Roadtrip Day 13

Our first college tour today was at 9am at TCU in Ft Worth, Texas. We got little sleep since we finished the 11.5 hour drive from Nashville late last night. There were more California students visiting for this presentation than any of the colleges we have toured. There wasn't a video, just a power point with details.The photo below is the sports complex and football stadium.

Honestly, the presentation was not as impressive as we have seen at other schools, but our tour guide was awesome. She is a rising junior with a business marketing major. She has already studied abroad, cheers for the Frogs and is in the Honors program. We asked her a ton of questions and we really loved this campus. One downside is that it is hot and has fewer trees than Vanderbilt has to keep you cool. Something we liked better was the nearby area with a small town feel and lots of popular places in walking distance of the campus.
 

 

I forgot what this fountain is called, but it should be the "Lily Pads" since their mascot is a Horned Frog. It represents all four years of college and it is a meeting place and hangout.

   

The above photo is the HUGE recreation center on campus. I think it is an excellent selling point. This center rivals any full-service gym I have seen. It offers racquetball, basketball, a full fitness center, two pools, workout classes, a jogging track, and much more.

 

...and here he is, the campus mascot, and the only one of its kind in the entire college system. The Horned Frog is only about 3 inches in length, but it is FIERCE, we were told : )

  

 

I talked to a campus police officer at "Potbelly" the local sandwich shop and he said all campus police are retired local police. He himself is a former Ft. Worth Sargeant with more than 30 years experience. He looked fairly young and has a high school student who is working on the campus grounds crew this summer. We chatted a while about campus safety, and one of my favorite features is that females are not to walk after dark. So, male students will taxi them to their dorms in golf carts. This is just one of the many safety practices we learned about. 

 

After eating a super yummy lunch at this TCU decorated restaurant, we headed to Waco for our 3pm tour of Baylor. See the Darth Vader collectible case on the wall between the TCU and Texas state flags? 

 

 

Do you notice something different about this gas pump? Weird right? We have seen both 4 and 5 grade choices, including an "85" which seems odd.

Sooooo, on to Baylor, our last stop on the crazy college tour of 2013. The first thing we noticed was Baylor is currently constructing a GIANT, rad stadium right next to the freeway. The two younger kids and I decided to hang out at the hotel for this last tour. It was so hot at TCU, and we were tired. I am bummed though because both Rick and Jamie LOVED Baylor. They had a tour bus to take them around the campus, and this was the only college to give Jamie a t-shirt on her visit. 

Another cool detail about school spirit is that freshman students get to run out on the football field before every game. They cheer on the players and sit behind the visitors' bench and shout out "Christian words of encouragement" to the other team ; ) I did not know this was a Methodist University. Clearly, there is a Christian theme on our summer college roadtrip <3 We are so blessed that the opportunity for a Christian-centered experience is top 3 on our daughter's list of requirements for finding her college home.

Rick said there is a large sports center for all athletes at this school, and school spirit is big here. They have a campus recreation center similar to the one at TCU.

They do have live bears on campus, but they weren't out today. Well, Jamie doesn't feel well, and Rick is at the gym, so they will have to add more details later.

This is not a great picture, but it looks like a beautiful building at Baylor. Jamie and I are going to take a trip to some top California schools asap. We will blog more then....