Just arrived home from our visit with Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa. It was a great trip...not sure if it was just because it was our first visit or because it was truly a great experience. We really liked the college. The Wrestling coach was very cool...in fact, the team of coaches put me in the mind of the coaches we have now at the high school level. The wrestlers too...they seemed to form a brotherhood, much like what Trenton has now, and we all liked that. We started off arriving a bit early but we were able to see the wrestlers just getting out of practice and we got to meet the coaches and some of the wrestlers. We walked around campus for a bit before our actual sign in at 10:30 am. We then went in with the coaches and admissions counselors and talked about the college and the application process. The school is small...only 1700 kids...that's the size of Trenton's high school now! The class size is on the average of 17 kids. We liked that. We also liked the fact that it is a wireless school and the kids are given a laptop every two years to use. Very cool. We got to go on a tour from there...to see the new football field, where the classrooms are (7 building all together), the library (which has an area that is the highest place in Dubuque so the scenery from there is awesome!), the wrestling room and gymnasium/track, the new weight room and new sports arena that is top of the line, the dorm rooms (4 person rooms but only allowed 2 so there is plenty of room), the bookstore, etc. We were also able to eat lunch in the cafeteria and talk amongst the wrestlers. We also were given the opportunity to stay for the football game against Buena Vista so we did - until just after halftime. Trenton went to stay with a few of the wrestlers in their apartment (the coach assigned him to a few of them) and Ben & I headed to the hotel. We were exhausted. Information overload, lots of walking and the fact that we got up at 4:30 am was overwhelming at that point. We talked and liked all the above mentioned and also the fact that, even though this is a DIII school, they are one of the top DIII schools as far as competition and even competes at some DI levels! We also thought it was cool that Dan Gable's daughter attends there and plays soccer. I guess he actually visits the school often and is a great friend of the head coach. The only negatives were, of course, cost (with it being a smaller out of state school, and the 5 hour drive (although it is a beautiful scenic drive from Chicago). We would love to stay involved with Trenton's wrestling when we can and it would be hard on occasions with it being so far. But, overall, it was a great visit and we were thankful for the opportunity to go. We do have to keep in mind that this is the first one, so we will see how things go in the future. Here are pics from our visit and more information on Dubuque.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Loras Duhawks
Just arrived home from our visit with Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa. It was a great trip...not sure if it was just because it was our first visit or because it was truly a great experience. We really liked the college. The Wrestling coach was very cool...in fact, the team of coaches put me in the mind of the coaches we have now at the high school level. The wrestlers too...they seemed to form a brotherhood, much like what Trenton has now, and we all liked that. We started off arriving a bit early but we were able to see the wrestlers just getting out of practice and we got to meet the coaches and some of the wrestlers. We walked around campus for a bit before our actual sign in at 10:30 am. We then went in with the coaches and admissions counselors and talked about the college and the application process. The school is small...only 1700 kids...that's the size of Trenton's high school now! The class size is on the average of 17 kids. We liked that. We also liked the fact that it is a wireless school and the kids are given a laptop every two years to use. Very cool. We got to go on a tour from there...to see the new football field, where the classrooms are (7 building all together), the library (which has an area that is the highest place in Dubuque so the scenery from there is awesome!), the wrestling room and gymnasium/track, the new weight room and new sports arena that is top of the line, the dorm rooms (4 person rooms but only allowed 2 so there is plenty of room), the bookstore, etc. We were also able to eat lunch in the cafeteria and talk amongst the wrestlers. We also were given the opportunity to stay for the football game against Buena Vista so we did - until just after halftime. Trenton went to stay with a few of the wrestlers in their apartment (the coach assigned him to a few of them) and Ben & I headed to the hotel. We were exhausted. Information overload, lots of walking and the fact that we got up at 4:30 am was overwhelming at that point. We talked and liked all the above mentioned and also the fact that, even though this is a DIII school, they are one of the top DIII schools as far as competition and even competes at some DI levels! We also thought it was cool that Dan Gable's daughter attends there and plays soccer. I guess he actually visits the school often and is a great friend of the head coach. The only negatives were, of course, cost (with it being a smaller out of state school, and the 5 hour drive (although it is a beautiful scenic drive from Chicago). We would love to stay involved with Trenton's wrestling when we can and it would be hard on occasions with it being so far. But, overall, it was a great visit and we were thankful for the opportunity to go. We do have to keep in mind that this is the first one, so we will see how things go in the future. Here are pics from our visit and more information on Dubuque.
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Definitely a good school and actually one of Saint Mary's peer/competitor schools. Let me know if you have any questions about the whole process plus keep me in mind when it comes time for financial aid applications!
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