What a Wonderful Day

I have had such an inspiring day and it's not even over yet!  We started out our day with yummy hotel breakfast, and I made sure to get a couple cups of coffee in order get myself ready for our information session and tour of North Western University.  This morning was fairly warm in the college town of Evanston .  I thought it was going to get super hot and humid today but the weather made an unexpected turn and the clouds soon covered the sky.  Although cloudy, I loved how warm the air still was when we began our journey of this new school.

The North Western experience began with a typical information meeting, but unlike the Chicago session, we were took our seats among a large group of interested students and their families.  A rising junior, Kristina, ended up being our tour guide and she was awesome!  Throughout the entire trip around campus, she was super enthusiastic and incorporated many personal stories into the tour.  I love how beautiful the campus is and the flexibility of courses provided at NU (North Western University).  I could definitely see myself on that campus and I'm not sure if it was just because Kristina was so inspiring, but I completely fell in love with the school and its atmosphere within a couple of hours.  This feeling only increased after having lunch with Kristina and a few more students from the school, as well as a couple admission officers.  I had a chance to get to know a couple of the students pretty well and their current studies greatly interest me. 

A More Modern-Styled Building with Lush Lawn

Beautiful Man-Made Lake on Campus

During the tour, the sky was pretty cloudy but I thought that it would clear up and get sunny and hot later on in the day.  This did not happen, and instead they thickened and it started to rain which I thoroughly enjoyed.  I know this is not an example of extreme weather, it gave me a bit of exposure to a warmer rain that I am used to in the Bay Area.  I think that I could handle living through actual seasons, and anyways, it would be good for me to experience a different scenery than that of California.  After this visit, I decided that I will for sure apply to North Western University and I am already excited to get started on this college application process.

Us Girls Standing Under the Fountain

Between the time that we left the NU campus and headed for dinner, we took the L transportation system to the Loop.  From the station we walked to Millenium Park where we had a chance to see The Bean and run through these giant fountains from which we got soaked! The guys did not join us, but us girls had a bunch of fun running around with tourists and other locals through the great fountains.  By this time the rain had disappeared and we decided to walk back to the Drake hotel in our refreshingly wet clothes.  While walking we were able to see all of the shopping centers that line Michigan Avenue.  Once we arrived at the hotel, we had about an hour and a half to freshen up and prepare for our last fancy dinner of the trip.

Cohort in Front of "The Bean"

David, Mariko, & Cameron

David & I Before Dinner

Mariko, Ivette, & Clara Before Dinner

Our Seafood Appetizer

 Tonight we went out to dinner at Mastro's Steak House, which is about five minutes away from our hotel.  Our guests tonight included the two admission officers we had lunch with, and a former ILC student from Hercules High School who invited six of her friends from NU. Since the party was so large, we split into two different tables for dinner.  My table consisted of two current students, one recent graduate, and one admission officer.  Mariko and David also sat at my awesome table this evening, and we all really had the chance to engage in conversations with our guests.  Our extravagant appetizer and main dishes varied from seafood to steak, of course, and then they were followed by delicious deserts which we all shared.  I had a wonderful time discussing different aspects of the admission process and hearing the experiences and stories of NU from the students themselves.  Although it would have been nice to get to know the other NU students from the other table, I am glad that my table was small enough for us to have conversations that I could really benefit from.  I have learned a great deal about the university in one day, and I feel that following up the sessions on campus with dinners outside of the Evanston area allowed all of the information I learned today to sink in.  From this I now have educated reasons for wanting to apply to this school in the fall and I am very excited to get started!