On the Return: Reflections from the Boston College Trip

So, one week has passed since the Boston college trip and although I was initially planning on writing a daily log of our events, the days were long and the cold was debilitating. Ordinarily we left the hotel in Cambridge in the mornings around 9:15 (breakfast consumed) and off to our first college tour and meetings of the day. We went from college #1 to lunch and then to college #2, typically, each day we were there. Overall, we saw eleven colleges and universities, which sounds like a lot- and really, it is a lot- but in Boston it's not that unheard of. We met up with some of my old students and they hosted a great dinner for the boys and talked to them all about living and going to school in the city, the transition to college, the difference in responsibilities, etc . . . It was a great evening. We also met up with another one of my students from Boca who was in Boston for Harvard Model Congress with some of her classmates. Serendipitous. The boys were on great behavior the whole weekend and really gained an understanding of what type of campus it is that they're looking for and what the major differences are between academic programs from school to school. Of the group, three of the guys decided that going to school in Boston was precisely what they wanted. The other one learned that going to school in Boston was precisely what he did not want. The weather was much too cold. For him, this was a very productive trip, as well, just because the whole point is to identify locations that you do want to go to college and a big part of that is identifying those areas that you do NOT want. The guys have now all sent/are sending this weekend their follow-up Thank You emails to the various admissions folks who really went above and beyond for the four of them. That is a big part of these trips, to make sure that the students continue to grow and learn through inquiry and experience, while exploring themselves. It was a good trip. Happy almost March!