<p>D and I attended the Hofstra Admitted Students Day on Saturday, April 9. We live in the southeast and while weve made many visits to Manhattan, we had never been to Long Island. </p>
<p>We were working around Ds busy senior schedule and honestly Hofstra was the last school on her list that we needed to visit. We had been to Manhattan during the winter to visit a couple of schools in the city but while we were there, there was a huge snow storm on Long Island that prevented us from traveling to Hofstra. The school had 2 accepted student days in March but they were both on Sundays which would have meant D would have to miss school on Monday and with so many days already used for college visits and extra curricular activities, she really didnt need to miss more school. So when we saw that Hofstra was having a Saturday visit day, we booked our hotel and flight and were off!</p>
<p>We flew into JFK, as we were told this was the closest major airport to HU. We booked a car service in advance to drive us to the hotel. We stayed at the Long Island Marriott and really enjoyed it. The hotel was about a mile (maybe less?) from Hofstra. We could see a little bit of the campus in the distance from the window of our room. We had a quick breakfast (that was included in the rate) and then stopped in the lobby to find out about transportation to the school. Turns out there were taxis outside just waiting to pick you up. Just check with the guys at the info desk in the lobby, as they keep a list of reputable, honest drivers. They wont use a cab that isnt on their list. (For those like me that didnt know, these are not the yellow cabs that one would use in Manhattan.) </p>
<p>It took us about 5 minutes to get to Hofstra and the driver was nice enough to drive us around campus until we found the building we were supposed to go to. He also gave us his card and said we could call him when we were ready to go back to the hotel. </p>
<p>We were really surprised at the large number of students and families that were at this event. Again, Hofstra seems to get an unfair amount of negative commentary, so we wondered how many people would be there. D even admitted later that she started the day with a critical eye herself. Anyway, fortunately there are enough intelligent people out there to not let the ridiculous, and for the record, unwarranted, mean spirited comments about Hofstra influence their decision to visit.</p>
<p>We started the day in the student center where the kids received a Hofstra backpack stuffed with info. There was also a huge table set up with drinks and breakfast foods. We had already had breakfast at the hotel so we just got something to drink and had a seat and chatted with two other families. One family was from upstate NY and the other was from the Boston area. Hofstra staff was walking around stopping at each table to talk and answer questions. One of them took lots of time to answer all the questions related to getting to and from Manhattan and to explain about the first year programs that actually incorporate teaching/showing freshmen how to do this. Apparently freshmen have many opportunities to visit the city on field trips so that they learn the ins and outs of safe transportation. Another lady worked in the Fin Aid office and took lots of time answering our questions about all that boring, but necessary stuff! LOL This was great, as she answered all my questions and therefore I didnt need to attend the later scheduled Financial Aid class they were offering. </p>
<p>Finally, we went to the main auditorium and heard from the Admissions office and then from the university president. He was a great speaker and D and I really enjoyed hearing him. He is very upbeat and excited about the University and all that is going on there and all that is to come. Very exciting stuff!</p>
<p>Afterwards we got to choose from a wide variety of topics to hear more about. We had a map and just chose when and where we wanted to go that was of interest to us. We learned about freshmen programs, two majors that are of interest to D, took a tour and visited the two freshmen only dorms .Netherlands and the other one I cant remember the name of it started with S .anyway, D loved the Netherlands so that was her main focus. The rooms were of good size; its 4 kids, 2 in each bedroom, then a bathroom the 4 of them share, and then a small den area for all 4 to share as well. I also liked the fact that a cafeteria (including a Subway sandwich shop Ds all time favorite!) were attached. Our guide told us many kids roll out of bed and go to breakfast in their pajamas then back to the room to dress for class. Not sure D would do this, but I guess just knowing it is possible is a good thing. The only thing I didnt like about the Netherlands, but didnt seem to bother D, is that you have to cross a 4 lane street to get there. There were lots of kids going back and forth, buttons to press to make the light turn red, and an island area in the middle so there is a safety point. All the current students seemed not bothered by this but being an overprotective mom (!) I wasnt crazy about it. Of course D pointed out to me that if she had chosen one of the schools in Manhattan she would be crossing more than one street everyday. OK, so she got me on that one!</p>
<p>Weve been on enough college visits to know that schools put on their best face for these types of events, but I have to say the people at Hofstra impressed us more than anywhere else we have visited. They didnt seem to put on airs or seem too busy to help out. At one point, we ran into a guy from the admissions office that had sent us emails. I recognized his name (on his name tag) and stopped to say hi. He ended up talking with D and me for over half an hour. While there were other people buzzing around, and lots going on, he never rushed us and he made a point to give very useful information about things we didnt even think to ask, but were glad he told us. D and I walked away very happy. </p>
<p>One of our last classes consisted of the parents attending one forum and the students attending a students only forum. This was a nice way to end the day, and I think the kids were happy to get away from us parents. LOL D was glad to discover that there were lots of kids from out of state in attendance. She had been concerned that there would be so many local kids that were friends from high school.</p>
<p>After all of the scheduled activities concluded, D and I went back to the student center for a late lunch (many, many, many food choices). We also checked out the book store (its very nice, big, two floors). We then just kind of roamed around campus on our own. Most of the trees and plants werent in full bloom, but it was such a nice, sunny day, everything just looked so pretty. D really loved the Dutch inspired old building in the center of campus, and while I guess this may sound cheesy, I loved walking across the unispan (several times) and looking out of all the windows. It was much larger and nicer than I thought it would be. </p>
<p>While we were having lunch in the café, D told me she had really tried not to like Hofstra and that she had come in looking for reasons not to like it. But she couldnt help it, she really liked it and she felt like this was the place she could learn and grow. She had started this journey intending to go to school in Manhattan, but after visits to several schools in the city, she felt the distractions would be overwhelming and would possibly distract from her studies. One of her best friends attends a college in Manhattan and she has seen how the city has affected him. So, the proximity to NYC and the internships and weekend visits, but yet the 25 mile distance, works out perfectly for her. This, along with all of the educational offerings made the choice easy for her. She also told me this was the first school that she actually felt excited about the academics. D loves to have lots of choices and apparently some schools had made her feel too locked in to particular majors. </p>
<p>After our visit, we called our cabbie (took him only about 10 minutes to arrive), who transported us safely back to the Marriott. The next morning we hopped on a plane for home, D in her newly purchased Hofstra t-shirt. As she slept next to me on the airplane, I couldnt help but think that this long, exhaustive, expensive college search journey was drawing to a conclusion. We of course discussed it with her dad over the next couple of days, looked over her other offers, even debated because one other school had given her a little bit more money and was in state, therefore overall less expensive but in the end H and I had to agree that a happy D is priceless so Hofstra, it is!</p>
<p>A few days later D made her deposits online. I had to call a couple of times to get answers to a few questions and I could not believe how nice and helpful every single person, no matter what department they were in, was to me. I thought back to another school in NYC that D originally thought she wanted to go to, and the two times I had called with questions and how each time I had felt rushed and more like a number than a person. Ive not experienced that feeling with anyone from Hofstra. </p>
<p>Now the scary part, moving forward new challenges, new opportunities .exciting! I hope everyone has as wonderful of a college search adventure as our family has had. And I hope, while this post is quite long, that it will help others next year and the following years, as they research Hofstra. Good luck to all!</p>
