My visit to Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN

As I have mentioned previously in my blogs my only daughter is a Senior in High School this year and will be going off to college next year. We are so proud that she has grown and matured into the young lady we always knew she would be. However, it's a bittersweet time for a mother who will have an empty nest in such a short time.

Now is the time for reflection - looking back at her long journey to adulthood. Each and every moment from now until college will be something I hold for a lifetime - cherished memories of looking for the right school and the right environment for my daughter.

There are so many wonderful college choices in the Triangle area, and as I mention regularly, the Triangle area is such a great place to live, it's hard to believe that my daughter would event think of going out of town to college-let alone out of state. I remember this time when I was growing up all to well. I,too, chose to leave my home state of Texas to attend Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge(My SEC alma mater). Geaux Tigers!

This fall we will be visiting several academically challenged universities - UNC - CH, Emory, SMU, and UVA to name a few. As always, I will have to share my experiences of my adventures, especially my time at UNC since I used to live there, it's so close to home, and it's my personal preference.

Today our travels take us to Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. Wouldn't you know the minute I step on an airplane I get a call from two separate agents about offers on two different listings. That said, we touched down around 10:30am, got in our rented car, and headed to town in between my phone calls and text messages. I must say I commented on a couple of Activerainer's blogs that pointed me in the right direction for this weekend - Larry Brewer and Emily Lowe and they were both so welcoming and inviting. Larry even told me to stop by the big Jazz fest(which I love having lived in New Orleans) today but my daughter was only up for the "Vandy" experience as the students call it.

We had lunch near campus and met a delightful student that took us on a tour of the Peobody campus for freshemen that was recently completely renovated. The concept is that Freshman live and study in the same group together their Freshman year. Given so many students that attend Vanderbilt from out of state I think this is a wonderful bonding opportunity. We also heard a lot about campus life, academics, football games, and majors. I was especially impressed that I heard many students talking about studying this weekend rather than "partying". They take their academics seriously at Vanderbilt.

All in all our visit has been a great one and this particular school would be a great fit for my daughter. She really likes a small campus environment in a reasonably sized city - Vanderbilt definitely fits her bill. She has a great shot at acceptance and I wish her all the best. If your son or daughter is considering Vanderbilt I highly recommend a visit to the campus to see why it's such a terrific academic and college experience for any college student with a bit of smarts!

Check out the video I found on Freshman move-in weekend. Priceless.