Last College Visit (we hope)

On Veterans Day, Greg, Emily and I went to North Adams in the western part of the state to visit what we hope will be our last college visit. We went to see MCLA or Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. It’s located in the Berkshire Mountains. Unfortunately it was a grayish day and past peak. I think this would have been a beautiful drive a few weeks earlier. I couldn’t resist taking a picture of the above sign. Who knew there was a Florida in MA. Click on photos for a closer look.

MCLA is a fairly small school. About 2000 students attend. It’s older and has a more classic look. The kids that did the tours were very enthusiastic and really seemed to love their school, that always says a lot. Another nice perk of the school is how reasonably priced it is. It’s more than half the price of Champlain per year. Champlain is still Em’s #1 pick (it is a really nice school so we understand her motivation) but she moved Hofstra into #3 and MCLA into #2. The area is really beautiful with mountains all around. One thing that really impressed me was how clean the air smelled, it was the freshest air I’ve ever smelled.

MCLA tends to be geared towards the arts, performing in particular. To the left is an interesting sculpture. The gate to the right is symbolic. Our guide told us that on the first day of school as a freshmen everyone files through the gate. At graduation everyone files out through the gate. The rest of the time it’s kept closed and its suppose to be bad luck to go through it at any other time.

 

 

After we finished our college visit we went into the downtown area to see two museums. The one above was an exhibit on birds and nests done by college students.

The other was a more typical museum with some interesting pieces. Art certainly can be in the eye of the beholder.

   

 

We traveled through the Berkshire Mountains. Some of the roads were very winding. Just outside of North Adams is a very classic hairpin turn and I do mean hairpin. I can only imagine how many accidents have been in that spot.

The statue below is a commemoration to veterans which seemed appropriate as it was Veteran’s Day. The mountain backdrop was spectacular.