Union College

I finally got the gumption to pull from my shelf the copy of Doris Kearns Goodwin's Team of Rivals that had been taking up space there for some time, since whenever I paid $9 for it at some lucky used bookstore.

Reading about William Seward, who will later in the book become Lincoln's Secretary of State, I was pleased to learn that he was a graduate of Union College in Schenectady. Over the years I visited many colleges and universities with Graham and Natalie, maybe thirty of them all told. Union's experience for prospective students was far and away the best. I can't believe I failed to memorialized it here on the blog, but I will do so now.

It was the summer of 2021. The tail end of the most restrictive portion of the pandemic. Most of the schools we visited with Graham didn't bother to actually offer tours and most of them wouldn't let visiting students into buildings.

Union was not like that. Being situated up in Schenectady, just north of Albany, Union understood full well that it was outside of the mainstream of small colleges geographically and that it lacked the brand power of the Wesleyans, Williamses, and Bowdoins of the world. We went inside buildings. Wearing masks, to be sure.

So there we are sitting in a little auditorium on Union's picturesque campus, getting a little welcome talk from the Director of Admissions. Up behind him on a screen was a screen with a scrolling presentation: "Welcome Graham, from Chapel Hill, NC" it said, and it cycled through all the kids in the room (maybe 12-15 plus parents) before going back to the beginning of the list. A warm glow descended over me. This was good marketing.  

The tour of the buildings was solid, led by a rising senior who was a big fan of her alma mater. Pretty much par for the course, but no complaints. When the tour was done we went back to the admissions building where we had started. It was hot out and we needed to hit the head and refill our water bottles. When we passed through building's front room where the receptionist was she asked us, very earnestly and positively: "Did you guys enjoy the tour?" She may even have asked if we had any other questions. 

It was all just perfect pitch. Super welcoming. Good salesmanship. I am glad Graham ended up at UNC but if Union had been 45 minutes away I would have been delighted for him to have gone there. Though Schenectady is a freaking hike to get to from here, so it's all for the best