Air and Space Museum

On July 16th, we left the hotel at 9:30am and drove to the Air and Space Museum, located in Washington, D.C.

Everyone spilt into groups, consisting of two people or more. Everyone had to stick with their partner throughout the whole time we were there. My partner was Zanira Musa.

The whole museum was loaded with space crafts and air crafts.

There was so much information on everything in the museum. I was such an amazing place to learn about the history of aircrafts.

The museum was huge! It took Zanira and I a whole hour and 15 minutes just to see almost everything. Sadly, we missed some of the museum.

Overall, the trip to the Air and Space Museum was eye-opening. I was always under the impression that I wouldn't be able to go anywhere or do anything when I go to college. Going to this museum showed me that I can go out and see things while I'm at college, no matter where I decide to go.

Washington Nationals Game at Nationals Park

On July 17th, after sleeping in, leaving at 10:00am, and having brunch at PJ Skidoos, we arrived at the Nationals Park to watch a baseball game.

This was my first baseball game that I've ever been to. The weather was extremely hot out, ranging in the high 80's to low 90 degrees.

 The heat was insane! Our seats were directly in the sun so the whole time that I was sitting down I was dripping in sweat.

When the heat got to be too much, a bunch of us went to walk around the stadium in the shade to cool off.

We stopped at a small booth and got hats. I later went and brought cold lemonade and some ice cream.

We left before the game was over so we could get back to the hotel in time to secretly celebrate someone's birthday. Overall, the game was awesome to watch and we all had a lot of fun despite the heat.

The Catholic University of America

On July 14th, everyone hopped on the bus at 8:00 am and we drove to the Catholic University of America.

The Catholic University of America is a four year, private college located in Washington, D.C. However, you do not need to be Catholic to get into the school. Tuition is about $40,000 per year, including housing.

The Catholic University of America has a very large campus which I found to be clean, organized, and with lots of green space. One thing I really loved about the campus was the buildings. They were  tall, made of brick, and were nicely spaced out.

As we walked through the campus on our tour, every now and then we would come across a group of students who seemed to be in a friendly conversations. Majority of the time, these students would smile or wave at us. I felt like the school had a great sense of community, which I find very important seeing that I come from a very tight, friendly community of my own.

After walking through some class buildings, we went to visit the dorms. The dorms are co-ed, and you have the option to live on campus or off campus after your sophomore year.

Student housing building

The dorms are completely air conditioned, which was great since it was so hot out. Before you were put into your dorm room, you must take a personality test that will be used to match you up with a roommate that is most like you, to avoid any confrontation.

After we checked out the dorms, we walked to one of the small churches on campus.

We then went to watch a presentation by Ms. Carly on how to apply to the Catholic University of America. This helped me learn what early admission and late admission is.

After we watched the presentation, we went to eat lunch at the student dinning center. The food tasted great, and there was a nice list of food options for everyone to eat.

Student lounge center

When we finished lunch, we had some free time so everyone split up into two groups. One group went up to the large church and the other went to the University's book store which was located a few blocks away in town. I went with the group that went to the bookstore, and then headed up to the church.

Overall I absolutely loved this college. I felt vey safe and relaxed the whole time I was there. Everyone was very friendly, the campus was gorgeous, and the school was located in a beautiful area. I am seriously considering applying to this college when the time comes.

University of Mary Washington

On July 18th, we left our hotel at 8:45 am and arrived at University of Mary Washington at 10:00 am.

The University of Mary Washington is a four year public college located in Fredersckbeurg, Virginia and only cost $36,106 per year with housing. The student to teacher ratio is about 15:1, and there are 4,400 undergraduate students.

The University of Mary Washington is a medium sized campus with spaced out buildings and lots of trees and grass surrounding the campus. I felt like the campus was very calm, beautiful, and clean. I really enjoyed all the trees and grass on the campus because it made me feel very relaxed.

The first thing we did was watch a presentation about the college (fun activities, studies, sports, etc.) and how to apply. Then we split up into groups of 3 and went on our tour.

The first place my group visited was the student center. Our tour guide talked about what the student center offered, which was tutoring, a study lounge, and the cafeteria. I also discovered that when exams are coming up, the school will bring in their own therapy dogs that the students can visit in-between their exams or while they're studying for their exams to help students reduce stress and anxiety. The school will also let you be the therapy dogs' caretaker, raising the dogs from puppies and helping with training them into becoming therapy dogs as they get older. I got really excited when I learned this because I am a huge dog lover.

After visiting the student center, we went to some of the classrooms. The classrooms are completely air conditioned, as are all the schools buildings, which is great because the summer heat was intense. We learned that the school has an honesty program where the school will hold a huge assembly at the beginning of each year talking about honor and honesty. Students will then pledge (optional) to never lie, cheat or steal at the school. Because of this, when taking a test, the teachers will leave the room and trust that you will not cheat on the test. Also, if anyone ever loses something and another student find its, they will give it to the main office or try to find the owner and return their belongings. I love this about the school because it creates an amazing sense of community, safety, and trust.

The murals on the walls were painted when the school was built in 1908

After seeing the classrooms, we went to visit the school gym. The gym was big, clean, and full of all types of equipment. Classes, like dance, yoga, or kick boxing are held at the gym certain days of the week.

Next, we walked to the dorms, which were co-ed and optional to stay in. Before you are assigned to a dorm, you must take a personality test to help find you a roommate that is similar to you to avoid any confrontation.

After we went to see the dorms, we finished our tour and went to the school cafeteria to eat lunch. The food was amazing, by far my favorite out of all the colleges we went to. I really enjoyed the area we ate because it wasn't super crowded like some of the colleges we visited. When we were finished eating, we went to the school's book store and some people brought souvenirs.

Overall, the college of Mary Washington was my favorite college that we visited. The campus wasn't too big or too small for my taste, and there wasn't a bunch of students. I loved all the open space and trees, and everyone seemed super friendly and kind, which made me feel comfortable and safe. I will definitely be applying to this college when the time comes.