Wildcats Everywhere

The "bean" at Millenium Park.

The first hour or so started off as usual; meeting the cohort for breakfast then hopping in two separate cabs to reach our destination for the day. The ride to Northwestern University seemed extremely long but my cab made it to the school first. While we waited for the others to arrive, of course we had to pose for a few pictures.

Posing for a quick flick in front of Northwestern.

Once everyone arrived, we headed to the admissions office for an information session. The college visits and information sessions have all provided me with the same information but each school has something that makes them a bit
unique. We then headed off on our tour with Kristina, who is originally from Texas. Kristina was really outgoing and truly expressed her love for her school. She pointed out every little spot on campus and encouraged us to ask questions. Her openness and willingness to talk to us made it easy to connect and relate to her experience. She even told us we were her favorite tour group ever and took a picture with us! As we were starting to wrap up the tour, we noticed something strange.

The sky was grey, there were random flashes of light in the sky, and water was falling from the sky.
IT WAS RAINING!
Being from the Bay Area, we are certainly used to the rain, but normally it doesn't happen after it's just been ridiculously hot.
It was thundering, lighting, and raining raindrops the size of quarters and Kristina had us running to finish up the tour while making it back to admissions.

Soaking wet, we pause for a picture with our awesome tour guide, Kristina.

By the time we arrived back at admissions we were soaking wet and had worked up a appetite. We took a short break then headed to a dining hall near the admissions office with admissions officers Shannon and Aaron, as well as Kristina and two of her friends. Over lunch, Kristina shared her experiences at Northwester with us. She told us how she was so eager to get out of her hometown but once it came time to decide on a school she was completely torn. I think this is a situation that will become familiar to a lot of us. It's important to be smart when making decisions about your future. Kristina explained that she didn't want to leave behind her life in Texas but then she realized that she really wanted to go to Northwestern and that was the school for her.

After a long, insightful lunch we all went our separate ways and the UPenn cohort went to do some sight-seeing. We all bought tickets for the "L" or elevated train, which is very similar to Bay Area Rapid Transportation (BART) in the Bay Area. It only costs $2.25 to go anywhere! Whereas with BART, the ticket cost differs with location. We went and explored the Millenium Park area for a while then decided to walk the Magnificent Mile back to our hotel.

First time on the "L"!

At 6:45 our lovely cohort met in the lobby of The Drake Hotel for our final formal dinner of our trip. This Sunday we will be moving into our dorms at Penn and the very next day we start class. Dinner was a lovely affair shared with sixteen other people. Though I wish I had the chance to talk with everyone, I thoroughly enjoyed the conversations at my table. I was seated with Aaron, the admissions officer from Northwestern who also ate lunch with us; Johnathan, Andrew, and Shiven, who are all students at Northwestern. I was also joined by Ivette, Cameron, Clara, and Ian.

I definitely enjoyed dinner at Mastro's Steakhouse. The dining experience was very elegant and in such a calm yet lively environment. The college tours have been amazing and I for sure know which schools I'm adding to my list. I am extremely thankful for the opportunity to tour these schools, meet these wonderful people, and of course dine at these extravagant restaurants.

Campus living, up next!