This college visit was a little scary to me. I had heard both good and bad things about the school and had no idea how Parker would feel. We visited The University of Florida, one of the schools we can definitely afford to have him attend, so I was crossing my fingers that it would go well.
I was immediately relieved by the fact that Parker hit it off right away with our tour guide. He asked lots of questions and was upbeat and engaged the whole time. He had been to UF during the summer to attend a water polo camp, so it wasn't as new to him as it was to me.
I really think the value of tours like this are that you start to get a feel for the personality of different campuses. I still believe that, ultimately, he'll be happy wherever he goes because he'll make friends. Once you are attending a particular school, the comparisons end and you can get down to the business of enjoying your college experience.
Before the tour, we had a short presentation by one of the admissions counselors. I didn't expect to learn much during this that I hadn't already read on the UF admissions website, but I was surprised to find out something new. Even though the school has 2 application deadlines, November 1st and March 1st, I learned that you have almost zero chance of getting in if you apply after November 1st. Sounds like we'd best get crackin'.
