<p>Hi,
Our family is headed to Columbia in 2 weeks for a visit to see how my daughter 17 who will be a Senior next year will like it. This is currently her #1 and only college she has on her list. She is pretty set, so it will be interesting to see what she thinks after she visits.</p>
<p>We are staying at the Hampton Inn near the school and will be there Friday - Tuesday. We are driving about 15 hours from Pennsylvania, so Friday and Monday will mostly be driving. We also expect to spend a day in St. Lois doing some sightseeing since that Saturday is our 22nd anniversary. </p>
<p>We have the normal 10am tour and meeting set up, as well as the Journalism and TV station tours.</p>
<p>What else should I make sure she see's. Any hints to help me make sure she gets a good look at the school. I know we won't get a chance to go back prior to her having to make her decision.</p>
<p>I’ve been on two visits, and both played critical roles in me considering and ultimately choosing to go to Mizzou (I’ll be a freshman next year). The tours themselves touch on the main places you should see on campus (J-school, rec center, dining hall).</p>
<p>I’d make sure you spend a chunk of time in Columbia itself. The campus itself is very attractive, so making sure your daughter will be happy in a large town like Columbia as opposed to a big city should be the main concern. Shakespeare’s Pizza is right off campus very close to the J-school and is a place I recommend. In actuality, I didn’t see a ton of the town myself, so I don’t have a ton to recommend, but that’s what I’d focus on because I’d doubt she won’t like the campus itself.</p>
<p>And if you’re worried at all about your daughter hating it, don’t be. There’s not a lot to not like. I visited once in February my junior year and loved it enough to use it as a baseline for eliminating schools on future visits (i.e. I like it but not as much as Missouri), and my second visit at the end of September my senior year made me decide right then that I was going to Mizzou. While I’m sure there are people who haven’t like the campus for one reason or another, I have yet to talk to someone who didn’t like it.</p>
<p>Good to see another northeasterner looking into Mizzou! I’m an incoming freshman and I’m extremely excited about Mizzou. Anyway, I definitely recommend making sure you explore the surrounding area. A lot of the preconceived notions I had about the region were completely dispelled from spending a few days in Columbia. I was very pleased to learn that both the area directly surrounding the campus and the entirety of the city is very “happening”.</p>
<p>The J-School tour will probably sell you by itself, but the campus is gorgeous and the town is great. Also, the rec center alone will make your daughter want to sign up on the spot. Have a good visit and feel free to shoot me any other questions you may have. Granted, I’m not a student yet, but I just decided on Mizzou a few months ago and would be happy to help someone else make the same decision.</p>
<p>^^To the two student posters above: I look forward to having you take over this thread in the next year to enlighten interested students on all things Mizzou–the thrills and the challenges! My S is home for the summer but bought his student football/basketball/etc. ticket package yesterday, so he’s getting ready for next year.</p>
<p>connfamily: Both students have good advice–see the town, absorb everything about the j-school, ask a lot of questions, and definitely visit the rec center. Check out the ongoing renovations to Brady Commons, too, since they would be finished while your D is there. Eat at Plaza 900, the favorite dining facility of my son and his friends (though he says sometimes they choose where to eat based on who has carrot cake). The campus is a botanic garden, so enjoy being outdoors, too: [University</a> of Missouri-Columbia Mizzou Botanic Garden](<a href=“http://gardens.missouri.edu/]University”>http://gardens.missouri.edu/). Remember what the residence hall areas look like, because that’ll come in handy later when choosing a dorm. Drive around campus to get a look at the stadium (it is near the Hampton Inn if you are staying at the one on Stadium Rd.). Downtown, try Lucy’s Corner Cafe on Broadway for breakfast, Shakespeare’s Pizza, and Addison’s American Grill.</p>
<p>PM me if you want sightseeing recommendations in St. Louis. Have fun!</p>
<p>It’s hard to believe the weekend after next we head down. She got another packet from the school - love the parking pass.</p>
<p>Geezermom- thanks for the Botanic garden information. We are staying at the Hampton Inn near the Stadium. Just checked online and it’s sold out that weekend. That particular date for visits is also gone, so I wonder if there is a lot of people here that day.</p>
<p>Thanks Steelerfan and Alex. I’m really excited for her to see the place. It looks like such a beatiful campus.</p>
<p>If you are dining on campus, Plaza will impress her the most, because they dress up everything fancy. In reality, Plaza has some of the worst food on campus. They try to do fancy dishes, but usually end up failing in making a good tasting dish. Dobbs has the best overall food.</p>
<p>I’d recommend staying away from Shakespeare’s Pizza. If you’re from a region of the country that makes good pizza, you will find Shakespeare’s disgusting. It’s a little bit above the level of Dominoes, Papa John’s, etc. There really isn’t any good Pizza in Columbia as far as I can tell. </p>
<p>For restaurants just go downtown. The Mizzou campus bleeds into downtown…basically where the campus ends, downtown starts. There are loads of restaurants. Just walk down there for awhile, and check one that looks interesting.</p>
<p>I’d also recommend checking out a movie at the Ragtag. It’s a nice theater that gets films that you’re typical theater won’t have.</p>
<p>Checking out the Rec Center, is a must.</p>
<p>Also, check out Bingham Commons, Memorial Union, Brady Commons (whatever they’ve done with that. I know they have a nice portion above the bookstore open already), and whatever that Common area with the Mizzou Market with the 24/7 Subway is called. Those are places she will probably spend time on campus if she decides to go there.</p>
<p>Then also, check the other part of Columbia out. The place with he mall, bestbuy, walmart, etc. Since she will probably spend some time there as well.</p>
<p>It’s a pretty nice campus and city. Hard not to like. The only thing I’d warn against is you’ll see a lot of construction.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the recommendations. We are actually here right now staying at the Hamptom Inn (which I highly recommend). We got here this evening and went over and parked downtown and walked around. The campus is beautiful even with the construction. There is so much shops and restaurants and everthying is right there. </p>
<p>We had dinner tonight at Panera and I think we might have lunch (well at least I want to) at this natural partially organic restaurant and maybe have dinner at this Japanese Bistro we saw. </p>
<p>It was funny to watch and listen to her reaction of what she thought. She seems to really like it. She said she loves that it has a city feel (she originally wanted to go to school in NYC) and she said it really gives off that city vibe.</p>
<p>You have got to be kidding me. They make fresh dough at least three times a day, use an authentic Stanislaus pizza sauce which is make from tomatoes and not concentrate, add their own spices to the sauce, shred high grade provolone cheese, buy their own pepperoni in sticks and slice it themselves because any of that packaged pre-sliced crap isn’t thick enough or tasty enough, and use a sausage recipe that comes from The Hill in St Louis and it’s made just for them (food connoisseurs know that The Hill is the place to go in the Midwest for Italian food…) My fellow Mizzou peeps, don’t discredit Shakespeare’s Pizza before you’ve tried it. It’s a popular student hang-out.</p>
<p>There’s my rant. As for more suggestions if you’re still at Mizzou as I post this, just have your D walk around the campus for a while to get a feel for the lay of the land and how far she might have to walk to class (most of the dorms except Mark Twain can be pretty far from class). Read up on some of the history of Mizzou if the tour guides don’t tell you a lot (it’s pretty interesting: anything from it being the first public univ. west of the Mississippi River, to having Jefferson’s original tombstone on campus, to Ellis library being used as a guard room by the Union during the Civil War, to the intense rivalry between the states of Kansas and Missouri, as well as between KU and Mizzou.)</p>
<p>Also, try to see inside as many buildings as you can. Check out Memorial Union and grab a coffee from the Starbucks inside. Check out Jesse Hall and the wall with all of the school’s famous alumni (Sheryl Crow, Brad Pitt, and Elizabeth Vargas, to name a few.) The Rec Center is a must-see!!! If for some reason you can’t, go to the rec’s website and read up/look at the photo gallery. It was voted #1 in the country. Head over to the Peace Park and walk around/read/talk. It’s a nice, tranquil spot, unless of course an event is going on (some musicians play there-Eric Hutchinson was just there)</p>
<p>Also, while your D might not be interested in Greek life, or at least isn’t yet, check out the BEAUTIFUL sorority houses that line the streets. They are located on Kentucky Blvd., Richmond Ave, Rollins, Providence, and more. </p>
<p>Whatever you do, take some photos so you aren’t struggling to remember the campus compared to the other zillion schools you visited/will visit. Just enjoy. I’m sure you will be just as impressed with Mizzou as I was. The people are friendly, laid-back, and well rounded. Good luck to your D!</p>
<p>Thanks Coffee Addict. We just got back home this morning at 4am. We left Columbia around 8am, but we stopped in St. Louis and went up in the arch. It was a very long drive back home :(</p>
<p>We definately spent several days walking around the campus (we were there Friday-Tuesday), although we spent Father’s Day in Kansas visiting my dad. She has definately made the choice to go to Mizzou. We were all thouroughly impressed and I feel much better with her decision to only apply to Mizzou after visiting. </p>
<p>She wasn’t interested in Rushing…but after the visit she said she will try it, because who knows she may like it. She also changed her mind about cheerleading, so now we have to find out info on that. After cheering since she has been 5 and doing HS competitive and football/basketball cheering she didn’t want anything to do with it before in College. Now she wants to look into it - go figure.</p>