(Pre) College Prep 2.0

Today's tale feels an awful lot like deja vu at first glance...but features a slight twist on the memory. You see, it was yet another one of those "college visits" that became so familiar to Team WestEnders over the past couple of years as Derek tried to figure out where he wanted to receive his higher education. However, this was the first one initiated by the younger son, not as a tag-along, but solely for his own benefit.

Now, you might be thinking, "Isn't he only a Sophomore? It seems too early to be even thinking about this!" And you would not be wrong. But therein lies one undeniable advantage to being a second sibling: having gone through all the...school search hoopla....with his brother, Riley gained advance knowledge of the process, and a head start on figuring out how he wants to play it for himself.

So while Husband and I took the lead initially with Derek--because he needed a kick in the butt to get moving--Riley is already researching, evaluating, and planning his own strategic attack, if you will, on the task. For example, he asked me one day if he could modify the spreadsheet I created for Derek, which contains potentially appealing universities within a 300 mile radius or so, by adding, deleting, and/or updating information. (Um...YES, please do!) Then he mentioned that he was thinking it might be a good idea to go ahead and schedule a tour of N.C. State during his Spring Break, because it's so close, and easy to "get out of the way". (Again...you betcha!)

Thus he reserved our spots a couple of months ago, we marked our calendars, and last Friday he and I made our way to Raleigh for the...festivities. When we arrived, we first dutifully sat and listened to the welcome presentation--which we found both interesting and informative. (One fun fact to prove I was paying attention: NCSU is one of only 2 public research institutions in the state. They didn't say, but I'd bet a lot of money that UNC is the other...)

Then, due to the fact that it's a sprawling campus, we got back in the car to move to our next rendezvous point outside the student union building. During this journey, we happened to pass a veritable fleet of out-of-town buses and vans sporting the names of other schools from all over the country. (New England, the South, Great Lakes Region, Mid-Atlantic--there didn't appear to be any geographic rhyme or reason to the participants, and the whole scene was nuts, I tell ya...) The reason became apparent as we approached our designated parking deck, and heard the loudspeaker announcing upcoming events...in the gigantic track meet happening in the stadium 50 yards away.

This caused me a small amount of concern, given that neither Riley nor I is terribly fond of hordes, per se...or, you know..."chaos" in general. But when I made a comment to this effect, he shrugged and said, "Eh, I'm used to crowded hallways that are too small for the amount of students...so it actually feels like there's enough room for everyone here, and it doesn't bother me." Well, alrighty then! We followed our chatty tour guides around the grounds, taking in the sights and the wealth of data about academics, support services, residence halls, dining facilities, entertainment and leisure opportunities, etc.

I'd say it was a nice overview for a first-time visitor just beginning to dip their proverbial toe in the post-high-school waters and explore their college options. Once the official portion of our day ended, Riley and I set out on our own to hit a couple of extras of particular interest to him--such as the rec center...and the separate section known as Centennial Campus, which holds the dorms and classrooms for the Engineering program (after obtaining an iced coffee for me, at one of the 11 java-serving places scattered around the university, according to one of the coeds leading our group. As far as I'm concerned, this goes in the Plus column, for sure. Well done, State...).

After we'd seen enough to satisfy Riley, and were ready to wrap up our investigational field trip, I asked for his impressions. In his typical logical fashion, he summed it up by stating that based on our expedition and observations, he wouldn't rule out NCSU as a potential contender...nor would he move it higher up the list of his current favorites.

The only criticism he voiced was that the Centennial Campus--while certainly giving the appearance of being quite new, clean, and...I don't know...high-tech?--felt very disconnected from the rest of the school. He added that it looked to him like a bunch of offices, not like somewhere he'd want to live. His observation made me realize that since we'd driven into that section, we hadn't seen One. Person. No hustle and/or bustle. No teeming humanity...no activity whatsoever, as a matter of fact. It was quite a contrast from the lively, energetic buzz happening in the central area. And so...duly noted!

And with that, we bid Raleigh a cheery farewell and headed out into mild rush-hour traffic to return to our own Chapel Hill part of the Triangle. It was a successful kickoff to Riley's Great College Quest...and now with that experience under our belts, we can move on to tackling a more difficult one...but maybe during the Summer months!