Our Final Campus Visit

I woke up this morning at 6:30 AM by a call from my friend Rachelle, reminding me to visit her before I leave. I rushed to finish my packing this morning and left my linens with my RA for her to turn in. I felt very sad when I left my empty room, took my name sign off my door, and turned in my key.

All packed up

I felt even more emotional when we piled our luggage in Ms. Larson’s car and said our goodbyes to our program friends and Brown University. I will definitely miss the three weeks I spent at Brown.

In front of Marcy

We met cohort #2 when we checked in at the hotel and drove to visit Harvard University. Cohort #1 stuck together and rode with Ms. Larson. As I set foot on the campus, I was immediately reminded of Dartmouth in terms of the architecture. We went to a truncated information session, which provided a general overview of Harvard’s academics and environment. After, we went on a tour with our tour guide, Lilian. My overall impression of Harvard is positive. Harvard always struck me as prestigious, but the college was not what I expected. I like Harvard’s large campus, but I dislike how the school resembles a tourist attraction because of the many people who tour the campus. My favorite part of Harvard is the upper-class undergraduate house system which reminded me of the house system in Harry Potter. It sounds exciting to be sorted into a house and build a close-knit community with your house. I also liked that the freshmen dining hall was only for first-years, allowing them to create a closer bond with students your own age.

John Harvard statue

Our tour guide

After we returned to Providence, cohort #2 experienced some problems with their hotel rooms. We ended up with two rooms for the girls and one room for the guys, and I’m sharing a room with Erin, Erinn, and Caroline. All of us went out for a final dinner at Mill’s Tavern. The food took a while to come so I was full of water before I got my meal. We had a great time at the dinner talking amongst each other.

Dinner at Mill's Tavern

We are currently having a blogging party in the girls’ room. Our group is leaving tomorrow; I feel devastated. I still don’t feel ready to go home. I will keep up with cohort #2’s blogs and relieve the program through their experiences. I’m excited for their group but sad for my group. But I look forward to sleeping in when I get home. I don’t plan on sleeping much tonight. A long day is in store for us tomorrow.