College tour

The college tour is a very interesting phenomenon. You would think that after all these years, most of them would be about the same. But they aren't. I am early to the game, travelling this spring break with my sophomore son who wants to get a jump on the whole process. This trip was the mid-Atlantic tour. We visited George Washington University, Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, and today we go to William & Mary. Granted there are many similarities. All schools have students lead the tours. They point out the general history of the school, the size of the student body, the security procedures on campus, and the all-important mess halls. But what is very different is the intro talk. At Georgetown, it was lead by the Dean of Admissions, a pretty dry affair, Powerpoint-heavy. Johns Hopkins, meanwhile, was given by this incredibly impressive senior co-ed who gave a commanding 45 minute talk in front of 200 people WITHOUT notes. She is an international studies student going on to the London School of Economics. Perhaps the favorite was a combo talk, admissions person and student, at GW. Today, it's on to William & Mary after a much needed break yesterday - my son off to Busch Gardens, and me and Mom off to the outlet stores. --John Anderson