Back on Campus

I took a short break this week to do a college visit with my 17-year-old son. He's thinking about studying engineering (or math), and so we've been touring a couple of relevant universities to help him decide where he does and does not want to apply.

This past week's visit was to the same university that both my wife and I graduated from, now almost 30 years ago. Being back on that campus was nostalgic in so many strange ways. Look! There's a brand-new building. What was on that corner when I was here? Look! There's the off-campus house I lived in. It's still that ugly shade of green.

But the trip was for my son's benefit -- not mine -- and I did the best I could to see things from his point of view. We actually did three tours: one for on-campus housing, one for the campus in general, and one for the engineering school. And based on the discussion I had with my son on the car ride home, I'd have to say he was favorably impressed with all three.

One thing my son found appealing that neither my wife nor I remember having access to when we were students was the depth and prevalence of tutoring and acclimatization resources the university offered. It's a big school, and many children and parents are probably worried about students getting lost and struggling to navigate its many rules and diversions. But on every tour we went, we were told and we saw how hard the university works to make sure incoming freshman are safe and have access to the tools they need to help them succeed. Free tutoring, learning communities, student groups and clubs -- our tour guides seemed to bend over backward to stress both their importance and their availability.

It made both me and my son feel more comfortable about his prospects at the school. So much so that, by the end of the tour, I think my son was thinking that this university might be leading the others that we had visited.

Reflecting on that makes me realize how much college is a time for social as well as professional development. Looking at my son and the other high school students that were on our tours, and comparing them to the college students that gave the presentations and led us on the tours, I could see how much distance there is between those two groups of people. High school kids are still kids, but college students are young men and women. That gap was clear, but so were the ways in which that gap could begin to be bridged.

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This post first appeared on Eric Lanke's blog, an association executive and author. You can follow him on Twitter @ericlanke or contact him at eric.lanke@gmail.com.

Image Source
https://madison.com/wsj/news/local/education/university/uw-madison-engineering-program-stripped-of-national-ranking-over-incorrect/article_78465d3e-e514-5c7e-a1eb-cbb1a8f04349.html