Today Miss 16 and I went on a tour of Lock Haven University and we both fell in love.  The drive down was fairly uneventful, actually that’s not true ~ I did break out into song and dance during our 2 hour drive.  Miss 16 sat quietly staring at me while shaking her head.

On the way down we wondered what the campus would be like and if we’d like it.  Miss 16 said she hoped it would be something like the scene from Oz ~ that we’d drive through the rain and Emerald City would burst through the haze.  Well, it wasn’t Emerald City but it was The Haven.

At the Admissions Building, there was a friendly student waiting to greet us and hand us a Welcome Packet with all the information we’d need for the day.  Inside, staff greeted us immediately.  They pointed us to the bathrooms (two hour drive with A LOT of coffee) and then offered us more coffee, tea and hot chocolate.  May I pause here to say thank you to the Lock Haven folks who put out plain and French Vanilla creamer?

The admissions presentation was well prepared and engaging.  The admissions counselor interacted with the prospective students as well as the parents.  He spoke to the interests of the students (social clubs, education, living quarters) while keeping in mind the concerns of the parents (cost, education, security).  At the end of his presentation, he stayed behind to answer any further questions that parents or students may have had.

Our tour guides were current students of the University and they were the most amiable bunch.  Our guide showed us the computer labs, the library (ahhhhh) and the living quarters (which were clean, even the bathrooms).  The dorms were your standard dorms except each dorm has swipe key entry as well as security guards on duty.  Love that.   We even saw some of the classrooms (we had to peek through windows because the doors were locked) and then he took us to the place that sold me ~ the psychology department.  They have monkeys.  MONKEYS!!!!!  Ok, if you don’t understand my love for monkeys, read this.  I am kidding, I wouldn’t help my daughter base her college choice on monkeys, but it is right up there at the top of my list.

Here’s the breakdown according to Miss 16:

Pros:
~ Far away (hmmmm, til she needs something)
~ Atmosphere
~ Diversity (she saw the football players)
~ Study Abroad (how far is she trying to go?)
~ Bigger campus
~ City Nearby
~ Security
~ Dependable and followed through with contact information

Cons:
~ Far away (awwwww)
~ MONKEYS!!!!