Why Dickinson? (continued)

Needless to say I wasn't so naive as to limit my college search to where my Principal thought I should go - in fact that was a stimulus to look elsewhere. Remember in the late 60's we were flexing our independence. So where else did I look (do you remember where you looked)?

Ursinus wanted me. They knew me because I played my high school sports just down the road. No way was I going to a school that was 20 minutes from home. Scratch Ursinus.

Connecticut contacted me as a result of basketball. Now before you jump to any conclusions about my prowess on the court I need to qualify that this was an era long before the Huskies basketball dynasties (both men and women). Their program pretty much "sucked" (pardon my French). Anyway I received a letter from the coach asking me to visit. Aside from Ursinus which I'd already ruled out this was the only advanced interest I received regarding my athletic talents. So - off to Storrs, CT I go. While flattered that they "might" be interested in me it didn't take long to rule Connecticut out. For those who visited Storrs back in the day, you'll understand.

Delaware hit my radar screen and was intriguing. Decent academics. A little bigger than I wanted. And it was hard to swallow being dubbed a "Blue Hen", but it remained on my short list.

Gettysburg - is being a "Bullet" better than a "Blue Hen"? Oh well - what's all my concern about the schools' mascots anyway. G-burg again made the short list and once they found I was interested in them the basketball coach became interested in me to the point of phone calls on a regular basis. Flattered? Damn straight!

And then came my first visit to Dickinson. I sell real estate now and no doubt you've heard the term "curb appeal". Well as colleges go D'son has amazing curb appeal. One look at the campus and I was halfway to putting my name on the four year contract. Our forefathers knew what they were doing when they laid out the campus and chose the fabulous limestone to adorn the buildings. I got sucked right in.

So - a Principal's recommendation and a visit to the campus won me over. But the financial aid package was the deal sealer. It was the icing on the cake that made my decision much much easier.