The University Search

Anna Catherine has now joined the ranks of the countless high school juniors considering the big university decision. Up to this point the idea of university was literally an ocean away rendering it a bit allusive for her. Due to the different school calendars, our only chance to visit universities in session back home was this Easter break. Thankfully we had three weeks off school which made it doable though packed.

Dennis and I had spent a considerable amount of time reading about the process, looking at college websites, and talking it over with others who had recently looked for schools. He even went so far as making a spreadsheet with key information for the schools that were a consideration. We talked with Anna Catherine about all of our findings but she seemed to have no leanings or ideas of where she wanted to go other than in the south. She took the SAT once with little prep and did okay. Still, there just wasn't any momentum or keen interest on her end. Maybe it was overwhelming, possibly it was too far away, or maybe she just has too many other 'more urgent' things to consider. Regardless of her response, we booked the appointments to seven schools, in three states over three weeks. In between, school visits we would see friends, family, dentists, shop for things to take back and eat American food. Our prayer was that being there would bring it all into focus and she would come away having some energy and enthusiasm for the next step in life.

I have to say, my whole view on the college thing has shifted since beginning the process. Originally, I thought we would be open to any place all over the US. As I began reading and

asking questions, I kept hearing, "you will get out university what you put in." For undergraduate school, it seemed she could get a very good education at any number of schools all within a few hours drive. I also came to the conclusion that schools with prestigious names didn't necessarily deliver a product equal to the dramatic price increase. In fact, it honestly seemed hard to compete with a Georgia HOPE Scholarship price at the University of Georgia. A few thousand dollars a year vs. $30,000 -45,000 seemed like a no brainer to this girl. Nevertheless, I wanted to give the search a thorough chance. Since AC didn't seem gung-ho any particular school, we decided to show her one of each type of school to provide a framework to consider the options. Therefore, we looked at large public universities in and out of state, small state schools in and out of state, a private school, a Christian school and a Bible college.

We started at our alma mater, the University of South Carolina. USC had changed quite a bit since Dennis and I were there in the 80's. It was fun to point out special places to me and dad as we dated through college there. When we went in the student union building, Anna Catherine took one look at the dining hall with it's own sushi bar, Mongolian grill, hot line, salad line, dessert line, juice and smoothie bar, as well as about 10 fast food restaurants-all included in the meal plan and exclaimed, "This is why I am going to university in America!"

Though she appreciated the pretty campuses of the small schools, she determined that she is a big school kind of girl opting for the chance to continue playing field hockey, possibly orchestra, campus ministry, and the myriad of other fun things a big university has to offer. Having the chance to be a part of the college football frenzy seemed pretty appealing as well. A memorable quote from the UGA student tour guide was, "You can make a large school feel small by getting involved but you can't make a small school feel large."

The only anomaly in the equation was Covenant College on top of Lookout Mountain, Tennessee which was small but offered field hockey and orchestra among other fun organizations as well as a strong Christian student body and staff.

Each school was different offering it's own pros and cons as well as free t-shirts, pens, or drink bottles but

in the end she settled on applying to the University of Georgia, University of South Carolina, Clemson University and Covenant College.

It was a worthwhile trip filled with information. Honestly, it left me feeling like I'd like to go back to college. There is still much work ahead in the process but at least the distance between university and Anna Catherine has closed considerably with the decision coming into clearer focus.