ZYX FRIDAY - "W"

W is for WEST CHESTER UNIVERSITY located in Chester County, Pennsylvania. My oldest daughter was an excellent student and could have gone anywhere... but the budget said "state school" so Pitt, Penn State and Indiana University of PA were right up there on the top of my list, all being somewhat close to home. My daughter decided on West Chester. West Chester is near Philadelphia and is nearly 4 hours away. And, why did she decide that, you ask, when a similar education was available 6 miles from our house? Well it was October when we first went to look at the college. The colorful leaves on the tree lined streets were gorgeous and the air was crisp and she said the picturesque campus looked and felt like she had always envisioned a college campus should look. It was like a movie set. It was perfect. Beautiful old ivy covered stone buildings everywhere... one after the other..... Yada, yada, yada. Right. Yeah. Uh huh. She actually thought I was going to buy that. Oh, don't get me wrong, all that is true.... but if you think that was really her reason for wanting to go there I have some land to sell you in Florida. Could the real reason have been that her boyfriend was 25 minutes from there at the University of Delaware? Oh yeah, you betcha. I had visions of them bringing each other's grades down, or worse....breaking up.... tearful phone calls, her being miserable so far from home, having to go through the hassle of transferring to a school closer to here, etc. etc. I did my best to talk her out of it. No go. Boy did she ever prove me wrong. Not only did they stay together, but he (being wonderful) provided her transportation to and from school and home for every holiday and weekend visit the whole time she was there. We never had to buy her a car. She ended up being awarded an academic scholarship that paid for her junior and senior year there (including room and board). The boyfriend is three years older than her, and when he graduated from UD, he enrolled in a three year graduate program there and stayed the entire time she was an undergrad at WCU. Upon graduation she was hired by the school district where she did her student teaching, he got a great job as a physical therapist, they got married, are expecting, finally moving home, and I'll never second guess any of her decisions again. West Chester University was good to us. And it really is a lovely campus. They are known for their great music program and their nationally recognized forensics program. Go Rams!
West Chester University of Pennsylvania