<p>Warren Wilson report…</p>
<p>We left DC around 6:00 p.m. Thursday and stayed over night near Roanoke, VA (about the half way point), so that we could get up early and make it to our Warren Wilson tour at 1:00 p.m. Friday (we wanted to see students out and about on campus so did the Friday tour). This turned out to be the perfect plan, because we arrived around noon which gave us time to have lunch in their dining hall before the tour. The dining hall food was very good if you are a healthy eater (not as delicious for someone who prefers Taco Bell over Chipotle, lol). They had sloppy Joes with WW grassfed beef, and I had a really tasty veggie wrap. My daughter and I are both vegetarian, so she does have plenty of good food options at WW. They even have a separate smaller dining hall with only vegan food. We didn’t know about it until after we ate in the main dining hall unfortunately, but heard that it’s student run and very good. You will notice that I talk about the food, because my son’s school food is so bad that it’s now become an important part of the tour for me, lol! </p>
<p>To back track a bit (the topic of food always gets me side tracked), the drive to Warren Wilson was a gorgeous drive through the VA and NC mountains. We got off I-40/WW exit and the urban area near Warren Wilson is just basically a busy road with your typical grocery stores, gas stations, hotels, etc. We weren’t wow’ed at this point…but then we headed up the more rural road to Warren Wilson. In this case it WAS exactly like the brochure/website with the rolling pastures and green covered mountains. It was truly beautiful. </p>
<p>The campus itself has mostly matching buildings with the stone, but there’s a mix of traditional brick buildings as well. The library was very modern and clean, although not particularly well stocked (two floors though and well organized). They do share a consortium with UNC Ashville, and Greensboro and students can request journals and books to be delivered to Warren Wilson for loans. They need about a week’s notice and can do this either online or at the library help desk.</p>
<p>The new eco dorms were incredibly nice. They were apartment style --each with it’s own kitchen and laundry (refer to “Shafer Hall” photo in pics). Freshman dorms…well…not so nice. There are other options such as “wellness housing” which my D wants to look into more. The freshman housing was old cinder-block type housing and didn’t have much light given the shade of all those trees. It’s probably ok for one year, but it would take a lot of work to make these dorms feel homey. My son wouldn’t have been bothered by the freshman dorms, but my daughter is more affected by her living environment. It totally depends on the kid I’d say. </p>
<p>The rest of the campus buildings were well maintained. If you’ve visited Earlham, I’d say there was a similar feel to the interiors of the buildings and their overall facilities (with the exception of Earlham’s brand new building which is completely spotless/new!). There were students working all over the campus doing their various work study jobs (required of all students and reduces their tuition by $3,500 per year). They were mopping the floors in the science building, using weed wackers, feeding sheep, working in the dining halls, etc. So it did feel clean for the most part…except the stairs in the dining hall. They were a tad beyond dirty ;). </p>
<p>We were most interested in their art department facilities and it met my daughter’s approval. There were separate buildings for the printmaking/drawing/painting/textiles/ceramics and an entire drama building/black box theater. At a near by building students were busy setting up what used to be the original gym for their annual circus performance. We were offered tickets to see it that night, but instead opted to have dinner in downtown Asheville. </p>
<p>Asheville is phenomenal. An art meca is what we heard, and yes it’s definitely exactly that and more. There were all kinds of great restaurants, hip shops, old art deco buildings from the late 20’s. I think what struck us the most in Asheville and at Warren Wilson was all the smiling people. We had dinner at the Mellow Mushroom (they have one in Charlottesville, VA too near my son’s school) and the entire place was loud with laughter. Lots of families and students from all the area colleges. The city bus is free for Warren Wilson students btw, and runs from the college every hour. It’s an awesome city if you love the art culture and are a foodie :).</p>
<p>My D is 99% certain that she will be applying ED to WW. The other things she liked about it were the daily yoga classes offered, that she can actually join the “circus” (lol!), the students have a weekly town hall and have a lot of say in their college (this is what’s similar about her high school now which is a magnet outside of DC), the animals (she loves animals and hopes to make them a part of her work study), the community service requirement, their full year abroad program to Kyoto Japan, and the strong community feel. It’s a unique school and I agree with Annie, I wouldn’t mind going to Warren Wilson myself, lol! :)</p>
<p>I’ll post about Guilford next (and of course, their food).</p>
Warren Wilson and Guilford are on there. Count me among those who are curious about your impressions, especially about the differences.</p>