<p>I booked our flight to Indy. Two nights at the Memorial Union. One night at my friend's in Columbus, IN. April 21, 22, 23 total.</p>
<p>My daughter was looking forward to spending the night in a dorm through HOST Overnight Program. Turns out it's not happening that night because the Little 500 bike race starts Friday. Now I have a feeling there will be no campus tours or the Red Carpet Day for admitted students. This is what we were flying out for.</p>
<p>Either way, we'll be there for 2 days, long enough to explore IU and Bloomington. Do you think we can find someone to show us around the campus? Or will we be able to see enough of it on our own that we won't need a tour?</p>
<p>I emailed the coordinators of the HOST program and asked if there's a possibility that my daughter could meet up with a student during the day and take part in some activities with her, but not spend the night. I'll see what she says.</p>
<p>Gee, now I wish we were flying out during our spring break like I originally planned.</p>
<p>Honestly, that is one of the worst weekends for a visit and doesn’t give an accurate picture of IU. Hundreds or thousands of students from other colleges come to visit friends that weekend, not to mention people that come for the race. When you mentioned a different visit date in an earlier post the first thing I thought was, “Is that Little 5 weekend?” IU may have campus tours that weekend, but it would surprise me. I would guess the chances of it being a Red Carpet day/weekend is pretty low. It’s not called the “Greatest College Weekend” without reason. I’m guessing few of the students that do the tours would be willing to do so that weekend.</p>
<p>I’m sorry for sounding so negative about a visit that weekend. Just understand that it’s not a typical weekend at IU. It’s sort of a last blowout weekend before finals and the end of the year. There are lots of concerts, parties, events, and of course the races. On the other hand the campus is usually very beautiful that time of year. I just wouldn’t expect a lot of interaction with students, and would not assume that all the students you see are IU students.</p>
<p>I just looked at the admissions website calendar. It says, “Individual appointments only, no tours.”</p>
<p>We’ll actually be leaving before the weekend. We fly in on Wed. the 21st (don’t arrive at Indy airport until 5:45, so I hope we can catch the 6:40 shuttle. Wouldn’t get to IU until 8:20 PM) We’ll spend all day Thursday and Friday. Our friend will pick us up around 6 PM and drive us back to her home in Columbus. Fly home Saturday. I realize the women’s race is on Friday at 4 PM, so I imagine it will be a little crazy then. But what about Wed. and Thursday? Gee, I was so looking forward to having those admissions events on Th and Fr. Phooey. :(</p>
<p>I wish the admissions counselor had mentioned something about this huge event when I told her the dates we planned to visit. I would have reconsidered booking our flights then. At least they’re changeable with Southwest. I’m just not sure of my friend’s schedule. If my daughter wants to go, she’ll need to be flexible and give up a few days of her “last Spring break in h.s. with her friends.” </p>
<p>Oh, and another thing…yesterday when I called to book the Memorial Union hotel room, I mentioned probably only needing one double bed the second night since my daughter would be doing an overnight dorm visit. He said, that’s fine, I could just call down that day and they could move me to a double. This is before I even knew about the Little 500. I asked if there would be rooms available to do that on short notice. “Oh, no problem! There should be lots of rooms available!” Hmmmm…maybe it’s not busy yet during midweek? He sure didn’t seem to think so! Still wish he would have mentiond “the big event”. :)</p>
<p>Thanks for your input, rrah! I’ll figure out what to do.</p>
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<p>rrah wrote:</p>
<p>I’m sorry for sounding so negative about a visit that weekend. Just understand that it’s not a typical weekend at IU. It’s sort of a last blowout weekend before finals and the end of the year. There are lots of concerts, parties, events, and of course the races. On the other hand the campus is usually very beautiful that time of year. I just wouldn’t expect a lot of interaction with students, and would not assume that all the students you see are IU students.</p>
<p>I just looked at the admissions website calendar. It says, “Individual appointments only, no tours.”</p>
<p>Little 5 week will give you a very negative impression of IU. As rrah already said, thousands of students from other universities show up in Bloomington (as well as numerous alumni), and their only goal for that weekend is to have as much fun as possible. There are parties everywhere.</p>
<p>In the meantime…my daughter called from school this morning. Turns out her Jazz Ensemble will be singing up in Reno, Nevada during the time we were to be in IU. Not sure why she didn’t know this before, but I think her choir director had to coordinate it with a San Diego singing festival the week prior. Sooooo…that takes care of THAT!</p>
<p>I went ahead and changed our flight plans (Southwest–no charge:) We’ll be flying out April 7 and coming home the 10th. If all works out, my daughter should be meeting up with a HOST student and spending the night in a dorm on that Thursday and then Friday we’ll attend Red Carpet Day. If either of those events aren’t happening for some reason…I give up! LOL</p>
<p>Thanks for your input and thoughts! Looks like that week wasn’t meant to be. :)</p>
<p>Since you can switch your tickets with Southwest, your best option would be to switch to an earlier weekend. Despite the hassle of switching your arrangements, I think you’ll have a more rewarding visit if you avoid Little 5 WEEK. Events are not confined to just the weekend.</p>
<p>I, too, wish that someone at the admissions office or the Union had shared the event info with you. Kind of surprising, actually. When I heard the dates you were considering, I tried checking the IU events calendar. I didn’t see anything posted for April yet, and I completely blanked on Little 5. I’d offer up my son as an unofficial tour guide, but he’s spending the spring semester in Barcelona.</p>
<p>I hope you have a great visit, no matter what you decide!</p>
<p>You must have just missed my last post. I switched to April 7 (midweek) Exactly two weeks earlier. So, this should work out much better, providing the have the events we’re flying out for. :)</p>
<p>Barcelona sounds wonderful! Is your son fluent in Spanish? I hope he enjoys his semester. And, thanks for your kind words.</p>
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<p>IllinoisMom wrote:</p>
<p>Since you can switch your tickets with Southwest, your best option would be to switch to an earlier weekend. Despite the hassle of switching your arrangements, I think you’ll have a more rewarding visit if you avoid Little 5 WEEK. Events are not confined to just the weekend.</p>
<p>I, too, wish that someone at the admissions office or the Union had shared the event info with you. Kind of surprising, actually. When I heard the dates you were considering, I tried checking the IU events calendar. I didn’t see anything posted for April yet, and I completely blanked on Little 5. I’d offer up my son as an unofficial tour guide, but he’s spending the spring semester in Barcelona.</p>
<p>I hope you have a great visit, no matter what you decide!</p>
<p>I’m glad it all worked out! I think you will be very impressed with all that IU has to offer.</p>
<p>S doesn’t consider himself to be fluent. He completed the minor after 4 semesters, but is not confident about his real world conversational skills. A couple of his classes in Barcelona will be taught in Spanish, so it’s “sink or swim” time.</p>
<p>Sometimes it’s the best way to learn…just throw 'em in there with the natives. You’re right–"sink or swim!"And, younger people seem to pick up languages rather quickly. At least enough to get by! My daughter spent a couple of weeks volunteering in the Mayan villages of Guatemala summer before last. Although she had some Spanish at the time, she definitely wasn’t fluent. She managed to communicate, though. Best wishes to him! I know someone from here who was living and going to school in Barcelona. She was there during the 1992 Summer Olympics. She went on to get her Ph.D and is a professor of Spanish at one of the CSUs in California. She even met and married a Spaniard while she was over there.</p>
<p>Thanks for the well wishes!</p>
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<p>IllinoisMom wrote:</p>
<p>I’m glad it all worked out! I think you will be very impressed with all that IU has to offer.</p>
<p>S doesn’t consider himself to be fluent. He completed the minor after 4 semesters, but is not confident about his real world conversational skills. A couple of his classes in Barcelona will be taught in Spanish, so it’s “sink or swim” time.</p>
<p>Sounds like a great experience for your son in Barcelona. You will have to give us a full report sometime on things to do in Barcelona, ease of travel to other cities, cost of living, etc. My son will be doing a summer internship through Kelley in either Barcelona or London in Summer 2011, and we are having a hard time deciding on which city.</p>
<p>bthomp1,
If you need some info on London, let me know. I’ve been there five times in the past three years–all for work–but I did manage to squeeze in a lot of personal touring and drives (or “underground” subway rides) to all parts of the city and feel like I’m almost a UK native now.</p>
<p>P.S. I was also in Barcelona once–but that was way back in 1982–so I can’t help you out much with that town.</p>
<p>ILMom-You definitely need to give us updated reports on his experience next semester. I don’t know that there has been a thread about study abroad thru IU. I know D wants to study in Spain, but I think the location will depend on her major to some extent.</p>
<p>Studying abroad is a high priority for my daughter, so it would be a welcomed thread. Even though she has had 3-4 years of Spanish I know she prefers an English-speaking country. However, that could change when she’s in college.</p>
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<p>rrah wrote:</p>
<p>ILMom-You definitely need to give us updated reports on his experience next semester. I don’t know that there has been a thread about study abroad thru IU. I know D wants to study in Spain, but I think the location will depend on her major to some extent</p>
<p>^^^I can’t remember a study abroad thread specific to IU either. I’d be happy to share what I learn about his experience in a new thread after the New Year.</p>
<p>There is a Study Abroad forum here at CC that covers a multitude of programs as well.</p>
<p>I’ll second the request and thanks you to IllinoisMom if you would start a new IU study abroad thread after the break. It would be good to learn how your son chose where to study, how he prepared, what he likes/dislikes, tips, etc. Maybe others who have studied abroad will contribute once you get it started. Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>Here is an excellent recent blog from a Kelley student taking classes and internship during a spring semester in London. It is in reverse chronological order. Click on “older posts” to get the whole four or five pages. This student took weekend trips to Scotland, Spain, Paris and a lot of other places during the semester.
[Elizabeth’s</a> London Experience](<a href=“http://elizabethinlondon2009.blogspot.com/]Elizabeth’s”>http://elizabethinlondon2009.blogspot.com/)</p>
<p>Calcruzer, thanks for the offer on London insights. My son loves exploring public transportation in different cities, and tips on the underground would be great. </p>
<p>Illinoismom, can you ask your son about how the Catalan language fits with going to Barcelona. My son is worried that knowing some Spanish (he has taken Spanish only through S275) and no Catalan might hinder his experience there.</p>
<p>My S has not studied Catalan and does not see that as an impediment to participating in this Business & Culture program. All the program info refers to classes being taught in either Spanish or English. Once I-Core is over (tomorrow!) I can ask him for more details. : )</p>