The University of Kansas was the first campus tour that I went on last year, and months later I finally decided to commit to attend there this fall. I’m really unsure of what sold it for me, or why I liked KU so much better than any of the other colleges I visited, because I don’t think it was necessarily the campus itself.

Don’t get me wrong, the campus is beautiful and they have so many gorgeous buildings all throughout. However, the downsides to the campus are the humongous hill right in the middle of it, and the vast amount of space it takes up. I had heard about the hill before (considering I am from Kansas), but when I went on my first campus tour, it really did not seem that bad. That is because my campus tour guide didn’t show my group that side of the campus. 

On my first tour, I felt like I only got to see one street of the entire campus, which is not a lot considering the huge size of it. She took us down a cool road where several of the classes are, and no cars are allowed. It was fall, so the leaves were falling off of the trees and everything was a golden brown. It was pretty, and the day I went had amazing weather. I had intentions of seeing where the dorms were, the Allen Fieldhouse, and so on, but we never ended up on that side of the campus which was disappointing. I can’t necessarily blame the tour guide for not showing us every part, considering the large campus size. After the tour, my mom and I spent some time driving around, seeing what I did not get to see on the tour. We went to Massachusetts Street, a staple in Lawrence, and I absolutely loved all of the cute boutiques and restaurants.

When I went back for my second tour, I was relieved that it was not the exact same as the first one. My guide took us further down – yes, down – the campus. That was when I finally realized all the hype about the hill. To add on to that, I got to see the dorm I am enrolled in for next year, which happens to be all the way at the bottom of the hill. We walked around the Allen Fieldhouse and saw a lot of the campus that I did not get to see the first time. I had already committed by that point, but I knew when I took that second tour that I had made the right decision. 

Overall, the campus tour was alright. I saw what I needed to see the first time, just not everything that I wanted to catch sight of. I am glad that I got to go back to visualize what the entire campus was really about. I do wish that I had seen everything in one visit, but it is hard to put that on the guides when the campus is so large. I would advise underclassmen to go on two official visits to their future school, and even drive around the town if they have time.