What do Disneyland, Dance and College have in common?

A trip for 3 teens to LA!!!

Last spring at a Dance Convention while eating at Panera, the kids said “hey, what if we came back to LA for Disneyland and to visit some colleges?” They had me at college visit, so we planned...and we made it! 

Our school district has a Fall Break, so we chose that as a great time to visit colleges in session and Disney at Halloween. None of the kids really had specific colleges in mind so we went with two criteria: must have a dance major and must be within 45 mins of each of our two hotels. We all went with open minds as an opportunity to learn from a small sampling of colleges. Our choices included two public and three private schools. 

Three of our tours were guided with college seniors and two tours were on our own (one was with an Alum). These college communications majors were prepared to share with the high school students!  Excellent command of the group, many personal experiences, and relevant social and academic information. The takeaways from each of us made for fun dinner conversation. 

Here’s what the kids said: 

I’m not afraid of college now, I see that it’s all just older kids studying and going to classes. 

College seems more real, and now I know why I want to do well in school.

I love how fun it looks, you get to eat lunch wherever you want, and study whenever you want. 

I never knew how many things there were to do in college, and the people here are so friendly.

I always thought I wanted a big school, but I actually like the smaller colleges better. 

I love the spirit of the big schools, and I want to be a part of that. 

I need to learn how to manage my time better so I can do all the things I want to do. 

Here’s what the adults learned: 

College isn’t what it used to be. The food is better and the dorms are nicer. 

My college has double the amount of buildings but my old dorm is still there. 

The colleges seem to offer a lot more student support than we ever had. 

The kids all seem so young! We thought we were so mature!

There seems to be more variety in the classes now, it’s not one size fits all. 

The students seem more serious than we were, they’re actually doing work on their laptops on the patios. 

What we all learned from a few college students: 

You don’t need to know what you want to study, you can figure it out once you get to college.

Learn how to manage your time now, so you can do all the things you want while you get all your work done. 

Learn how to reach out for help - counseling, tutoring, writing essays, asking teachers questions, academic advising.

There are many underused and really helpful services for students at college. 

Don’t be afraid to reach out to meet people. Everyone is new sometimes. 

Join clubs, get involved, and pursue your interests. 

Talk to people when you get coffee or meals. 

Start your applications early so you don’t get too stressed. 

And Disneyland??? Loved by ALL!!!! From park opening to gates closing, we hit as many rides as we could, snacked while walking and soaked up every magical moment!!! Favorites were Space Mountain, Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, and of course It’s a Small World which expanded a lot in the last 8 years! 

This trip was inspiring and motivating for all of us. Helping kids get ready for college and learn how to manage their time is so much fun in Junior Year Journey. Stress can get the best of all of us, but when we take the time to learn tools early, college and later life can be experienced fully.