Spring Break My Way Part 1

A week ago, two of my boys were on their Spring Break. Every year I try to plan out outings that will enrich their lives in some way during their time-off from school. As we live in Los Angeles, the wealth of places to visit seem endless. Now that I have a 19 year old who recently decided that a college education was not for him, I thought to my self...."Where did I go wrong with this kid?". My heart broke when Andrew dropped out of college late last year so that he may put all his energy into working full-time. Mijo tonto!!

Joshua, my 15 year old, is now in ninth grade and Jacob, my 12 year old, is in seventh grade. Most parents do the college tours with their kids when they hit eleventh grade. After my failure with my eldest, I decided I needed to take preemptive action. "Boys! We are touring three college campuses this Spring Break!!" My goal was to perk my young-ens' interest in higher education.

Future college students:

Joshua ~ future major in Music; aspires to be a music teacher one day.

Jacob ~ future major in Science; aspires to be a scientist one day.

CSULA 

For our first tour, we went to the California State University, Los Angeles (my sister's Alma Mater). During the week prior to our visit, the weather was warm and sunny; I booked an appointment for Monday. Later I learned that it was likely to rain on THAT day. Ay! Que suerte mala. Undeterred, I took my boys out into the down pour. To make matters worse, the wind was blowing the rain right into our faces. By the time we reached the admissions building, we were soaked just as though we had walked out of a shower. Surprisingly numerous people braved the rain to take the tour too. Luckily, as the tour began the rain stopped.

My boys  learned about the importance of a healthy GPA (grade point average) and what it takes to get admitted to a CSU campus. By the end of the tour, we were dry and had a better understanding about what CSULA can offer them in regards to their major of choice.

UCLA 

Our next tour was self-guided through the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles. ((frowns)) I tried to schedule a tour via UCLA cub tours, which is tailored for younger students, such as my boys. Sadly, we were rejected. Apparently the cub tours is not open to individuals. ((pffft!!)) We did our best to make the most out of this experience. After wandering around aimlessly and getting quite lost, we ended up at the Fowler Museum. We were amazed at how large this campus was in comparison to CSULA. Our little misadventure took us to the school's library as well. The campus is rich in history and beautiful architecture. We hope to visit this school again over this weekend at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books event.

 USC

Our last campus tour was at the University of Southern California, (my husband's cousin's Alma Mater). We love this school!! I was very impressed with our tour guide Shevora T., who amazingly remembered each of the prospective students' names. 

This school offers many programs unlike the state schools who are currently suffering major budget cuts. Granted, this is a private campus and thus can afford to offer said programs. What I enjoyed the most about this school was the emphasis in helping shape the students into leaders of their future professions. They highly encourage students to study abroad and take advantage of the numerous clubs and organizations. Okay, we have a little bias.... my boys' aunt is always trumping about her Alma Mater. I can see why she loves this school too. "Fight ON!!"

Overall, visiting these three schools was a terrific experience. My boys were engaged and the interest was sparked! Afterward, I explained to them about the differences from various schools: CSU (California State University), UC (University of California) and private schools. We plan to visit more college campuses throughout the years to come. 

My goal is to have my boys know which schools they would like to apply too by junior year in high school. Hopefully, their choices will be made with purpose and thorough consideration. I want it to mean something more to them than what it meant to me twenty-one years ago. As you may recall- initially I went to college because I didn't know what else to do with my life. As for my eldest child, I'm holding my breath until he decides to return to school and earn a degree in anything.

All we (Tony and I) want for our children is for them to have something that can never be taken away from them- an education. We don't want them to struggle in life as we did when we were younger. We especially do not want them to regret not furthering their education as we have for so many years.

We look forward to many more visits!!