Ask a generic diversity/tolerance question. The responses are quite revealing. In three weeks last summer, we drove 3000 miles between Boston and Florida shopping for Engineering schools. Don’t remember where the guide defined diversity by the many Christian denominations that coexist on campus. And Virginia Tech’s military and civilian populations get along really well together– our son applied to neither. But for many reasons, we most liked the school where a Biomed Engineering major with the thin gold hoop in her left nostril answered, “this is the most accepting place! Everybody here was picked on in high school.” Our son just joined their class of 2015!

We’ve been consumed with school searching for so many years, and now it’s over. It feels very strange.

We went to Syracuse U. and Ithaca College last week. The Ithaca guide (a chatty female Art major with multi-colored hair) said, “Here’s our Health Center. We have a doctor or somebody on duty here during business hours of 9-5 so if anyone needs anything like antibiotics or something serious there’s always someone there.” I guess she forgot to say “Don’t get sick after 5pm or on weekends.” Also the closest hospital is one hour away which was very comforting.

Every tour guide from our total of seven visited schools so far used descriptive words around the school, curriculum, dorms, dining, social scene etc. like: great, fun, awesome, cool, great, fun, really hilarious, really awesome and great, ad nauseum. What do they learn in English class?

We liked Syracuse best as they had an impressive one hour Continental Breakfast with mounds of fruit, donuts, juices and strong coffee before the full day of talks and touring. And Passover food if one didn’t want to stray from religion.We liked Ithaca least, as we trailed through wet snow on a very long tour, with the least attractive stop being a dorm that looked like a painted cinder block jail with darkened halls only narrow enough for a small dog to walk through, and a room that looked like a solitary confinement holding cell minus the toilet and cameras. And BTW- not one tour guide showed us a dorm BATHROOM. A scary thought and why not? It took 50 minutes to get back onto a real road in civilization after seeing miles of fields, auto body shops and an occasional pizza parlor,

U. of Miami looked fun to my Junior and like overnight camp to me. Kids in shorts and flip flops, and greenery surrounded by palm trees and way too much outdoor dining serving beer. “I love this place,” my Junior said. “Why?” said I… and she said “I can be TAN for four years!”

We have 3/4 more schools to visit. FUN!

You’re so right about the stuff the guides say off-script! I loved hearing two separate guides at two different schools tout the great security services on campus — “security is always available to give you a ride if you ever feel unsafe or uncomfortable walking across campus” — and then immediately confess that “most students use it when it snows.”

Good article in the April 11th issue of Newsweek: “The Great College Road Trip.”

Oh, and regarding sharing the driving — I did drive 300 (not 100) of the miles mentioned in Kevin’s comment above! Nice that Hugh was able to share the wheel responsibilities.