Interview, tour, info session...repeat

Chloe's first college visit was at St. Olaf College in Northfield (MN). We arrived in town early enough to drive around and see this cute little college town, whose slogan on the billboard that greeted us said "Cows, Colleges and Contentment." With two well-known liberal arts colleges (Carleton and St. Olaf), the town appeared to cater to its clientele with coffee shops, bicycle shops, and book stores a-plenty. We drove around Carleton College to get a feel for the campus in case we might want to schedule a visit later.

Our visit to St. Olaf was quite impressive. The stone buildings seemed right for this Norwegian-founded college. With the very traditional outward appearance, we were surprised to find very modern, well-maintained and beautiful interiors, especially in the administration and science buildings. We also liked the Commons (complete with cafeteria, bookstore, movie theater, and other “hangout” areas), the dorm rooms (clean, albeit on the small side), the chapel, and several other areas. We were also impressed with the programs offered in Math and Music, and the Piper Center which advises and assists students with career planning and internships.

When Chloe’s interview, our tour and info session were complete we hopped in the car and high-tailed it up to St. Paul (about 45 minutes away) to do it all over again at Macalester College. “Mac” had a much different feel, being nestled right into the heart of the Twin Cities. Though a bit smaller than St. Olaf in terms of campus size and student body, Macalester still has much to offer. Like St. Olaf, it also touts a great Math department, as well as rigorous academics and a global, inter-cultural approach to education.

With our brains full and our stomachs empty, we walked up the street to “Shish,” a wonderful little Mediterranean restaurant, for a late lunch/early supper. We then checked into our hotel (the Fairfield Inn) across from the Mall of America. Leah and Chloe walked over to the mall, while Tom and I drove to REI to start our shopping a little earlier this year. Later, back at the hotel we met up with cousins Deb and Kara, and all the girls sat in the hot tub, swapping shopping stories, and planning our attack for tomorrow.