Dear Sun Devils – I would like to thank you for letting my son and I come out here in the middle of the coldest damn winter I can remember and reminding us both of what the sun in the sky looks like.
1) In the end, what are the chances that Kevin goes here?
33%? Since I think we are down to 3 schools I guess that’s about right. More on what those three schools are later.
2) What did Kevin think?
This visit was different; dropped him off Sunday at 5 pm to spend the night with a current student and then he did the tour thing Monday. Had a really positive and great experience throughout almost all of the 24 hours he spent on campus. Definitely liked the feel of the school and came away just raving about his 40 minute talk with a Global Studies professor
(I joked with Kevin that this stay-over could be a disaster; he knew he was staying with a student with one other kid who was touring…they could be sports-types and he’d be left out. Turns out, well, he fit right in! As I joked with Kevin today how Lorde was really channeling Cyndi-Lauper-Elmer-Fudd last night at the Grammys (W-oyals!) I realized…I’m going to miss this nerd!. Ah, he’s only a text away…)
3) Most impressive thing?
The Honors College; that’s the draw here….it is ranked #2 in the country. It’s a great counterbalance to the rest of the University….which accepts 95% of applicants!
(Barrett. They go out of the way to emphasize that it’s pretty separate from the rest of the university)
(holy crap are there a lot of kids on skateboards and long boards! Enough that they have racks for the boards…)
4) Least impressive thing?
The Barrett presentations were not-so-good according to Kevin. I was there for the last one of these; it was just a reiteration of things he had already heard that day. A waste of time.
(amphitheater and walkway at Barrett…)
5) Food?
Ate dorm food for dinner on Sunday and lunch on Monday….said he had pizza and a burger and described it as a-whole-lot-of-unhealthy-choices.
He didn’t mention, and I overheard when I got there, that it was meatless-Monday! So the specials at the cafeteria for lunch were vegan….and included Sloppy Joes. The discussion in the office was about what exactly they used to make the Sloppy Joes with…no one was quite sure but said they weren’t half bad. Of course, Kevin didn’t get within a country mile of them.
6) Biggest reason to go here?
Today’s temperature as-I-type-this at home? -5 degrees (feels like –18)
Today’s temperature here right now? 63 (feels like 63). The high was 75.
(some serious racquetball courts here….wish I could play Kevin on one of these…would be good for videotaping! Not surprisingly, the pool is a pretty big deal too (and yes, they did brag about Intramural Battleship)
7) Biggest reason not to go here?
The Honors College is great, but, that high acceptance rate is laudable and discouraging. Oklahoma offers more merit awards; Kevin’s major here would be political science with a global studies focus, not the international relations he has been heading towards.
(The Stadium and Palm Walk…the walkway that bisects the campus running north-south)
8) What’s next?
Mom and Kevin go to Boston to see Northeastern and then fly to Norman to see Oklahoma in two weeks.
9) Any Other Updates?
Pitt officially eliminated; offered 10K/year in merit aid, but, that’s not enough for Kevin to make it less than Michigan, which is the benchmark in these matters.
Think Michigan is on its last legs too; Northeastern will be cheaper and Kevin has indicated that he would prefer to be there than at UofM. Agree with this choice as well. So I think it is down to ASU, Oklahoma, and Northeastern.
Speaking of Northeastern, Kevin had to submit a video audition for a music scholarship there (open to non-music majors, 2K to 5K a year, renewable each year). If you want to watch it, click on the embed below.
