College Tour, Part 5: Last Stop–University of Louisville

The drive to Frankfort, Kentucky from Knoxville, Tennessee was uneventful (which is good).   We arrived at the Capital Plaza Hotel and decided to have a mellow evening. My husband decided to just sit back and relax in the room.  He had been doing ALL of the driving; he earned this! The kids were very happy to be able to enjoy some time in the indoor hotel pool (as you are farther south, you find fewer indoor pools).  Shortly after we entered the pool, several other families showed up as well. Despite the noise and chaos in the pool, I was able to just sit and chat with another mom who was travelling with her family.  This was a very nice, low key, low tech way to spend an evening. We tried to make it a fairly early night since we had to be in Louisville before 10:00 the next morning. (Remember, we were an hour away.)  The last part of the night was spent watching basketball (seemed appropriate). My son was torn–the game was between Purdue and University of Tennessee. He had just REALLY enjoyed his day at the University; he had the Purdue Boilermakers winning in his bracket.  His bracket survived the night. This did not change his positive opinion of the University of Tennessee. : )

After another enjoyable hotel buffet breakfast the next morning, we made our way out to University of Louisville.  This day had a different set up and schedule than the others. My son would spend the day on campus with another student.  He attended a first semester Arabic class with her. He really enjoyed attending the class and even learned a few words (no complaints about attending a class during school break!). She gave him a tour of campus, and they had lunch together.  Although I did not go around the campus with them, per report from my son, she did just as great of a job as a student guide as the other students at other campuses had done earlier in the week. I joined them plus another student (from the Honors Program) to learn about that program at the University.  Later in the day, my son and I as well as some other students and parents met with a different student from the business school to learn more about that program. My daughter who had been dragged along on this trip (her brother was very grateful for that) spent a nice day one on one with her dad while I stayed on campus.  I think that they enjoyed their Daddy-Daughter day! By the end of the day on campus, we felt as though this school was not the right match for my son. Some choices can be made based on available printed information; others can be made only by experience and gut feeling. Despite being a good school, my son and I (who only spent part of the day together) knew that it just wasn’t the right fit for him.  

We had finished seeing all of the scheduled schools–5 schools in 5 states over 5 days.   Recap: University of North Carolina, Clemson University, University of Georgia, University of Tennessee, and University of Louisville.   It was time to head home. Even if we wanted to stay the night, there was no where to stay! NCAA, remember? To include a little something special to the end of our trip, we were able to make plans (literally made on the road as we were driving) to meet up with my brother-in-law and his family for dinner.  I believe that if you have the opportunity to spend time with family, you should take advantage of it! They live approximately 1.5 hours away from us and were on our route home. My brother-in-law sent over a menu, we gave him our order, and we all dined together at their home shortly thereafter. There was also some basketball in the driveway and playing with younger cousins before the final leg home.  

Friday night–we made it home!  After a successful college tour trip, we were now ready for a vacation (which would have to wait since spring break was coming to an end).  Our experiences were positive, we have much better insight into the schools of interest, and I think/hope that my son’s excitement over the possibilities of the different colleges may help inspire him from now through the time of filling out different applications.   I am still having a hard time wrapping my head around the idea that my oldest is truly now getting ready for college!

Addendum:

Want to re-live our college trip again? Here are the links to all 5 posts about our college tour. Happy travels!