College decisions can be super stressful, especially if a students doesn’t have the resources or time to visit a college that is hours away. But opportunities here at Memorial aren’t limited. With a fee of $8.50 and a GPA higher than 2.8, juniors and seniors had the opportunity to visit IUPUI in Indianapolis.

IUPUI is approximately two and a half hours from Elkhart Memorial, so in order to get back to the school at a reasonable time, students had to arrive before 6:30 a.m. for the trip.

Between checking attendance and a few yawns here and there, the bus ride to IUPUI started. For most, the two and a half hours were spent sleeping. Shortly after arriving, students could automatically tell that the campus was enormous. With separate buildings everywhere and students walking from class-to-class, it is no surprise that IUPUI has an enrollment of approximately 30,000 students. 

Starting in the dining room, the tour of the campus began. Splitting up into two groups since there were 42 students, students finally got to know some of the opportunities that IUPUI has to offer. With as many as 225 undergraduate programs, the possibilities seem endless.

“I have been interested in the university since the 8th grade, so it’s great that it has the majors that I am looking at,” junior Dayane Ortega said.

Although getting to know the academic programs that IUPUI offers is absolutely important, students also got the opportunity to hear about the different study abroad programs, clubs, student life, scholarship programs, and much more that IUPUI has to offer.

Some highlights?

1. 1. Not only does IUPUI have a Quidditch Club but they also have a Food Club.
   2. There are opportunities to study abroad for as little as $5,000.

One aspect of IUPUI that is essentially important if a students want to live on campus is getting to see the housing opportunities and how the dorm system actually works. 

“Our tour guide mentioned security, essentially she has to have a card in order to get into the dorms and in order to use the elevators, which I found really important, since safety is the first thing that I think of when living on campus,” junior Miri Olivares said. 

Finally, the last stop of the tour before lunch (everyone’s favorite part, let’s be honest) was at the Campus Center where the students got to ask questions, find out how to apply, and then play three rounds of Family Feud.

It’s no secret that when visiting a college, the elephant in the room that students want to know about the most is tuition. Specifically, they want to know ways that this tuition can get paid for without taking out student loans. 

The speaker essentially told the students that without scholarships or grants, tuition at IUPUI would cost approximately $18,000 annually. This number can be scary for many students, but as the speaker explained, there are many opportunities to pay this off, such as scholarships or even working at a job on campus. 

One other hot topic was the application process.  Representatives from IUPUI informed Elkhart Memorial students that the first deadline to apply was on Nov. 15 for seniors. Those who did not apply before the deadline need to make sure to apply before Feb. 15 for full merit and consideration for scholarships. 

Finally, the time came to eat, with options like burgers, salads, soups, and much more, one was sure to get their tummy as full as possible. With one hour to eat, conversations started with students going over how they felt about the University. Many saying that they really liked it others saying it just isn’t for them. 

With lunch coming to an end, it was time to head back to school. Another two and a half hours later, the juniors and seniors had a pretty clear idea of how they felt about IUPUI. For someone it’s their dream school, for others it’s not what they are looking for. However, this is what college visits are essentially about: learning the pros and cons of colleges and getting a feel for the campus.