College Visits

So if you've been wondering where I am (probably not, haha), I'm on a week-long college road trip.  We're visiting three colleges in Kentucky, Ohio, and Pennsylvania (so one per state).  We left Sunday morning (after I was up late at a Disney dance through my co-op) and drove all the way to Asbury in Kentucky.  A friend's older sister goes there, and I got to stay in her dorm on Monday night.  It's a beautiful campus.  I've always thought I'll move back to Virginia some day, but I just might have to live in Kentucky.  Horse country!  And the grass is sooooo green.  At Asbury, we met with an admissions counselor, went to chapel, ate lunch in the cafeteria, sat in on a creative writing class (I'll go more into detail about this later), and had a campus tour.  The media center there is super cool, and all of the buildings are amazing.  The ones on the main circle look classically Southern, sort of like an old plantation.

Another prospective (that's what visiting students are called) and I sat in on a creative writing class.  They're finishing up their final projects of the year, so they presented short stories or pieces of longer stories.  The students read their pieces aloud and gave us copies.  The other prospective and I got to critique their work, too, which of course I loved.

Asbury is definitely in my top 5 at the moment.  I got to visit the barn with N (the friend's older sister), since she's an equine management major.  I watched her work with her horses and I helped feed and groom a couple.

Yesterday, we visited Cincinnati.  It was one of the places my mom grew up (they moved a lot).  We ate at the Montgomery Boathouse on the Ohio River (really nice and good food), went up in the Carew Tower, went to the old Union Terminal and toured the history museum there (and I got a smashed penny for my collection and great ice cream), and then drove by my mom's old house.  I napped a lot yesterday-only got six hours of sleep in the dorm since N had a class at eight, and we needed to get me back to my parents' hotel.

Today, we're at Cedarville in Ohio.  The morning was busy (a presentation for prospectives, chapel, a campus tour, and lunch).  I had the option to visit a 1:00 class and a 2:00 class this afternoon, but I opted not to.  There were some nice ones (political science, history) but none that would be in my major here.  I've used the time to work on my English paper on cyber bullying and also history homework (we're on a 40-page chapter on the Cold War and other turmoil like that; there's nine sections of questions, and I still have three to go).  My paper is going surprisingly well.  I haven't started writing yet, but I've got three interviews, a personal statement from yours truly, and a few Internet sources.  I requested a book at the library, so I'll probably use that, too.

In just a bit, we're going on a dorm tour.  I'm a bit unsure about Cedarville.  It's a school with about 3,200 undergraduates, so that's kind of large for me.  In the cafeteria, it definitely felt bustling and chaotic, and I'm not sure how I'd fit in here.  A smaller school would probably be better.  I'm worried, though, because the size made me a bit anxious, and three of my top schools (because of their academic programs) are around this size.  I'm definitely praying God will help me feel more comfortable in a larger environment and guide me along the right path.  The writing programs and majors at Bethel, Benedictine, and Coe are definitely what would benefit me as a writer.  Asbury has a good program, though, too, so we'll see.  And I still have time until I decide.

Well, I'm going to sign off.  I'll probably post Friday, or maybe Saturday.  We're going to Geneva College in Pennsylvania tomorrow (That one is really low on my list.  In case you're wondering, my top 5 at the moment are Asbury, Bethel, Benedictine, Coe, and I'm still deciding on the fifth.  Maybe Bluefield or Gardner-Webb.), and then going to some town in Ohio on Friday.  I think it's where some president is from, but I can't remember which...