Our 2nd campus visit was to:

Madeleine and I got up bright and early on Friday to drive to Columbus, MS. We arrived early since the state roads were wide open with no traffic. Admissions gave us coupons for lunch at the cafeteria. There was quite the selection - hot entrees, side dishes, burgers, sandwich bar, salad bar, pizza and desserts.

Then we chatted with Carlee (our area admissions rep) and MJ found out she's been awarded a scholarship (based on her ACT score) equal to out-of-state fees. And she was invited to apply for Scholars Day and the Hearin Leadership Conference. Carlee seemed quite confident that Madeleine would be awarded large scholarships.

Then Michael (a student worker) gave us the VIP tour. We saw soooo much of campus - from the freshman dorm to the honor's dorm, from the $14million rec center to the Goose (serves food in addition to the cafeteria). We chatted with a professor of psychology (that taught at my alma mater), said hello to the college president and talked with MSMS students as well.

Michael actually passed us off to Tomeka at the rec center. She is an Army brat but her family now lives in MS since dad retired. The rec center has a lap pool, 2 racquetball courts, 2 collegiate basketball courts, a high school court with a volleyball net set up most of the time, an indoor running/walking track, dance/aerobic rooms. It is a state of the art facility. Madeleine will be able to keep in shape and have fun in the many intramural sports offered at the W.

The dorms are very nice. They are airconditioned, all rooms come with fridge/microwave, there is wireless internet, study rooms, a computer lab in each dorm, only 4 to a shared bathroom. The rooms themselves are a nice size with built-in desks and bookcases, the closets (one each) are spacious - the only down side is the short dresser (why a 3 drawer dresser is beyond me). All dorms are controlled with an access card (seems to be 'the' way of dorms these days). Madeleine would probably have a choice of Kincannon (freshman) or Grossnickle (honors) - the latter having larger rooms with kitchenette and extended quiet hours.

And there is a Catholic church - pretty much next door to the campus. Madeleine briefly talked to Ariel (a Catholic girl that attends the W and was homeschooled for many years). The church being close by is a definite advantage over UNA which is over 1 mile from campus.

Madeleine was able to spend the night on campus. She stayed with Janet - a junior and an RA in the upperclassman dorm. They ate dinner at the cafeteria, walked around campus seeing more and talking to folks and then relaxed back at her room with a movie. Madeleine said the school is definitely not a party school and the dorm was not loud & noisy even on a Friday night.

So MUW has moved up to #1 and UNA is now #2 - of course we still have three more schools to visit. And oh yes, I forgot to mention the friendly welcome we received. This is what we found outside the door to the admissions office:


(I photoshopped out the last names)