College Tour: Kennesaw State University

Ever since he attended a Boy Scout Merit Badge event at Kennesaw State University when he was 11, our son has set his sights on that school. Doesn't matter that most of the high school chatter is about the usual suspects - Auburn and UGA, Georgia Tech and Alabama, Vanderbilt and Ivies back east. He likes KSU.

Today we toured the campus. (We'd already checked out the majors and how the school is performing academically.) He honed in on the ancillary stuff - dining hall, apartments, student center, wireless access, comfy classrooms, campus walkability, girls (there were a bevy of beauties everywhere we went), etc. To give him credit, he was keen to see the computer science labs and classrooms, but those were not on the tour (we're definitely going back). I checked out the student life as well the campus clinic and accommodations for a student who will bring all the baggage of Crohn's Disease with him.

With his GPA and ACT score as well as his volunteer work and Boy Scout achievements, our son could be talking about any of those "usual suspects," including his parents' alma maters (hello, legacy!). But he knows what he likes and he likes Kennesaw State University.

If there's one thing I've finally learned as a parent, it's that this is his life, not mine.

Nonetheless, we're visiting several other colleges this week and in months ahead. Can't wait to see how the next one compares to KSU's amazing apartment/dormitories. They most definitely are not the cinderblock+linoleum+always broken elevators of my  university housing. Plush, new, private rooms with refrigerators and microwaves in a common area for EVERY SUITE.

Wow.