A shout-out to Joe Bezousek, Associate Director of Admissions at Omaha's Creighton University, for these excellent recommendations for students and parents visiting Nebraska's largest city and any of its many colleges and universities on their campus road trip.  From the Jones Bros.' Wild Thing cupcakes and a Tex-Mex Dixie scramble to the world famous Omaha steaks and farm-to-table steelhead trout, there's something for everyone here. Itchy salmon sushi or bison burgers, anyone? Check it out here. 

Most private colleges -- and more and more public universities -- require letters of recommendation from one or two classroom teachers of academic subjects and the high school guidance or college counselor. Make sure you provide the teachers and counselor who will write your recommendations with a list of the colleges to which you are applying, deadlines for the recommendations and any required forms. It may also be helpful to provide the teachers who are writing your recommendations with a note telling them why you have chosen them to write for you.

If you have not requested these letters of recommendation, do so immediately by speaking in person with your teachers and counselor.  And don’t forget to check the policies and guidelines for recommendations of both your high school and the colleges to which you're applying to be sure all requirements are being met.

You can find more information about recommendation letters, such as waiving privacy rights and supplemental recommendations, in Chapter 12, “Recommendations,” of College Admission: From Application to Acceptance, Step by Step.

Nancy Hargrave Meislahn, Dean of Admission and Financial Aid, at Wesleyan University of Middletown, Connecticut, joins us this month and graciously answers -- not five -- but six questions.

 Wesleyan was founded in 1831 by leaders of the Methodist Episcopal Church and began with 48 students (all men); the president; three professors; and one tutor. Tuition was $36 per year.

Today, Wesleyan’s 316-acre campus located in central Connecticut hosts about 2,900 full-time undergraduates – both men and women -- who choose among more than 900 courses offered in 40 departments and 44 major fields of study, taught by 375 faculty members. Its student/faculty ratio remains at 9 to 1, with two-thirds of classes enrolling fewer than 20 students.

Named for John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, the college was never a seminary, but offered a liberal arts program from its inception. Unlike most college curriculums at the time of its founding which were steeped in the classics, Wesleyan set out to put modern languages, literature, and the natural sciences on equal footing.  That orientation continues today with students pursuing a self-directed curriculum, numerous undergraduate interdisciplinary programs, and broad research opportunities.

If you're headed out this fall to visit college campuses, make sure you check out our Gourmet Guide. We've got recommendations for where to dine -- fine restaurants to food trucks.  We've asked admission staff, alumni and current students for their best bets for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  From pancakes in Nashville and pies in Pasadena  to Belgian bistros in Bryn Mawr and ice cream in Ithaca -- we've got you covered.  Organized state-by-state and by campus, the guide will help you find the perfect cup of coffee, vegan sandwich or best bagel so you can relax and recharge before the next stop at the next campus.

Also, don't forget to check back in with the Guide -- soon to come are recommendations for Duke University in North Carolina, Creighton University in Nebraska, University of Virginia, and Purchase College in New York.