Team Fennessey in St. Louis

The blog has been quiet this week because Team Fennessey is in St. Louis. We are here for NACAC - a national conference for college admissions officers and counselors. We have been attending sessions and meeting and greeting college reps from all over the country. It's also great to hear what other high schools are doing. Best of all, we squeezed in two college tours during our stay! While the DC area has been drenched in rain, it's been 70 degrees and sunny here and we are loving the friendliness and laid back feel of the the schools we visited -Washington University and St. Louis University. Both of these schools could be a fantastic fit for Visitation girls.

Highlights from our SLU tour:

1) Vampire Weekend is performing on campus this weekend!

2) There is a gorgeous state of the art fitness center and a beautiful outdoor pool with a beach volleyball court and palm trees. Who knew?

3) SLU is like Visitation - it is a beautiful, self contained, green campus in the middle of the city. So many Visi girls want a campus like this. If you are looking at schools like St. Joe's, Loyola-Chicago, Fordham, Loyola-Maryland, or John Carroll, than you should be checking out SLU!

4) We learned about their unusual school mascot, the Billiken, and other fun traditions on campus. Walking around, it was clear that this is a school with a lot of character and spirit. And it's really beautiful. Here's one more picture!

Highlights from our Wash U visit:

1) When we were in college, we felt lucky to have Burger King and Taco Bell available to us in the Student Union. At Wash U, you seem to pass another amazing dining opportunity every five minutes - including the chance to enjoy a three course, sit down, dining extravaganza. And you are not eating in a standard cafeteria with a plastic tray - you could be seated in an outdoor pavilion or an oak paneled lounge with flat screen TVs on the wall.

2) We had gotten turned around on campus as we were looking for the fitness center and a very friendly student stopped to help us out. She pointed out not one, but two, athletic facilities - and then sent us on our way to the South Forty which resembled Main Street in Disney World. While Wash U is a little further away from downtown St. Louis than SLU, they have made sure all the modern conveniences of living in the city are just a few steps from your dorm. You can drop off your laundry to be washed and folded, get in your work out and get your hair and nails done at the salon with ease!

3) These students are smart, smart, smart! The library was full, students were on their laptops in the quad and they did not seem to be facebooking. This is not to say that campus was quiet, there was a buzz of activity, discussions, and intellectual energy all around.

It's been a busy week! We are excited to board the plane back to DC with bags full of college brochures and business cards - as well as some new SLU hoodies!

Published by TSM and KMH