A year ago, during Philip’s sophomore year, I took Philip on a tour of the local state university that is less than a half hour’s drive from our home. It has a beautiful campus, and has a respected biotechnology program which is Philip’s intended field of study. But the visit had only a small impact. This month, we have taken Philip to visit two schools a more substantial drive away. Between age and distance, we observed a much greater impact.
The first school we visited was Rockford University. Philip discovered Rockford back in September when he went to a college fair with other students from the Honors Program at Hermes High School. Rockford is a small, well-endowed private university. The vast majority of students are undergraduates. At the college fair, Rockford’s recruiter had done a fantastic job compared to his competitors. The school had a merit scholarship program that would bring costs down to within striking distance of a state university. And while there is no Biotechnology major, Biology majors at Rockford have a lot of freedom to customize their program. Additionally, the Biology department has made significant inroads for internships with local pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms. The small size and low graduate population gives the most promising undergraduates the opportunity to take part in their professors’ research. Last but not least, Rockford has a great lacrosse team. The campus visit further improved Philip’s assessment of Rockford. The campus had beautifully manicured lawns and gardens, along with interesting architecture. The students were friendly and while they looked serious, there did not seem to be a lot of anxiety.
Despite all the positive signals, I had some serious reservations about Rockford. The school was not terribly competitive when looking at GPA and SAT ranges. With Philip’s grades and PSAT scores, we did not see any difficulty securing the full merit scholarship that would bring costs down to almost state university rates. I tried to be open-minded. Philip would have a chance to carve out his own path at Rockford. One professor’s research looked particularly interesting. But at the end of the day, I felt the school lacked the resources that would be found at a larger state university. In the end, it would be Philip’s decision. But that did not prevent me from having my own hopes.
The second school we visited was Sierra State University. Sierra had scheduled a “high school” day with the dual purpose of attracting this year’s juniors to apply and this year’s accepted seniors to matriculate. Cars were ushered into a single large parking garage so that everyone entered to be met by the school’s marching band, playing their version of popular music. The main thoroughfare on campus was lined with scores of booths representing each of the school’s clubs, which included just about everything imaginable. We stopped at the Asian Culture booth to purchase some curly-fries to hold us over until lunch. The two girls monitoring the booth engaged Philip in conversation while Amelia and I ordered the fries. While we learned that the proceeds from the curly fries would be sponsoring the upcoming Festival of Lanterns, Philip learned that one of the girls there was a biotechnology major and the two spent the next five minutes chatting while the other girl broke away to promote the booth’s curly-fries to passers-by.
Sierra’s size not only permitted a solid biotechnology program with over one hundred undergraduates, but also other benefits. There more class choices, more research opportunities and simply more going on at any given time. While the campus was a bit stark when compared to Rockford, Philip didn’t notice. Toward the end of the day, we took a tour of the biotechnology program and met two students in their third year of the program. A volunteer program that let students build customized accessibility aids for disabled teenagers captured both Philip’s heart and his ambition.
Before leaving Sierra to head home, we walked to the school’s equivalent of downtown that included two banks, a coffee shop and various eating options. We settled at a place that offered soup and sandwiches. For Philip, the choice was clear. He liked Rockford but he loved Sierra. His motivation to earn top grades and prepare well for the SATs visibly increased as he considered Sierra’s competitive admissions statistics. As we headed back to the car, I could see Philip walking differently. The near term goal seemed tangible and within his grasp. Only a little more than a year of high school was left. And an adventure lay ahead.
* Like all posts to this blog, the names of people and places have been changed to maintain anonymity.
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