Over the weekend of April 6, I decided to take the opportunity to go and visit two colleges in Virginia: Hampton University and Norfolk State University. Both colleges were a great experience and I learned a lot from them.

The first college I went to was Hampton University. Hampton had their annual “High School Day,” where high school students from across the country toured around the school. There were students from Maryland, Virginia and even as far as Oregon.

My first impression was that the students there seemed very energetic talking about their school. We were accompanied by tour guides and we stopped at buildings and stadiums where students gave information. The students guiding the tour and talking about the landmarks of the school were from the Student Recruitment Team.

The SRT were at the front of the school, cheering on the people entering campus. It made me feel welcomed there the whole time. The campus was absolutely gorgeous. The buildings, both inside and outside, looked very neat. Although the campus seemed kind of crowded because I felt like there were buildings everywhere.

Nevertheless, it was fascinating just walking around and looking at the buildings and monuments. I think it was a good idea having this event during a school day because you get to experience being there as a student.

On the following day, I went to go visit Norfolk State University, where my father graduated from. It was raining and a bit windy, and it would have been better if the weather was nice. For a moment I thought they were going to cancel the event, but we were inside most of the time.

Just like Hampton, the people at NSU were energetic welcoming us to their school. Before the tour started, there was a performance by the band and the theater department. They also served breakfast, which was nice. After the performances we were split up by parents and students so that we could tour around the school.

Of course, their campus is different from Hampton’s; it was a little less crowded which made me feel comfortable not having so many buildings around me. The student center building and the library were nice and spacious.

During the tour, all of the students went to the auditorium, where three students in the SGA talked about the school and answered questions. We also got to see what the dorms looked like, which was helpful because I wanted to know what they looked like.

Afterwards we had lunch in the gym, and I met some of the students and staff at NSU. They were all really friendly. We took one last stop around the school and stopped at the Student Center. Me and my dad walked around the library, which I believe was renovated, and went to the gym, school store and Brown Hall, where classes are held.

Overall, both experiences were very nice. It gave me an eye-opener of what a college experience looks like. In just a few months, I will start my college application process and eventually decide which one I’ll be committed to for four years. I would definitely like to explore more colleges and visit them in the near future, and I highly recommend that all students visit the colleges that they are thinking about to help them make a decision.