My son is interested in civil engineering.
I will followup my original post with a description of the visit day for those who are interested.
We arrived on campus with enough time to dine in the cafeteria ($5pp). Very busy at that time with students casually leaving their backpacks in the lobby with no worry that any theft would occur. Food was acceptable. Typical station-type setup. Lots of groups of students dining together with few solo students. They seemed happy, perhaps because this was the last day before break.
Headed across campus the Hatfield auditorium for a very brief presentation. The room was packed and we had to sit in the front row. 25 groups were dismissed for the “Amazing Tour”, a self guided “race” to the various clues given to each group, with specific facts we were expected to obtain at each site from the student ambassadors stationed there. Bonus points for getting a photo with the President who was out and about during that 1 1/2 hour time period.
This was a fun way to find our way around and of course get to know the other people on the tour as we walked. This was followed by a student panel for Q&A and one on one chats with staff after the event in the auditorium lobby.
This was the most innovative college tour I have ever been on and would like to give kudos to the team who thought of this. The only downside was that we didn’t have the opportunity to ask the myriad of questions you might have covered during the walk between buildings, the answers to which are usually on the colleges’ websites anyway. It might have been a challenge for a school with this size student body to obtain the services of 25 student ambassadors for the large group.
The campus has rolling hills, several ponds and was heavily wooded near the residence halls. There are very nice, new athletic facilities.My son found the Innovation Station impressive. I could see the excitement in his eyes as he took in the myriad of projects underway.He also was impressed with the layout of the lecture halls which included equipment that complemented the lectures.
Thanks for the update. My son has been admitted and we probably won’t have a chance to visit before he makes his decision. Every little bit of information helps!
@TwoSue, I have a lot more information from our visit taht i would be happy to share. Send me a PM and I will answer any questions you may have. Also there is a Facebook page for parents with children at the school and I’m sure you would get some nuggets there.