BarbaraS

My daughter and I are planning a trip to visit the University of Arizona. It's much cheaper to fly into Phoenix, so we thought we would fly into Phoenix and spend the night and then drive to Tucson. I was thinking of bidding for hotels on Priceline. I have never been to Arizona before, but it looked like Tempe would be a good place to stay the first night - bid in the Tempe ASU area/resort zone. Then in Tucson - Tucson Central/3 star level.

Do you see anything wrong with this strategy?

Also, is there anything we shouldn't miss while we are there. Thanks!

Lori

Barbara,
I just retired from the UofA and I would not recomment staying in the "central" area of Tucson. While there is a very nice Marriott adjacent to the UofA campus the surrounding area is not exactly the most picturesque in the world (not dangerous or anything like that, just not pretty).

I would recomment Windmill Inn on River Rd. & Campbell - it's an all suite hotels and my dept. used it for visitors all the time and everyone loved it. It is in a small plaza called St. Phillip's Plaza where there are several nice places to eat. Also just down the street is PF Chang's, Sullivan's, etc. for more dining. It's a nicer area then right around campus but only about 5 miles away.

If you want to do some sightseeing in Tucson I suggest a visit to Sabino Canyon, the Desert Museum and St.Xavier (Mission).

The UofA campus is lovely, many historical bldgs as well as many lovely newer buildings like our beautiful new Student Union and bookstore. It is a very large campus with many new dorms etc.

Enjoy your visit and I hope your daughter decides to enroll at the UofA!!

If you are also looking at ASU there are many hotels in the Tempe area and Scottsdale is right next door so to speak.

BarbaraS

Lori - thanks for the great info. My daughter is graduating this spring with a BA in English and is interested in the graduate progam at UofA. Any insight on that? Thanks!

Lori

Barbara, Have your daughter contact the grad studies coordinator (if she has not done so already) and set up an appt. I coordinated grad programs in the business area so I do not know about the English program, but I do know the importance of a one-on-one with prospective students. In case you do not know there is a new (built last yr) grad students apt. bldg on campus now, in case she is interested in that.
I wish her the best of luck with her studies, competition is always keen getting into the various programs and the sooner she starts the application process the better it will be for her.

I would also suggest she ask if she can speak with current graduate students, or e-mail them. The very best insight about a program comes from the students themselves. I always had prospective students speak with current ones.

You might also want to sign up for a campus tour.

BarbaraS

Thanks Lori - She's planning on setting up an appointment this week. She probably is interested in the grad. student housing so that's nice to know it's available.

Is there any way to find out the GRE scores that the program requires? Any tips on getting accepted?

Thank!

BarbaraS

Lori - when my daughter contacted the English grad studies office they didn't want to set up an appointment to meet with her. They said everything she needed to know she could find on the web site. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

Lori

Barbara,
I cannot speak for the English Dept. but where I worked we believed in Personal Contact (if at all possible) with applicants. People in many universities (and corporations) use the web as a substitute for personal contact and while the web is a great tool it cannot replace a human being.

If I were your daughter I'd tell them that I was going to be visiting the campus and would like to visit the department/office as well -- mention that you are also considering ASU and other peer institutations and that they welcome visits.

She might also contact the Graduate College offices and see if they can offer assistance for a visit.

I am sorry the Eng. dept was not very helpful, frankly it embarrasses me since I spent many years working at the UofA.

BarbaraS

Lori,

Thanks for the advice. We'll give it a try.

Barbara

BarbaraS

Lori - shortly after you posted my daughter received a positive email about setting up an appointment. Made me wonder if you had something to do with it? Thanks!

BarbaraS

Lori - we just returned from our trip and my daughter was really impressed with the U of A campus and grad. program. Thanks for all your help.

Barbara