was only in the third grade, and the youngest was about 4. We ate pizza for dinner.

Day Two (6/29/11)

Shelton, CT, at the Homestead Inn

We started out from the hotel and breakfasted at Panera Bread, where I ate their delicious everything bagel and cream cheese. Then we drove to Tua-Kim and Tua-Ku’s old house and talked to the landlord and caught up with old neighbors. Jenna and I had fun playing in the river for a little while, like we used to whenever my family and I visited.

 At the old house, by the river.

From the old house, we drove to Yale. The town around the campus (New Haven) was very quiet, and not much was going on. When we arrived at Yale, we were too late for the campus tour, so we did a little walking tour of our own. As always, the college had taken advantage of the summer break to do construction and maintenance on the buildings and sidewalks, so at times it was very loud. The buildings themselves were mostly in the style of Colonial American architecture, due to Yale's roots as an old American college. Buildings on campus were fairly close together and some of them were very imposing, and there weren’t many large, open, green spaces. Because we didn’t register for a tour, we didn’t hear much about the academics, but because Yale was one of the only college names I recognized before the tour, I knew it was probably very prestigious and selective. Overall, I liked Yale, but it seemed very serious and New Haven was a little too quiet, so it wasn’t the best match.

 Jenna and I in front of Connecticut Hall, the oldest building on the Yale campus.

Cathedral Tower at Yale.

Pictures of UPenn (finally, a new post!)

 Katie, Jenna, and I walking to the campus from the hospital parking.

 Visiting the residence halls (in fashionable clear ponchos!)

 Interior of the Wharton School of Business at UPenn.

 College Hall and the surrounding campus, where admissions and the administrative offices are located.

 Banner over the entryway to the School of Engineering.

 UPenn's athletic stadium. If you notice, it's actually much larger than necessary for the football games at UPenn, and that's because the stadium was the former home of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Jenna in front of the UPenn logo.

Photos

will be coming up as soon as I can get access to someone's camera. In the meantime, my vivid imagery and immersive descriptions should be all you need to imagine everything.

Still Day One, NYC

5:30

We arrived at Fordham University, situated in the heart of the Bronx. It was a little too late for the guided tour, so we drove a couple times around the block to get an impression of the campus instead. The college inside was shady and green, with widely spaced, lovely old buildings scattered across the grass. Although the lawns of within the gates were immaculate, the street outside was a different story. The sidewalks were covered with trash and the city outside seemed cheap, shady, and crowded. While we were there, two accidents happened on the street, and traffic around the campus was horrendous. It seemed like the gated campus inside would be very safe, but I wouldn’t want to go to a college where I would have to be shut within the gates the entire time.

6:30

We checked out NYU, which wasn’t one of our planned colleges, but because we were in the area and Fordham was a little disappointing, we decided to visit anyway. We took a break from driving outside a campus building and sat on the benches, observing the people walk by. The building we were sitting outside was tall and modern, all glass and granite and steel. The streets and stores were more welcoming, well maintained, and evenly spaced than the environment we saw outside at Fordham. Also, NYU was not gated, which made it seem more welcoming and less imposing.

Although there was no tour, we were able to walk around the buildings and spaces on campus, and we visited a nearby park with a fountain and stretched our legs. Overall, NYU seemed more friendly, modern, and chic than Fordham.

After NYU, we left New York for our hotel in Connecticut, ate dinner, showered, and went to bed, tired after a long day.

p.s. JENNA LIKES THE ISLAND MANHATTAN. SMOKE ON YOUR PIPE AND PUT THAT IN!

Day One (6/28/11)

7:30

We weren’t ready to leave yet.

8:10

After some last minute packing, breakfast, and showering, we finally got on the road. The drive to Philadelphia was pleasant, without enormous amounts of traffic, and we made it to U Penn without any more hitches. We drove up and parked in the hospital area, and then walked to the campus. The city around the campus was very accessible for walking and biking, and looked pretty clean and nice.

The campus was beautiful and shady, with lots of large trees and charming old buildings. We were directed to the information desk by a helpful student, and then the woman there pointed us to the room where students and their parents were sitting. We came into the information session late, so we only heard about the last fifteen minutes of it, where the admissions lady was talking about what to write in the essay and stuff. Then we divided up into groups and walked with our guides on a campus tour.

It was raining at that point, so while waiting for our ponchos (which the school very helpfully provided), the students went around the circle and told our names to everyone, and learned a little about U Penn. Some interesting factoids: 

- University of Pennsylvania is one of the only Ivy League schools with a large percentage of foreign and international students.  
- Over 100 languages are offered there, and if they don’t happen to have a language available, they’ll send for an expert who can teach in that subject.

After we donned our complementary ponchos and all looked like large plastic bags, we set out in the rain and walked along the main thoroughfare (which was unfortunately under construction, so we weren’t able to experience the full beauty of the green). We visited the residential buildings, where most freshman live, the engineering school, the Wharton school of business, the college of arts and sciences, and finally the athletic stadium, learning about Penn traditions and academics. Overall it was a very enjoyable visit, and going through the buildings we were able to imagine what college life would be like, studying with friends, sleeping in the dorms, and participating in the famous Penn toast throw.

After the tour, we thanked the tour guide and made a large contribution to the school in the form of souvenirs from the Penn bookstore. For lunch, we indulged in some Philly cheesesteak and meatball subs, and then we were on the road again.  

not really the trip yet but whatever

6/27/11

Today was the pre-tour celebration dinner. We (Addie, Phillip, Katie, Jenna, and Shirley) ate at Fogo de Chaó, an exciting Brazilian restaurant in Baltimore harbor. Instead of sitting down and ordering what we wanted from a menu, the waiters came out and brought us grilled meats on a spit, and we were able to sample whatever we wanted from each cut. We sat down and ate a salad (mine had lots of beets yay), and then a nearly endless procession of waiters came and offered us succulent ribeye and top sirloin and leg of lamb and pork sausage and whatever other meat you can think of all hot off the grill. It was pretty great.

After our enormous meal, we walked it in the inner harbor, watching the paddleboats glide by on the bay. Ambling down the sidewalks, I reflected a little on the colleges I might want to see (which were basically none because I had no preference), but mostly I was just happy to be going on a trip with my family. Driving back home, we were all full and ready to start out at 7:30 the next morning.