12/19/22 TLU Visit?

     We did our first family visit of a campus for Mijo today.  It was about what I would have expected, other than the rain that was prevalent all day.  We were scheduled to arrive at 9:45am and we made it exactly on time.  The tour was then delayed maybe 20 minutes due to the hard rain that started right as we were fixing to go outside.  

    We then were treated to a short presentation of what is offered at TLU for degrees, and the overall costs.  There was talk of different ways to cut the great cost, but in the end, it'll still be somewhat expensive.  The bottom-line number is something like $48,000, but depending on your current GPA, it comes down, such as having a 3.9 gives one a $28,000 scholarship.  I don't know if this is for everyone, but it seems to be that way, with savings having a GPA all the way down to 3.0.  There are then many ways to offset the cost, such as the fact that we were there doing a tour qualifies Mijo and his friend for a $2000 scholarship every year they attend.  Then if they declare to be Lutherans, there is another $1000.  Participating with the orchestra or plays can give a student up to $7500 in scholarships, I believe I understood.  I am guessing this is the same form of payment an athlete would receive, if he is performing for the good of the school.

    After this, we walked the campus, and we were showed a couple different dorm layouts, one was the kind that has two rooms for four total kids, and they share a bathroom in the middle with one shower and one toilet for the four students.  I think I could live with that, better than the idea of having communal bathrooms for the whole floor, but we weren't able to see those bathroom layouts.

    We were then taken to several of the instructing buildings and shown classrooms where they say the average class size is 14:1 student to faculty, but there are classes as big as 30 students in one classroom, which Mijo assured us he was used to in high school.

    We walked by the gym, the cafeteria, the science buildings which boast a chemistry program, but because it is the end of the semester, all was closed up and quiet, we were not able to go in and see.  We still need more information, the only reason I think he would end up coming here is if the cost came down closer to $10,000 a year, a little cheaper than the cost of Texas State would be, by playing football, otherwise, why would he do so much wear and tear on his body and pay more for the opportunity?  That does not make sense.